The Pacific Southwest District JACL Board announces four screenings of Ikeibi Films’ “Kintsukuroi” in Southern California.
The director, Kerwin Berk, and several members of the cast and crew will attend each of the screenings and field questions about the film or their personal experiences as Japanese Americans.
The schedule is as follows:
Saturday, Sept. 27, at 11 a.m. at San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, 12953 Branford St., Pacoima
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/kintsukuroi-screening-san-fernando-valley
Sunday, Sept. 28, at 12 and 3 p.m. at George Nakano Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/kintsukuroi-screening-torrance
“Kintsukuroi is the Japanese art of repairing poverty using urushi lacquer and gold,” explained Berk. “Yet, it is also something more. Kintsukuroi shows us that something shattered can be restored and made stronger and more beautiful.
“I think the term is an apt metaphor for the Japanese American community during World War II. Homes and farms lost, businesses destroyed, lives broken. More than 120,000 people were unjustly imprisoned in concentration camps in the deserts and mountains.
“Despite this, there is beauty and strength found in their struggle. Families who continue on with grace and dignity in the hope of a better tomorrow for their children and their children’s children.
“Although our film is a fictionalized account, we hope you see a little of your father or your grandmother or your antie in this story as we try to honor the legacy of those 120,000.”
The cast includes Ryan Takemiya, Kealani Kitaura, Ken Takeda, Ron Munekawa, Kiyomi Koide, Kealoha Nakamura, Sarah Lee, Timothy Hsu, David Kiyoshi, Keiko Shimosato Carreiro and Chizu Omori.