New documentary remembers how incarcerated Japanese Americans lived in WWII

[Source]

PBS has released a documentary film that sheds new light on the lives of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, featuring first-hand stories and curated photographs from survivors.

Key points:

• “Snapshots of Confinement” premiered on Monday and is currently available for streaming on the PBS App.

• The film “delves into the strength of Japanese Americans during World War II and their efforts to preserve a sense of normalcy amid discrimination and isolation during incarceration.”

• About 120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and transferred into concentration camps across the country during the war.

The details:

• “Snapshots of Confinement” is directed by J.D. Gonzales, who also goes by Joshua G. It is his first feature film.

• Esteban Gomez, an anthropology professor at the University of Denver (DU), and graduate Whitney Peterson are co-producers.

• The film features Diana Tsuchida, director of Tessaku, an organization that preserves stories of the incarceration. She shares pictures of her family and interviews others with similar experiences.

• Rosie Kakuuchi, who was incarcerated as a high school student, shares her family's plight in the film. She has a brother and a sister who tragically died while giving birth to twin girls.

• The project took Gomez and Peterson a long time to make. Peterson said her passion to deliver stories of the time came while she was working at the Manzanar National Historic Site, which served as a concentration camp.

• Gomez and Peterson hope that "Snapshots of Confinement" could help attract younger audiences and inspire them to explore their own family histories.

Download the NextShark App:

Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!