The Hollywood Japanese Cultural Institute proudly presents a documentary about Japanese Americans living in Japan followed by a discussion with the filmmaker!

Saturday, July 29, 2006
7pm Reception
8pm Film
9pm Discussion w/ Art Nomura

Admission is $5

www.geocities.com/hollywoodjci

Veteran filmmaker Art Nomura visited Japan for the first time in 2003 at the age of 57. After years of ambivalence about his Japanese background, Nomura was forced to rethink his feeling toward Japan after his eldest son decided to accept a job near Tokyo. Nomura traveled around Japan interviewing Japanese Americans who had chosen to live there for the long term. He found over fifty of them, and this frank documentary focuses on six Americans of Japanese descent who have chosen to live in the country of their ancestors.

Vince, a web designer from Hanover, New Hampshire who has lived in Japan for seven years, states that his decision to leave was confirmed after the first U.S. invasion of Iraq, an event that underscored his distaste for American political hypocrisy. Enson, a professional fighter from Honolulu in Japan for thirteen years, found himself surprised at the sense of national identity that emerged after he moved: "One of the first times I ever considered myself American was when I went to Japan." Jane, born and raised in Los Angeles, came to Japan as a child with her family when she was twelve years old. She was shocked at age eighteen when her family expected her to stay in Japan and run the family beauty business. Twenty-five years later she is a rare woman executive of a Japanese company.

In addition to a look into the lives of its interviewees, Finding Home provides a colorful view of life in Japan, from busy downtown streets, to raucous festivals, to a freestyle kimono dressing competition.

Video, 52 minutes, color, documentary