Protected: Book Club – Minor Feelings
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Then Becoming Now – The Films of Emiko Omori
J-Sei At the Movies: An Evening with Emiko Omori
Friday, May 14, 6:30 pm
Over the course of five decades-plus, award-winning documentarian and feature filmmaker Emiko Omori has broken through gender and race barriers in film to artfully document a range of subjects spotlighting personal narrative, the Japanese American WWII experience and social justice. We’ll live-stream two of Emiko’s recent films and talk to her about her life and work as a writer, cinematographer, director, and editor. Additional surprise guests may appear as well.
RSVP with “May Movie Night” in the subject line.
You’ll receive Zoom information prior to the event.
Featured films:
- Then Becoming Now (2019, 24 minutes): The journey of three men who went from incarcerated children during WWII to social activists protesting the Trump Administration’s border policy. [Pictured above: Kaz Naganuma, Hiroshi Fukuda, Hiroshi “Shim” Shimizu]
- When Rabbit Left the Moon (2017, 14 minutes): Omori’s lyrical video poem about the lasting devastating effects of the Japanese American concentration camps. Made in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of EO 9066.
Meet Emiko Omori
My favorite Ozu title is “I Was Born But…” I was born but…WWII disrupted my life. I spent my early years in Poston Concentration Camp. Then a truck farm. Then came to SFSU where I studied filmmaking. I began my career as a filmmaker and cinematographer in 1968, when there were few camerawomen and fewer still Asian American camerawomen in the US. My first job was as cinematograher/editor on the KQED-TV program, “Newsroom.” Since 1972 I have freelanced as a cinematographer on many award-winning projects as well as producing my own. In 1991 I wrote and directed the highly acclaimed drama, Hot Summer Winds, based on two short stories by Hisaye Yamamoto, for American Playhouse. In 1999, my documentary/memoir, Rabbit in the Moon, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was broadcast on POV, and won a National Emmy and numerous other awards. At Sundance I was awarded the Best Documentary Cinematography for Rabbit in the Moon and for Academy Award nominee Regret to Inform. In 2020, I directed and edited Vanishing Chinatown, The World of The May’s Photo Studio. In my sunset years, I continue to make documentaries like Then Becoming Now.
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
A Peruvian inspired meal: Lomo Saltado and Tiradito
For movie night, you can order a specially made obento from My Friend Yuji. This month’s special movie night-themed offering has two items to order:
– Lomo Saltado Bento: Sirloin steak stir-fried in a soy/vinegar sauce with onions, bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, French fries and topped with fresh herbs and rice ($18)
– Tiradito De Pescado: Peruvian sashimi appetizer (hamachi and halibut cured) served with a Leche de Tigre sauce ($12)
Click on the button below to place your order. The price is $18 for the bento and $12 for the sashimi appetizer. Please order early as quantities are limited.
You can pick up your meal at the selected pick up time at J-Sei on Friday, May 14. Please remember to wear a mask and observe social distance protocol. Thank you!
To order: When you click on the button above, it will take you directly to a pop-up order form on the My Friend Yuji webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click anywhere inside the box frame to open another pop-up and select the number of bento you want to order, then click on “Add item” to close the pop-up. Click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order and click “Continue to payment” to sign in and pay for your order.
Support J-Sei At the Movies
Thanks to you, J-Sei At the Movies recently celebrated its third anniversary! We look forward to more creative programming with educational and inspiring Japanese and Japanese American films. We are especially grateful for the up close and personal chats with filmmakers as we learn so much from the exchange.
We love having a growing and enthusiastic audience. You are the best! We welcome any donations to help us offset costs for Movie Night. Thanks for considering this.
PLAY BALL! Movie Watch & Discussion
J-Sei At the Movies: Baseball and Barbed Wire
Meet the director and producer of American Pastime
Friday, April 9, 5:30 pm [note earlier start time]
Join us to watch American Pastime, a 2007 drama about upheaval and heroic survival in the Japanese American concentration camps of World War II. One of the very few movies depicting the Japanese American experience, the plot centers on one family and their efforts to start a baseball team at Topaz, culminating in a climactic competition between internees and a local team. Filmed near the original Topaz camp in Utah, the film includes era-accurate details and also features historic footage and real-life survivors playing incarcerees. It’s a moving account of family bonds and dignity maintained under extreme circumstances.
Director Desmond Nakano and producer Tom Gorai will be our guests to take your questions and discuss the making of the film. You won’t want to miss this special event celebrating Spring and the enduring human spirit.
RSVP with “April Movie Night” in the subject line.
You’ll receive Zoom information prior to the event.
J-Sei Movie Night Bento
For movie night, you can order a specially made obento from My Friend Yuji. This month’s special movie night-themed offering is:
Arabiki Corn Dogs, Ao Nori Tater Tots, Springtime Coleslaw, curry mustard and fish sauce ketchup.
Click on the button below to place your order. The price is $18 per bento. Please order early as quantities are limited.
You can pick up your bento at the selected pick up time at J-Sei on Friday, March 12. Please remember to wear a mask and observe social distance protocol. Thank you!
To order: When you click on the button above, it will take you directly to a pop-up order form on the My Friend Yuji webpage, where you first select a pickup time. In the next window, click anywhere inside the box frame to open another pop-up and select the number of bento you want to order, then click on “Add item” to close the pop-up. Click the “View order” bar at the bottom to confirm your order and click “Continue to payment” to sign in and pay for your order.
Support J-Sei At the Movies
Thanks to you, J-Sei At the Movies recently celebrated its third anniversary! We look forward to more creative programming with educational and inspiring Japanese and Japanese American films. We are especially grateful for the up close and personal chats with filmmakers as we learn so much from the exchange.
We love having a growing and enthusiastic audience. You are the best! We welcome any donations to help us offset costs for Movie Night. Thanks for considering this.
Protected: Book Club – The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World
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J-Sei’s Virtual Book Club: The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World
“A tender tribute to grief and what it teaches us. Healing is not linear, and the ones we lose never truly leave us…. The phone booth is a magical place that not only connects the living to the dead but also the living to the living.”
— BookPage
Join the Club, Buy the Book
For its Spring reading selection, J-Sei Virtual Book Club observes the tenth year following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeast Japan. We’ll be reading a newly released novel about the Tohoku disaster and its aftermath, offering a meditation on survival, loss, and hope. The US edition is scheduled for release on March 9, and copies are available for purchase from Eastwind Books at the discounted price of $22.50. Order the book online through Eastwind and either pick up your copy at the store, arrange for shipping, or designate J-Sei for delivery/pick-up in the comments.
Book Club Format: Read the book at your own pace. As you’re reading, you can comment online about whatever strikes you and share with fellow Book Club members on the secure J-Sei Book Club webpage. Questions and cues will also be provided in the webspace to initiate possible discussion threads. After several weeks, we’ll schedule a live Zoom meeting so members can meet to discuss the book. Sign up for the Book Club and be added to the Book Club mailing list.
J-Sei Book Club Pick: The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina, translated by Lucy Rand
On March 11, 2011, a massively powerful earthquake occurred off the northeast coast of the island of Honshu, Japan. It triggered a tsunami that caused unspeakable death and destruction, killing more than 15,000 people, with an additional estimated 2,500 missing and 228,000 displaced. Years later, survivors and families continue to deal with trauma and loss. In THE PHONE BOOTH AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, Yui and Takeshi meet at a phone box located in a garden at the top of a hill in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, where the grieving can talk on a disconnected rotary phone and send messages to their lost loved ones. The novel follows Yui and Takeshi as they navigate their grief and lives after tragedy.
Inspired by the actual kaze no denwa (“phone of the wind”), the novel explores death, grief, survival—and hope for the future. Join J-Sei Book Club and connect with fellow book lovers as we read this gentle Japanese story together.
About the Author and Translator
Laura Imai Messina was born and raised in Rome, Italy. In 2006 she moved to Tokyo and earned master’s and doctorate degrees from Tokyo University. A novelist and blogger in Italian, Messina has made her English-language publishing debut with The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World. She lives in Kamakura with her Japanese husband and children.
Lucy Rand is a British writer and translator who lived for a time in Japan translating pharmaceutical texts. One of her first literary projects was translating Quel che affidiamo al vento from Italian into The Phone Box at the Edge of the World, the UK edition that was published in 2020 and was then adapted for US publication in 2021.