J-Sei At the Movies: An Evening with Filmmaker Matthew Hashiguchi

Friday, September 24, 6:30 pm via Zoom

Please join us for what is sure to be a fascinating talk with documentary filmmaker and photographer Matthew Hashiguchi about his past work and current projects. Although presently based in Georgia, where he is a university professor in communication arts, Matt grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, which was the subject of his first feature-length documentary, GOOD LUCK SOUP (2016). It tells the very personal story about his family’s experience as Japanese Americans before, during, and after World War II and about growing up mixed race in white suburbia. His paternal grandmother, Eva — who grew up near Sacramento but eventually resettled in the Cleveland area following her family’s incarceration in the Arkansas camps during World War II — proves to be the star of the film and most spirited member of his family.

We’re very fortunate that Matt has kindly provided easy access to watch GOOD LUCK SOUP online prior to our meeting on September 24. We’ll send you a link when you RSVP.

RSVP with “Sept Movie Night” in the subject line.
You’ll receive Zoom information prior to the event.

About the Filmmaker

Matthew Hashiguchi is a documentary filmmaker whose work investigates the diverse experiences, identities, and cultures of American society. His first feature-length documentary GOOD LUCK SOUP was broadcast nationally on PBS World’s America ReFramed, won the Best Local Documentary Award at the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival, and received a 2016 Documentary Fund Award from the Center for Asian American Media and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. His other documentary work, which has addressed topics such as undocumented immigration, preserving community in post-Katrina New Orleans, and unexpected experiences in the Japanese American Internment Camps, has screened at many other festivals. His current project, AMERICAN DREAMING, is about undocumented immigrants trying to get college degrees in the state of Georgia. He is also associate professor of multimedia film and production at Georgia Southern University.

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.

Virtual Family Festival – WATCH NOW!

EL CHINO GRANDE

Christopher Yang and Marcelle Gonzales Yang offer a casual pop-up influenced by the street food of Taiwan and travels to  Asia and Hawaii.

Taiwanese Beef Noodles  $18

Red Braised Beef, Egg Noodles, Sichuan Chili XO, marinated Gailan

Sundays with author Alden Hayashi – Two Nails, One Love

Two Nails, One Love is a semi autobiographical novel about an estranged mother-son relationship that evolves and eventually heals as the son realizes just how much his life has been affected by his mother’s traumatic past. The novel covers broad themes of discrimination (both racial and LGBTQ), ethnic identity, and immigration.  Join us for one or both conversations.

Sun, Oct 17, 4 pm – JA history talk hosted by Brian Niiya, Densho – RSVP for Oct 17 here.

Sun, Oct 24, 4 pm – LGBTQ talk hosted by Stan Yogi,  Okaeri-LA – RSVP for Oct 24 here.

Alden Hayashi has worked for more than 30 years in the publishing industry. He has been a staff writer/editor at the Harvard Business Review, the MIT Sloan Management Review, Scientific American, and several other magazines. He has now turned his focus to writing fiction. A short story —”Finding the Right Keiko“—was published in The Baltimore Review (Winter 2021), and his first novel—Two Nails, One Love—has recently been published by Black Rose Writing (Sept 2021).

The program is co-sponsored by You Know You Are Japanese American When (Facebook Group), J-Sei, Densho, and Okaeri-LA.

To purchase the book, please visit Eastwind Books.