Five documentary shorts that will indelibly remind you to treasure the Asian American elders in our community.

Benkyodo: The Last Manju Shop in J-Town

Co-directed by Tadashi Nakamura & Akira Boch, Ricky and Bobby Okamura wrestle with closing their beloved family-owned manju shop after serving the San Francisco Japantown community for 115 years.

The Things I Haven’t Told You Yet

A collage-style, personal narrative composed of emotionally complex memories, questions, thoughts, and stories that meditate on identity, race, transnational adoption, grief, and intergenerational trauma. Director Maya Wanner pieces them together to create a mosaic of a mother-daughter relationship shaped by things left unsaid.

Mia’s Mission

Mia Yamamoto has seen it all. She was born in an incarceration camp during World War II. At age 60 she came out as transgender after a 20-year career as a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles. At age 78, Mia shows no signs of slowing down. Directed by Jireh Deng, we follow Mia on her mission throughout the years to rally communities of color around issues of racism and to bring visibility to the LGBTQ community. Her passion is rooted in her deep ties to the geography of L.A. and the neighborhoods she calls home.

Dear Corky

Directed by Curtis Chin, this documentary short is about famed street photographer, Corky Lee, who recently passed away from COVID. The short follows Corky’s career over the course of fifty years where he’s covered the most important events in Asian American history, including issues of hate crimes.

Stamp Our Story

Co-directed by Kaia Rose & Robert Horsting, this film follows the award-winning extraordinary story of three elderly Nisei (2nd generation) women who led a successful 15-year campaign to issue the Go For Broke: Japanese American Soldiers of WWII Forever stamp.

Featured Community Partner: SAIVA