June 13, 2 p.m.
RSVP Marleen@pdxjacl.org
Join us for a screening of Lauren Yanase’s film about exploring her family’s past. She reflects upon how she decided to develop this documentary.
Shikata Ga Nai: An Inconvenient American, started out as a hint of an idea in the back of my mind almost four years ago. Since first grade, I have been a Girl Scout and had always wanted to get my Gold Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout can receive. Most Scouts who earn this award do so with very hands-on, tangible service projects, refurbishing a church, founding a STEM robotics club for girls, etc. I figured I, too, would do something of a similar nature. However, in my junior year of high school, I was faced with an uncomfortable reality. What I took for granted–an innate knowledge of the horrors my Japanese American family faced during World War II–others (intelligent, empathetic people) were ignorant to or didn’t appreciate the full consequence. So began the most ambitious, emotionally grueling project I had ever attempted: making a documentary.