Sunday, March 19th, 2022 at 2:30PM
AMC Evanston 12 (1715 Maple Ave. Evanston, IL 60201)
Film Critic, Mark Schilling from The Japan Times/Variety will moderate a Q+A with two of the film makers, Dr. Evelyn Nakano Glenn and Antonia Grace Glenn following the screening.
SYNOPSIS
This award-winning documentary film from Unwashed Masses Productions chronicles the untold stories of Japanese Americans who “voluntarily” evacuated from the West Coast in the wake of Executive Order 9066 and spent World War II living outside the concentration camps that held their friends and family members. While the “self-evacuees” had their freedom, they became refugees in their own country, on a forced migration into the unknown. Many faced isolation, poverty, and racial violence as they struggled to rebuild their lives. BEFORE THEY TAKE US AWAY is the second film from the creative team behind THE ITO SISTERS: AN AMERICAN STORY.
BEFORE THEY TAKE US AWAY powerfully chronicles the unique, largely unknown stories and voices of the self-evacuees, as well as their courage and persistence. The film also draws parallels between the Japanese American wartime experience and today’s anti-immigrant and anti-refugee political climate and the resurgence of Asian Hate and racial violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Winner of “Best Japanese American Award” at Japan Film Festival Los Angeles 2022; “Grand Festival Award Documentary” at Berkeley Video & Film Festival 2022; and“Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Documentary” at DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon 2022, and was one of the official selection of Mixed Asian Media (MAM) Festival 2022.
Visit the link for more information:
https://www.asianpopupcinema.org/season-16-calendar/before-they-take-us-away