VC Connect #8: Local Heroes, Far-Reaching Legacies

Welcome to VC CONNECT, an online destination through which just some of the hundreds of films and media productions created by Visual Communications can be found for your enjoyment. Featured films include some of our VC Classics, as well as films made in the Digital Histories production program for older adults and the Armed With a Camera Fellowship for Emerging Artists. Each week, we’ll roll out a new batch, specially themed for our audience’s diverse cinematic palate. Click here to watch the complete showcase.

Local Heroes, Far-Reaching Legacies

They may not be famous. They may not even be that well-known to most. But the people who make an indelible impact in our communities and on our lives are the ones whose words and deeds are largely unsung. Take a look at these Armed With a Camera and Digital Histories films about people whose lives are worth savoring.

Thank you to the following sponsors for their ongoing support of the Armed With a Camera Fellowship: Sony Pictures Entertainment, SAGindie, West One Music Group, Final Draft, Los Angeles County Arts & Culture, Flash Cuts, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Writers Guild of America West.

Thank you to the following sponsors for their ongoing support of the Digital Histories program: Sony Pictures Entertainment, West One Music Group, Keiro, Union Bank, and Aratani Foundation.

FINDING OUR PLACE (2007) by Chicky Otani
An interview with Brian Kito, longtime proprietor of Little Tokyo institution Fugetsu-do (a nearly 110-year-old confectioner’s shop), foregrounds the issues facing the community due to the ever-shifting demographics of the city.

FUTURE ROCKSTARS OF AMERICA (2005) by Grace Su
Hungry to be heard, some individuals express what they have to say through the universal language of music. In this film, a group of artists strive to empower their voices by forming solidarity like fingers to a fist.

JEFF IMADA: BREAKING BARRIERS BY DESIGN (2018) by Cory Shiozaki
Jeff Imada was a pre-med student at UCLA before an opportunity to work on a movie as an extra created a totally different career choice. A road not often taken by Japanese Americans, the lure of working in the entertainment industry on screen set the stage for an entirely different occupation… stuntman.

KEN MIURA: UNHEARD OF (2014) by Raymond C. Lai
Ken Miura was many things to many people: beloved professor, devoted father, and loyal friend. But to the filmmaker, he was a legend. He was the man who inspired George Lucas and helped change the ears of cinema sound for a generation.

LIVING TIME CAPSULE: LITTLE TOKYO ARTS & GIFTS (2014) by David Osako
A portal to Little Tokyo’s past, Little Tokyo Arts & Gifts is a retail shop where you can find stock from Japan in the ‘50s and ‘60s, run by Elaine, whose parents started the business.

MORE THAN 1,000 WORDS (2012) by Steve Nagano
This film explores the work of Mario Reyes, a Mexican American photographer for the Japanese American newspaper Rafu Shimpo, and how he became an integral part of the community.

MY FAVORITE PLACE IN LITTLE TOKYO (2005) by Genevieve Lew
The filmmaker documents the history of Rafu Busan in Little Tokyo and her fond relationship with the store.

FINDING TONY (2012) by Gerry Chow, David Osako, Chicky Otani
The filmmaker's interest in a mural leads to her meeting Tony Sperl, a long time resident of Little Tokyo and owner of an animal rescue group.

TONY DELIVERS (2013) by David Osako
One of Little Tokyo's benevolent characters, Tony, owns a historical landmark building in the center of Little Tokyo and runs an animal rescue charity. This film is a glimpse into Tony's daily life of animal support work and mission to reduce feral animals in the area through spaying and neutering.

WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE MONUMENT'S MEN OF LITTLE TOKYO? (2015) by Cathy Uchida
Tom Brokaw called them "the greatest generation,” but the Japanese American Nisei soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team/100th Battalion/Military Intelligence Service now face another battle. Time has taken its toll as their declining health, fading memories, and numbers fall. How will the next keepers of the Go For Broke Monument preserve and perpetuate the legacy and stories of their heroic accomplishments?