MANZANAR

Created by Robert Nakamura as a graduate student in UCLA’s Ethnocommunications Program, Manzanar is a lyrical and pensive documentary in which a nisei reflects on his childhood incarceration at the Manzanar camp and the enduring effects of internment on his adult life. Returning to the desolate landscape of Manzanar, one of ten camps where Japanese Americans were unjustly imprisoned during World War II, he grapples with the fragmented memories of family, community, and loss. As personal recollections intertwine with historical reflection, the film meditates on the lasting psychological and emotional impact of internment, while offering a powerful exploration of identity, resilience, and the unhealed wounds of the past.

Credits
Writer: Robert A. Nakamura
Producer: UCLA Ethnocommunications Program
Executive Producer: Visual Communications
Director of Photography: Norman Nakamura, Gail Nakamura, Betty Chen
Editor: Visual Communications
Composer: June Okida Kuramoto
Music: June Okida Kuramoto

Plays in

VC Archives Presents: TWO ACTS

Before one story comes full circle, we look back at where it began — in dialogue between a father and son, each behind the camera. 

MANZANAR + OUT OF THE DUST

Experience reflections of Manzanar through dance and moving images, in honor of the works by Janice Mirikatani and VC Founding Director Robert A. Nakamura.