Hatsumi – One Grandmother’s Journey Through the Japanese Canadian Internment
Christopher Hope
Sunday, January 27, 2013
2:30 – 4:30 pm
University of Victoria
David Strong Building Room C122
Free admission and parking
The University of Victoria (Departments of Sociology and History) and the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society are pleased to present the Victoria premiere of Hatsumi, a documentary by Nikkei filmmaker, Christopher Hope.
George Jamieson, former producer of CBC’s As It Happens, will lead the Q and A with Chris following the screening.
Chris’s first exposure to the internment was through the grade ten history book version, which he found detached and remote. Turning to his family, Chris learned that Nancy Hatsumi Okura, his grandmother, and other members of the Japanese Canadian community were reluctant to discuss their personal internment experiences due to shi kata ga nai; the traditional Japanese philosophy that emphasizes only looking forward since the past “can’t be helped”.
The film project ultimately documented two stories; Nancy’s journey through the internment, and Chris’s struggle to assist her to get over her reluctance to speak about it.
2012 is the 70th anniversary year of the internment, and it is an important year to commemorate, as it marks the last significant anniversary that many who were adults during the internment will live to see.