September 30, 2020
5 p.m.
"Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue" (2018)
"Shusenjo" explores the "comfort women" issue, perhaps Japan's most contentious present-day diplomatic quandary, uncovering hidden intentions and answering some of the biggest questions surrounding this issue for Japanese and Koreans. Following the screening, Director Miki Dezaki spoke about the film.
Februrary 24, 2021
5 p.m.
Screening and Discussion of Indian Play: "Criminal Tribes Act" (2020)
Criminal Tribes Act began as a piece about the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, a discriminatory and oppressive legislation brought by the British. It soon, however, evolved into a conversation on the caste-system in India. The show premiered in Zurich in 2018 and has since been performed in Munich, Beirut, Tokyo and Kyoto, apart from multiple cities in India. This version of the play has been specially adapted for video in October 2020.
Written and Performed by Chandra Ninasam & Anirudh (Rudy) Nair
Concept and Direction by Sankar Venkateswaran
Produced by Satoko Tsurudome
A Theatre Roots and Wings production
March 24, 2021
7 p.m.
"ALTERNATIVE FACTS: The Lies of Executive Order 9066 (2018)"
"ALTERNATIVE FACTS: The Lies of Executive Order 9066" sheds light on the people and politics that influenced the signing of the infamous Executive Order 9066 during World War II, which authorized the mass incarceration of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans. The film exposes the lies used to justify the decision and the cover-up that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. ALTERNATIVE FACTS also examines the parallels to the current climate of fear, attitudes toward immigrant communities, and similar attempts to abuse the powers of the government.