ROSE OCHI - LAWYER ACTIVIST INTERVIEW AT MANZANAR

ROSE OCHI - LAWYER ACTIVIST INTERVIEW AT MANZANAR

What Did You Do in the War, Mama?: Kochiyama's Crusaders

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In case you missed it, here's our "pitch video" (short trailer) for What did you do in the War, Mama?: Kochiyama's Crusaders. We get started on a more in-depth trailer next week!

Also please check out in the last post some photos we took during our shoot at the 44th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage 2013. They cannot convey the terrible heat and the chapped lips and the constant taste of salt, but they're the best we could do to capture some still shots while shooting mostly video.

Stephon J. Litwinczuk also shot and edited a beautiful brief moment of me in the Manzanar Cemetery. For some reason, I am having trouble posting it here, so here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMVh0DJhsJQ

Photos from our all-day shoot at 44th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage at the Manzanar National Historic Site. Special thanks to the amazingly skilled crew who dropped down from Heaven to give everything they had to give to make our incredible video footage happen. The scenes and interviews we shot will "sew together" all the rest of the footage that has been shot over a 4-year period for What did you do in the War, Mama?: Kochiyama's Crusaders.

All photos are by Marlan Warren, copyright protected unless otherwise indicated. The title of this film project keeps changing, but the website remains the same. Please check us out at:

https://sites.google.com/site/bitsofparadisethemovie/

A separate short film project is in the works now--a collage of impressions from this 2013 Manzanar Pilgrimage. Parts of this Day of Remembrance will be incorporated in the longer feature film.

We especially want to thank the dedicated, sweet park rangers at Manzanar National Historic Site, Superintendent Les Inafuku and Park Curator Mark Hachtmann for not only granting us a permit to shoot, but inviting and encouraging us to please come. And we are especially grateful to the Manzanar Committee for granting us a permit, and ushering us through the long day.

Photo by Stephon J. Litwinczuk: Madlon Arai Yamamoto (R) with Marlan Warren (L)

We spoke with lovely, strong women who took us briefly inside their own personal struggles and victories, and each time acknowledged the need to keep ever-vigilant and resilient to keep freedom alive for every U.S. citizen and immigrant.

Soul Consoling Tower at Manzanar Cemetery

At day's end, all 3 of us felt transformed by the experience. The sound engineer, Rick J. Wilson, has relatives who were interned at Amache in Colorado, and the DP is married to a Japanese woman. They were determined to make this shoot happen, and the experience rewarded my own efforts as well.

Pilgrims in the Cemetery: Soul Consoling Tower: Photo by Stephon J. Litwinczuk

More details can be found on the film's website and Facebook page, but here are the photos that I took on the fly with my Canon point-and-shoot, and Blackberry cellphone:

(L) Hank Umemoto, Author of "From Manzanar to Mt. Whitney: The Life and Times of a Lost Hiker" with Master of Cermonies, Darrell Kunitomi (R)

 I heard a Muslim woman speak about how after 9/11 the Japanese Americans were the first to reach out to the frightened Muslim community, identifying with their fears and instrumental in preventing George Bush from sending these targets of prejudice into U.S. concentration camps.

As a woman who lost most of her family members in the Russian and Polish Holocaust, just the thought of concentration camps makes me furious. The sight of the tombstones at the Manzanar Cemetery made me weep. 

 Father of Taiko Drummer (L) and DP Stephon J. Litwinczuk (R)

 Sound Engineer Richard J. Wilson and the 1400-1700 strong who attended

UCLA Kyodo Taiko Drummer

DP Stephon J. Litwinczuk shooting the Guard Tower at dusk

Thank Heavens for Rick Wilson and Stephon Litwinczuk

Miracle of miracles, two amazingly professional, passionate and super-nice crew members have materialized and are on board for our Manzanar Pilgrimage shoot coming up Saturday, April 27.  Welcome aboard, Stephon Litwinczuk (camera) and Rick Wilson (sound)!

Finding super-skilled crew to work for food and "deferred payment" (they get paid when money comes in) is harder than trout fishing. Finding any applicants who even bother to read the ad that I placed is even tougher. Most prospective crew simply e-mail their resumes en masse without mentioning they've read the details of this shoot:  how long it will be, where it is, etc. They send out generic cover letters.

Then they get upset when they find out we can't pay $400/day up front.

Rick Wilson is a consummate professional sound engineer with a resume and awards longer than my arms. He laughed when he told me, "I can't believe these people who post on Craigslist, How dare you expect me to work for free...." He said if a project is worthwhile...well, he's got the time and the willingness. The same goes for me. For the past 4 years as we've limped along without adequate funding.

Here's the thumbnail sketch of Rick's impressive career:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1975069/

The first film he sound edited on was The Buddy Holly Story. He's worked on Michael Jackson projects. And this Pasadena resident knows the way to Manzanar since he usually passes it on the way to ski at Mammoth.

Stephon Litwinczuk contacted me today. I don't think it was a reply to any of my ads since his application went to a different e-mail address of mine. But I am soooo grateful that he found out about this shoot! He's married to a Japanese woman and they have visited Manzanar. He can fill us in on details and history that we might otherwise miss. And he is a director/interviewer as well as a Director of Photography. His reel knocked my socks off.

Here's thumbnail sketch of Stephon's Emmy-nominated work: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3277661/

Every year I wish that I could go on the Manzanar Pilgrimage and every year I miss out due to financial constraints. I have some good friends whose families were interned there. It is important to remember what happened there, I believe. So it will never happen again.

Starting to get excited....

Am I crazy or what? That's what a well-meaning friend asked me when I explained that I'm trying to get a film crew to come with me on Sat. 4/27 to an ex-concentration camp on California soil known as "Manzanar" ("Could you spell that, please?" he asked) only 8 hours RT and we'll probably stand around in the burning sun near Death Valley, trying to shoot the speakers on stage, interview World War II vets and internees, and follow them through the new museum which will never forget the unjust "jailing" of ordinary American citizens who happened to look like "The Enemy." Okay, okay. I said that's okay. Never mind. I'll go by myself and take a still camera since I can't get a camera person lined up. But now the sound guy who said yes, is saying YES again. Hmmmm...Has the Fat Lady sung yet? No money yet. No way of getting there...but Hope. Hope. Hope.