Where the film succeeds best is drawing us into the world of the children, and seeing this life and death scenario through their eyes. The adults quickly become secondary, and indeed, the principal deflects the concerns of parents and other staff members, asking them to trust the students and their teacher, who himself keeps to the periphery as much as possible.

I’m always grateful to Jesse for his guidance and inspiration in my filmmaking life. Our relationship changed over the years, notably when I shifted my focus to being a producer instead of a filmmaker. I suspect my decision was bittersweet for Jesse, since it was clear I had taken his beliefs in mentorship and our collective creative future to heart. But it was also true that Jesse himself never gave up on the practice of actually making films, regardless whatever else he was doing as a “job”, right to the very end. I, on the other hand, now only make films vicariously, through the choices of filmmakers and films I produce and support.

For twenty five years during and after the war years, the Japanese cemetery in Cumberland was left unattended and it returned to it natural forest-like state. Also, there was vandalism. In the 1960s, Sensei S. K. Ikuta who was the resident Sensei of the Vancouver Buddhist Temple, with the assistance of the Vancouver JCCA, had a service club in Comox Valley gather the scattered head stones and place them in a memorial monument. Pre-Second World War deceased in the Comox Valley totaled one hundred ninety eight. Only a small number of head stones are mounted in the monument.

Hi Everyone!
Well it’s been an amazing February and March in Vancouver with the World descending upon Vancouver and Whistler for the Olympics and the Paralympics. To me it has been wonderful to see the patriotism exhibited by Canadians and Japanese. Although I was not able to attend many of the events, due to the costs involved along with the large crowds and waiting time associated for the Olympics, I did manage to get to a few, especially when either Canada or Japan was playing.
During the Paralympics, the true excitement was …

On Friday January 15, several dozen people gathered at the Heiwa Garden project on Salt Spring Island for the unveiling of interpretive panels depicting the island’s Japanese Canadian heritage and the planting of a weeping Japanese maple tree. With the unveiling of the panels, the Garden is almost complete.
Even the weather proved supportive as heavy rains made way for brilliant afternoon sunshine just in time for the event.
The interpretive panels were created and installed thanks to a grant from the National Association of Japanese Canadians. The panels provide a timeline …

by Shoko Hata
The Peace Philosophy Centre, established and directed by Satoko Norimatsu in Vancouver, holds a monthly study group called the Peace Philosophy Salon. Based on the principle of the centre—“to provide a community-based place where people of all backgrounds can get together and learn from each other to create a peaceful and sustainable world”—the centre provides us space and opportunities for collective learning in historical, political and social issues in order to achieve a sustainable and peaceful world at the grass-roots level.
I am an international student from Japan, studying …

For an old timer still more used to windows one had to roll up and down manually, the array of electrically controlled mechanisms from seat position and height adjustments, seat warmers, and mirrors and the top quality audio system with 6 disc CD player turned out to be a novelty, but not a must. How many CDs can one listen to during a 30-minute ride? How often does one adjust seats? All these little amenities that people who live in big houses with electronic controls and indoor swimming pools might take for granted were in fact superfluous as far as our lifestyle was concerned.

I was nine years old when I first became aware of “identity” as a concept. I remember the circumstances to this day. I was in bed one night while my parents stayed up, playing some records on the Heathkit hi-fi that my father had recently assembled from a kit. I was on the verge of falling asleep when this wondrous voice came drifting up the stairs and into my room, a voice rich and thick and filled with strange inflections. It quavered and hung in the night air, summoning up …

He was quiet and often went to see his friends. At that time, he was in the process of writing Mother Talk. He went to Denman Island to see Mastuki Masutani who collaborated with Roy as a translator. The organizer of the festival said, “You are so lucky to stay with him. He is a one of the greatest Japanese Canadian artists in Vancouver.” But for me, coming from out of town, he was just the same as anybody, he didn’t have an air of importance or anything like that. Thinking back to those days, I really admire him as a real artist.

Congratulations to Canada for all the “Gold” in the Olympic and to the Paralympics! What a thrill and national pride! Way to go, Canada! We missed all the Olympic fervor due to our South America Cruise and got delayed coming home due to Santiago, Chile ‘s earthquake.

Spring is here and here are two recipes sent in by Alice Bradley — so lemony and refreshingly good! Thanks, Alice!