Amy Uyeki's Award Winning Animation "Searchlight Serenade"

Join me at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles this Saturday, July 13th at 2 p.m!

cell from Amy Uyeki's animated film created from woodcuts and drawings

I'll be there to see the award winning documentary, Searchlight Serenade: An Animated Tale Told in Song, which features the accounts of World War II Japanese American internees who created big bands while incarcerated. The bands played for dance events inside the camps and also travelled outside to dance halls around the area. The documentary includes interviews with 9 detainees about their music and experience at that time. It also features an evocative animation created from woodcuts and drawings by Northern California artist, Amy Uyeki. Get more information about the event here.

The new documentary won an award at the Big Island Film Festival in Honolulu this summer.