We Were the Scenery and Third Act Screening + Q&A

We Were the Scenery + Third Act Screening & Q&A

Join us for a film screening, hosted by Renée Tajima-Peña, at the Japanese American National Museum with the short documentary film WE WERE THE SCENERY and the feature length documentary THIRD ACT. This will be followed by a Q&A session with writer & producer of WE WERE THE SCENERY, Cathy Linh Che, and director of THIRD ACT Tadashi Nakamura. The conversation will be moderated by Viet Thanh Nguyen.

In 1975, Hoa Thi Lê and Hue Nguyen Che fled from Vietnam by boat and docked in the Philippines, where they were utilized as background extras during the filming of Apocalypse Now. WE WERE THE SCENERY premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Short Film Jury Prize: Nonfiction. It has screened at over 60 festivals, including at Visions du Reel and Sheffield DocFest, and is on the DOCNYC Short List.

“A tour de force… a nuanced documentary that offers a new take on both the refugee story and a classic film.”
– cinéSPEAK

Generations of artists call Robert A. Nakamura “the Godfather of Asian American media,” but filmmaker Tadashi calls him Dad. What begins as a documentary about his father’s career takes a turn with a Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis, and evolves into an exploration on art, activism, grief, and fatherhood. Premiering in Documentary Competition at Sundance, THIRD ACT has screened at over 30 festivals including Full Frame, BlackStar, and DOC NYC.

“Third Act is both a searing historical record and a poignant father-son narrative.”
–Variety

Reception to follow.

Co-presented with the Japanese American National Museum, UCLA Center for Ethnocommunications, and Visual Communications. Community Partner is the Coalition of Asians and Pacifics in Entertaiment (CAPE).

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Film still from THIRD ACT.

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Film still from WE WERE THE SCENERY.

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Directions

BY CAR

• From the 101 Freeway (US-101) Southbound: Take exit 2B for Los Angeles St south 0.1 miles to E 1st St. Make a left on E 1st St. JANM is on your left .3 miles.

• From the 101 Freeway (US-101) Northbound: Take exit 2B toward Alameda St/Union Station. Left at Alameda St. JANM is on your right 0.4 miles.

NEARBY PUBLIC PARKING LOTS

• Japanese Village Plaza Parking Garage at 115 S. Central Ave.

• SP Plus, Parking Lot 753 at 414 E. Temple St.

• City of Los Angeles, Parking Lot 7 at 140 N. Judge John Aiso St.

• City of Los Angeles, Lot 2 at 300 E. Temple St.

Public Transportation

• JANM is directly across the street from the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station served by Metro light rail lines A and E.

• LADOT Little Tokyo/Arts District Dash A stops at 1st St. and Central Ave. right across the street from the museum.

Check metro.net (https://www.metro.net/) for bus and rail maps or call 323 GoMetro (323.466.3876 (tel:+13234663876)). Plan your trip by visiting Metro’s trip planner (https://www.metro.net/riding/trip-planner/).