Tadashi Nakamura (filmmaker)
Tadashi "Tad" Nakamura (born c. 1980) is an American documentary filmmaker. He is noted for films about the Asian-American and Japanese-American communities in the United States.
His 2013 film, Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings, received a 2013 Gotham Award.
Education
[edit]Nakamura graduated with a bachelor's degree in Asian-American studies[citation needed] from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2003.[1] He received his MFA in Social Documentation from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)[2] in 2008.[citation needed]
Career
[edit]Nakamura's films focus on the Japanese American experience. Three of his films, Yellow Brotherhood, Pilgrimage, and A Song for Ourselves, form a documentary trilogy about Asian Americans and the importance of community.
His 2013 film, Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings, is a full-length documentary about Jake Shimabukuro, a Japanese American ukulele virtuoso and composer from Hawaii. The film won the 2013 Gotham Audience Award for Independent Films.[3]
Personal life
[edit]Nakamura is a fourth generation Japanese American, born and raised in Los Angeles. His father, Robert A. Nakamura, is also a filmmaker and is sometimes referred to as "the Godfather of Asian American media".[4][5] His mother is the author and filmmaker Karen L. Ishizuka.[1]
Filmography
[edit]- Yellow Brotherhood (2003)[6]
- Pilgrimage (2007)[3]
- A Song for Ourselves (2009)[3]
- Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings (2012)[3]
- Mele Murals (2016)[7]
- Atomic Café: The Noisiest Corner in J-Town (2020)[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Tadashi Nakamura '03". University of California - Los Angeles. May 22, 2015.
- ^ McNulty, Jennifer (January 13, 2008). "Graduate student's film featured at Sundance Film Festival". University of California - Santa Cruz.
- ^ a b c d "Japanese American Filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura Wins Gotham Independent Film Award". Pacific Citizen. January 17, 2014.
- ^ "JANM Announces Honorees and Theme for 2016 Annual Gala Dinner". Japanese American National Museum. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
- ^ "Tribute Reel to Robert Nakamura: Godfather of Asian American Media". Center for Asian American Media. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
- ^ Yellow Brotherhood: A Film (DVD). Los Angeles, Calif.: Center for EthnoCommunications of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. 2003. OCLC 66916886.
- ^ Wang, Frances Kai-Hwa (May 25, 2016). "'Mele Murals' Explores Native Hawaiian Identity through Urban Street Art". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
- ^ "Q&A with Makers of 'Atomic Café' Documentary". Rafu Shimpo. 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
Further reading
[edit]- "DOC NYC Announces 2nd Annual "40 Under 40" List". IFC Center LLC. 2020. Nakamura was included in this list compiled for the DOC NYC film festival.
- Sun, Abby (August 26, 2019). "When Filmmaker and Subject Are Father and Son: Tadashi and Robert Nakamura in Their "Third Act"". Independent Television Service.
External links
[edit]- Tadashi Nakamura at IMDb
- "Tadashi Nakamura | Director/Editor". Retrieved 2020-09-26. Nakamura's personal website.