SATURDAY FILMS 1:15 pmLetters to Thien Trac Minh Vu, 1997, 56 minutes, documentary Thien Minh Ly was brutally murdered in 1996 on the tennis courts of Tustin High School in California at age 24. Through anecdotes, tributes and letters from family and friends, he is remembered a year later. A letter glorifying the deed ("Oh, I killed a jap [sic] a while ago") led to the capture of his murderers and to the community's struggle to have the murder declared a hate crime. Finalist, Cascadia Moving Images Festival, Canada 2:15 pm The Shot Heard 'Round the World Christine Choy and Spiro Lampros, 1997, 75 minutes, documentary A teenaged Japanese exchange student, Yoshi Hattori, was fatally shot by homeowner Rodney Peairs on October 17, 1992, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Hattori and a friend were looking for a party when they mistakenly walked up to the Peairs' residence. Details of the criminal and civil trials surrounding Hattori's murder are examined by using news footage, video tape depositions, and interviews with the attorneys and involved participants. 1997 Women in Film and Video Festival 1997 Hawaii International Film Festival 4:30 pm Visas and Virtue Chris Tashima, 1997, 26 minutes, drama "More than a dramatic retelling of a little known historical event during World War II, [Visas and Virtue]'s messages of compassion, courage and social justice are lessons that are very relevant for all of us today." -- Kaoru Oguri, Ph.D., Japanese American National Museum Japanese Consul General Chiune Sugihara grapples with moral and professional dilemmas after witnessing the suffering of Jewish refugees outside his consulate in Lithuania. Should he defy his government's orders and jeopardize his career by issuing life-saving transit visas, or obey orders and turn his back on humanity? Academy Award, Best Live Action Short First Place Fiction Prize, USA Film Festival CINE Golden Eagle 5:00 pm Strawberry Fields Rea Tajiri, 1996, 86 minutes, drama Set in 1971 against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, "Strawberry Fields" tackles the minefield between cultural history and personal memory. After a visitation from the ghost of her younger sister, a rebellious 16-year-old Japanese American girl (Irene) hits the road with her boyfriend in search of a better life. Hooking up with activist friends along the way, Irene comes to an important realization about her past; her parents were incarcerated in an internment camp during World War II. She detours her road trip, ditches her boyfriend, and drives off into the Arizona desert in a determined quest for the truth that will set her free. A portrait of the reverberating influence left upon generations of Japanese Americans, "Strawberry Fields" is also a story of love, history, and personal realization. Reviews: "Tajiri has produced a classic American rebel film, complete with road and acid trips but infused with her own unique visual and narrative style." -- Paul Yi, SAN FRANCISCO ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL "Tajiri opts for graceful and dreamlike forays into the collective memory of war-era Japanese Americans..." -- Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "Very impressive--Rea Tajiri's "Strawberry Fields" is a tough-minded, idiosyncratic coming-of-age story in which a 16-year-old Midwestern Japanese American girl (Suzy Nakamura, outstanding) discovers how crucial it is for her to confront the heritage of the World War II internment camps." -- Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES "...a moving piece of work, made by a filmmaker with a strong sense of history, memory and the inherent power of stark imagery." -- John Petrakis, CHICAGO TRIBUNE 8:00 pm Freshmen Tom Huang, 1998, 130 minutes, narrative The award-winning freshmen follows the lives of four incoming college freshmen from different backgrounds and different journeys: San Ling, a Chinese American who is obsessed with pop icon Billy Joel and loathes his Chinese side; Tonisha Watkins, an inner city prodigy who struggles between being a pre-med student and paying the family bills; Rick Kennedy, a conservative East Coast transplant who wrestles with multicultural university life and dealing with a career choice he doesn't want anymore; and Judy Oz, a free-spirited party girl who takes on the college social scene until it spirals out of her control. freshmen depicts the poignant moments during their first quarter of school which force them to grow up bit by bit. Distinctions in 1999: Winner, Audience Award for Best Feature, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival Winner, Final Draft Original Screenplay Award, Rhode Island International Film Festival Winner, Silver Award, Low Budget Feature Film, Worldfest Flagstaff Film Festival Closing Night Film, Toronto ReelAsian International Film Festival back to film schedule