The Image Before Us: A History of Film in British Columbia – Take 5
- Obāchan’s Garden
- Canada2001
- Linda Ohama
- 94 DCP
- NR
- B.C. Film History
Screening Dates
- April 1, 2019 7:00
“Intensely emotional and ultimately inspiring … Ohama succeeds in navigating the challenging waters of memory, history, and representation.”
Elan Mastai, VIFF
Linda Ohama’s graceful, sensitive film, a portrait of her 103-year-old obāchan (grandmother), uncovers long-buried secrets as it relates a remarkable family history and chronicles the Japanese-Canadian experience. Hiroshima-born Asayo Murakami came to Canada B.C. in 1923 as a “picture bride,” promised to a man she had never met. She settled in Steveston, B.C. This account of her personal journey touches on some momentous events of the last century: the 1923 Tokyo earthquake, World War II, Canada’s wartime internment of Japanese Canadians, the atomic bombing of Asayo’s hometown. The story takes an unexpected turn when Ohama discovers her obāchan’s unknown past. The film blends documentary and archival material with dramatic re-creations.
Introduced by Kirk Tougas, Vancouver photographer, filmmaker, and Obāchan’s Garden cinematographer