Yesterday I was able to experience something truly unusual in film.
No, this is not "film vs digital" or anything stupid like that.
There is an Asian film festival happening in San Jose this weekend.
Yesterday, I was privileged to join the audience for a viewing of "A
View from Topaz" ... an amazing film, shot and edited by one of the
people who lived in the internment camp in the Utah desert from April
of 1943 to May of 1945, displaced from home in San Francisco. The
film was shot *during his internment!*, an incredibly difficult thing
to conceive of since the mere possession of a camera by an internee,
at the time, was deemed illegal, a criminal act, etc. That this was
regular 8mm color film work, itself rare and unusual to see in home
movies of that era. The circumstances which enabled him to obtain his
movie camera, photograph the circumstances of his internment, have
the film processed and actually be able to see it *while still in the
internment camp* are without doubt unique.
The photographer passed away last year, having used the same small
spring-wound 8mm movie camera to record his life from the early 1930s
up to the 1980s. It was a glimpse into a very difficult time for
Japanese Americans, and a special gift for those who appreciate what
photography can help us see. It was an amazing experience, a true
privilege to be able to participate in.
Godfrey
- amazing film experience Godfrey DiGiorgi
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