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- Welcome to Independent Lens.
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I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS
Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
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Storytellers have to adapt
and be flexible.
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Sometimes, a documentarian
sets out to tell one story,
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but dealing with nonfiction
stories means things can change.
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Such is the case for the
director behind tonight's film.
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Tadashi Nakamura set out
to make a documentary
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focusing on the career
of his legendary father
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until a life-changing subplot
developed.
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Tonight's film is Third Act.
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Robert A. Nakamura
has been called
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the godfather
of Asian American media
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due to his influence on Asian
filmmaking and photography.
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In 1971, Nakamura made
a short film called Manzanar.
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Manzanar was one of ten
Japanese internment camps
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which was operational
from 1942 to 1945
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and was located
in Manzanar, California.
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Robert and his family were held
there during World War II
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for no reason
other than the fact
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that they were
of Japanese descent.
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The 16-minute documentary
was critically acclaimed
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and put Nakamura
on the artistic map.
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In 2022, Manzanar was selected
for preservation
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in the National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
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as culturally, historically,
or aesthetically significant.
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Nakamura continued
making acclaimed films
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and went on to teach film
at UCLA,
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influencing a generation
of filmmakers.
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The project started out
with Tadashi Nakamura, or Tad,
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wanting to tell what he felt
was his father's untold story
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about his influence
as an artist.
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The project took a turn
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when Robert Tadashi
was diagnosed
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with Parkinson's disease
a year into production.
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The director still wanted
to cover his father's career
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and time spent
in interment camps,
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but he wanted to use
every moment
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to connect with his father
as a dad
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both on and off camera as well,
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not knowing how much time
his father had left.
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Tad also wanted his own son
to learn more
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about his grandfather.
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Storywise, Tad Nakamura explored
how interment camps
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and the struggles of his father
and his grandparents
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helped mold his father
as an artist.
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Tad used his own skills
as a director
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to get his dad to open up
about the bitterness he felt
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as a young man.
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He learned that it was
filmmaking and photography
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that brought Robert Nakamura
out of his depression
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and put him on the path
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to becoming an advocate
for Asian Americans
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and a civil rights activist.
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During the film,
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the director dives into the art
of filmmaking,
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which, given his lineage,
would've been hard not to do,
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as Tad's mother, Karen Ishizuka,
is also a documentarian.
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She not only produced
her husband's films,
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she still found time to
establish herself as a writer.
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The entire family has filmmaking
in their blood.
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Third Act is a love letter
from Tad to Robert.
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The challenge for the son
was to make a film
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celebrating the career
of his legendary father
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while also establishing
his own talents as a filmmaker.
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Tad's won many awards
as a director.
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Third Act was nominated for the
Documentary Grand Jury Prize
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at Sundance.
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Who would've thought
it would be the father
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who helped his son escape the
shadow...of his father.
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Third Act starts now
on PBS Wisconsin,
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your home for independent film.