Private Project

For the Sake of the Children

Now 75 years after the U.S. incarceration of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans, For the Sake of the Children explores the legacy of those imprisoned, its impact on current generations, descendants of incarcerated mothers, and the complex interplay of culture, racial prejudice, history, and intergenerational differences. Depicting the fallout of injustice, this film echoes our current struggle of grappling with racial indignities and inequality.

For the Sake of the Children captures the diverse voices of three generations: mothers who surmounted confinement, racial prejudice and dealt with displacement and resettlement; adult children of this generation who speak of their struggle to assimilate in a postwar society while unknowingly dealing with both parental shame triggered by imprisonment and silent suffering; and the subsequent generation who attempt to uncover, comprehend and integrate their ancestor’s experiences into their lives. Each speaks of their search for a Japanese American identity.

  • Joe Fox
    Director
    Question One, Passing Poston
  • Marlene Shigekawa
    Director
  • Joe Fox
    Writer
    Question One, Passing Poston
  • Marlene Shigekawa
    Writer
  • Marlene Shigekawa
    Producer
  • Joe Fox
    Producer
    Question One, Passing Poston
  • James Nubile
    Producer
    Question One, Passing Poston
  • Monica Embry
    Key Cast
  • Don Aoki
    Key Cast
  • Amy Tsubokawa
    Key Cast
  • Patti Tsubokawa Reeves
    Key Cast
  • Mary Higuchi
    Key Cast
  • George Takei
    Key Cast
    Star Trek
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 4 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 29, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    250,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Joe Fox, Marlene Shigekawa

Prior to Fly On The Wall Productions, Joe Fox wrote regularly for USA Today as well as for numerous other national publications. Articles have included features on Rwanda, the Middle East, South Africa, Northern Ireland and Chernobyl. In 1996, his series “Voices Of Peace” (a four part series for USA Today on the peace process in Northern Ireland, South Africa and Israel) was chosen as that paper’s submission for the Pulitzer Prize.
He is also a playwright whose most recent play on adoption – PRISM VIEW – was produced as an off-Broadway workshop. His previous play, AND IT NEVER RAINS, about the Los Angeles riots was produced at the Los Angeles Theater Center and was awarded the Special Merit Citation by the city of Los Angeles.

He is the producer and director of documentary films: Passing Poston and Question 1.
Passing Poston chronicles four stories of individuals who were sent to Japanese internment camps during WWII. Question 1 is an insider’s look at the two campaigns that waged the battle for and against same-sex marriage in Maine in 2009.

He has a B.A. in Journalism from New York University.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

For the Sake of the Children, a documentary film focusing on four generations who are descendants of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, captures the traumatic fallout of injustice and reveals what it takes for one ethnic group to achieve the American dream

The themes of this project touch upon prejudice and racial profiling and have relevance today as our society continues to grapple with racial indignities and injustices and also as we strive to stay rational and avoid wartime hysteria. It is a story that elevates the struggle for social justice in our society. In 2017, the Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center in Washington DC will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin Roosevelt. This order triggered the mass evacuation of 110,000 Japanese Americans from their homes on the West Coast.

The stories featured in our film need to be heard by all Americans.