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Little Guayule: The Lost Manzanar Rubber Project

With the lightning conquest of the rubber plantations of SE Asia by Imperial Japan in the early years of the Pacific War, America and its Allies were suddenly confronted with the loss of the majority of the world’s raw rubber—the basic resource for everything from vehicular and aircraft tires to electrical wire insulation and so much more. A mad scramble to mobilize academics, science, technology and industry to develop viable rubber substitutes ensued. Almost lost in the billion dollar Big Picture was the astounding “Little Guayule” project conducted at the Manzanar concentration camp in the High Desert of Eastern California. Under the leadership of Cal Tech professors, a crack team of imprisoned Japanese-American scientists, horticulturalists and farm workers solved the puzzle under the harshest of conditions… only to be swept under the rug at the conclusion of the War.

  • Cory Shiozaki
    Director
    The Manzanar Fishing Club
  • Richard Imamura
    Writer
    The Manzanar Fishing Club
  • Cory Shiozaki
    Producer
    The Manzanar Fishing Club
  • Richard Imamura
    Producer
    The Manzanar Fishing Club
  • Sam McMurray
    Key Cast
    "Narrator"
  • Bonnie Perkinson
    Key Cast
    "Titta Emerson"
  • Larry Blumenthal
    Music Composer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    US History, Documentary, Japanese American Incarceration
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 4 minutes 24 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    100,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • NA
Distribution Information
  • NA
Director Biography - Cory Shiozaki

Cory Shiozaki is a Vietnam veteran of Japanese American descent whose parents were denied their Civil Rights and forcibly incarcerated and placed into concentration camps during WWII as a result of an Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin Roosevelt. He is also a retired 40-year member of the International Cinematographers guild turned documentary film director whose career credits span from episodic tv series and sitcoms like Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Taxi to more current ones like Mom, Last Man Standing, 2 Broke Girls and Fuller House, Baywatch, Starsky & Hutch, Knight Rider, the A-Team, Murder She Wrote, CHiP’s and more. Most memorable feature film credits are: Back to the Future, Training Day and Dances With Wolves. Aside from his camera related experiences, Shiozaki’s lifelong goal was to make a film about the untold story of the Japanese American incarceration that was not explained or discussed by either parent of their forced removal during WW II. In 2012 he produced and directed the documentary film the Manzanar Fishing Club that was shown theatrically through various theater chains including AMC.

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Director Statement

Little Guayule: The Lost Manzanar Rubber Project documents the serious need the US was facing in search of an alternative source natural rubber that was desperately needed for the war effort against the Axis forces of Europe. During WW II. This film is a companion piece to my film the Manzanar Fishing Club that was awarded a Certificate of Congressional Recognition and was shown to members of Congress on Capitol Hill in July 2012.