Nomoto - a BC tragedy

How did one of the first Japanese Canadian UBC graduates, Kyuichi Nomoto, until 1942 a successful Steveston church minister, suffer a breakdown deep in the BC Interior and die just two years later back in the Vancouver area from where his community had been displaced?

My connection to this story is through an old building in New Denver, and the Gastown discovery of a box of letters. This led to much research, and a modern-day journey to the sites of Nomoto's truncated life, and of the unjust Internment that began 80 years ago.

  • Chad Townsend
    Director
  • Owen Akira Kato
    Writer
  • Tamara Tasaka
    Narrator
  • Israel Seoane
    Director of Photography
  • Sandesh Malla
    Editor, VFX
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    22 minutes 45 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 7, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • The TV Fest
    Vernon
    September 16, 2023
    Best Documentary
  • NewWest FilmFest
    New Westminster
    October 23, 2022
    Official Selection, sold out theatre
  • Kootenay Film Festival
    Nelson
    September 30, 2022
    Official Selection
  • North Valley Mountain Film Festival
    Silverton, Kaslo
    March 4, 2023
    Official Selection
  • Powell Street Festival
    Vancouver
    August 6, 2023
    with Mental Health Discussion Panel
  • Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre
    New Denver
    June 21, 2023
Director - Chad Townsend