Yuki Shimoda: Asian American Actor

The thirty-year acting career of the late Yuki Shimoda reflects the achievement and career disappointments that faced the minority actor. Only offered limited roles by the Hollywood establishment during certain points of his career, Shimoda persevered on for challenging dramatic roles, such as in the television movie, FAREWELL TO MANZANAR. Shimoda’s journey from Sacramento’s “J-Town,” to his imprisonment in an American concentration camp, and his experiences on Broadway and Hollywood are insightfully explored through interviews and selected clips from his film and television work. Among those interviewed include directors Harold Prince and John Korty; actors Mako, Beulah Quo, Nobu McCarthy, Soon Tek Oh; and agent Guy Lee.

YUKI SHIMODA: ASIAN AMERICAN ACTOR was written and directed by John Esaki, for many years a mainstay at Visual Communications. As a student at UCLA’s Film Program, he co-wrote the feature-length HITO HATA: RAISE THE BANNER. Esaki directed the influential MACEO: DEMON DRUMMER FROM EAST L.A., as well as the Visual Communications docu-drama STAND UP FOR JUSTICE.