Catch the Emmy Award-Winning*
From a Silk Cocoon on PBS!
(see a clip on Google, YouTube, or Wajju)

Tentative dates and times (please check local listings, as dates/times are subject to change):

2008:

Broadcast dates and times will be posted as soon as we know them!

Would you like to see From a Silk Cocoon on your local PBS station? All program scheduling decisions are made locally, so feel free to click here to contact your local PBS station to provide your comments and suggestions.

Would you like to share information about the broadcast with family, friends, colleagues, organizations? You can find ideas and suggestions for helping us get the word out by using our OUTREACH PACKET, just click HERE. Help us get the word out! Thanks very much!

* National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, San Francisco/Northern California Chapter

From a Silk Cocoon
Receives Northern California EMMY AWARD
for Outstanding Achievement
Historical/Cultural - Program

On Saturday, May 20, 2006, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, San Francisco/Northern California Chapter, awarded the filmmakers of From a Silk Cocoon with an Emmy Award in the Historical/Cultural Program category (click here for photo). From a Silk Cocoon was one of the four programs nominated for the award out of the twenty-four total submissions to the category. (Click here for more awards news!)

DVD copies of From a Silk Cocoon are now available by mail (checks/money orders only, for credit card orders see below), including copies with Japanese subtitles! Click here to download and print a .pdf form, complete (kindly specify and adhere to specific usage), and mail with payment to:

Hesono O Productions
2716 X Street
Sacramento CA 95818

To order using a credit card, please contact our distributor, the Center for Asian American Media (formerly NAATA):

Distribution Director
(415) 863-0814 x108
(415) 863-0814 x111
distribution@asianamericanmedia.org

or click here to order a COLLEGE / INSTITUTION copy from their Web site (please call or email CAAM to order a HOME USE copy).

All proceeds from sales will be put back towards the project as we hope to develop ancillary educational materials, including a Viewer's Guide, and to further develop and enhance our Web site. ______________________________________________

The discovery of a small metal box leads to the uncovering of a family story, shrouded in silence for more than 60 years. Woven through their censored letters, diary entries, and haiku poetry, is the true story of a young Japanese American couple whose shattered dreams and forsaken loyalties lead them to renounce their American citizenship while held in separate prison camps during World War II. They struggle to prove their innocence and fight deportation during a time of wartime hysteria and racial profiling.

Mark Halverson of Sacramento News & Review reviewed From a Silk Cocoon for the recently sold out sneak preview screening held at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento and wrote that From a Silk Cocoon ". . . offers a cautionary tale of homeland security . . . compelling . . . stretches beyond the basic facts of the Japanese-American internment experience into the dark and thorny corners of "perceived military necessity" that is just as frightening and relevant now as it was when it happened . . . An intimate portrait of a family under siege." Read complete review here.

From a Silk Cocoon is produced by the Emmy-nominated Hesono O Productions team of Satsuki Ina, Stephen Holsapple, Emery Clay III, and Kim Ina.

“POWERFUL. I was . . . impressed with the film's honesty with respect to renunciation issues. This is art on film . . . the poetry and narrative come together so perfectly . . . Bravo, bravo!” John Christgau, author, Enemies: World War II Alien Internment

“. . . the issues of renunciation and loyalty resonate deeply with the currenty concerns over war and patriotisem . . . a very important film . . . ” Taro Goto, Assistant Director, San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

“. . . particularly compelling because it is personal and well-documented . . . not much is know about the 5,461 Japanese American internees who surrendered their citizenship in the camps.” Dixie Reid, Sacramento Bee

“. . . touching . . . it's important to see this film, because it's a very personal experience. You see how a family was disrupted.” Former Assemblyman George Nakano

“This gripping story of steadfast love and red tape is suspenseful to the end . . .” Frako Loden, San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

“Itaru Ina's powerful, poetic haikus to his wife underscore his loneliness and sense of betrayal by the U.S. government.” Brian Kluepfel, Asian Week

“This film . . . creates a genuine understanding of why and how [Ina's parents] chose to renounce their citizenship. . . . Highly recommended.” Jessica Shomberg, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Educational Media Reviews Online

“. . . disturbing and memorable . . . a unique perspective . . . An intelligent, jolting work . . . highly recommended.” Video Librarian

Partial funding for this program was provided by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP) and the Center for Asian American Media (formerly NAATA).