Resettlement: Chicago Story

Edited this narrative short with director Reina Higashitani. In festivals starting February 2023.

Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, Executive Order 9066 led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. Resettlement: Chicago Story tells an intergenerational story of the Yamamoto family several years after being placed in one of these camps, as they struggle to rebuild their lives and make ends meet through their family dry cleaning business. The film’s companion immersive learning website builds upon both the characters and historical events of incarceration and resettlement introduced in the film to create the “world” through which viewers can engage with facts, figures, and important social themes and asks students to consider what it would be like to be forced to leave your home, deny your heritage, and start over.

The full film will be available on the learning website soon.