The Songbird of Manzanar

A quiet, moving documentary that lets a survivor's voice and music carry the weight of history.

Directed by

Cody Edison

Genres

Documentary

Starring

Mary Kageyama Nomura

Overview

Music provided relief during the years of the Japanese American internment throughout WWII. Mary Nomura performed in Manzanar for the three years of her incarceration, and she became known as the "Songbird of Manzanar." In this film, Mary shares old field recordings of her musical performances in Manzanar, believed to be the only surviving field recordings of music from Japanese American internment. In the conclusion of the film, Mary honors her nickname and sings one of her favorite jazz standards by George Gershwin.

How it feels

Melancholic, warm and earnest. Measured and needs your attention.

About

Memory, isolation, music, survival

Content

No violence, gore, sexual content or swearing.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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