Filmmaker Tadashi explores his father Robert A. Nakamura's life as an influential Asian American artist and activist, wh | dG1fR2lGdmZBVFFNdEk
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Short filmTranscript
00:00My name is Tadashi Nakamura. I'm the director of Third Act, which will be playing in the
00:11U.S. documentary competition in the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Third Act is a film about my
00:17dad, Robert A. Nakamura's pioneering film career, our unique relationship as a father
00:22and son filmmaking team, and our struggle navigating his current battle with Parkinson's
00:27disease. My dad is known as the godfather of Asian American media. Amongst many other
00:33things, he directed the first feature narrative film made by and about Asian Americans, and
00:39founded the first Asian American media arts organization. Most of my dad's work is inspired
00:44by his own experience of being incarcerated in a World War II Japanese American concentration
00:49camp as a kid. My dad and I have made many films together, and I always envisioned us
00:55making this one together as well. But when my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's, I
01:00found myself struggling to make this film while dealing with his declining health, trying
01:04to process a darker side of his past that I never knew about, all while learning to
01:08be a new father myself. At the heart of Third Act is a father and son story, as my dad and
01:17I use filmmaking to navigate art, activism, grief, and fatherhood. We're super excited
01:23to share this film with the world. Can't wait for you to see it. Thanks.