How much has changed in the past decade for multi-racial young people?
That’s one of the questions that will be explored at an upcoming film screening and panel discussion at the Nikkei National Museum.
On Saturday, March 14, the museum will host a screening of One Big Hapa Family in recognition of the film’s 10th anniversary.
In 2010, local filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns started out on a journey of self-discovery after a family reunion where he realized that everyone in his Japanese-Canadian family had married interracially after his grandparents’ generation. The resulting film has been described as the “quintessential documentary on mixed Japanese Canadian identity” as it explores issues of interracial marriages and how the children of those families perceive their unique multi-racial identities.
The film uses innovative animation techniques to tell the stories of four generations of a Japanese-Canadian family.
Now, the March 14 screening and discussion will look at the issue 10 years on: How are mixed Japanese-Canadian youth self-identifying, and has anything really changed?
Stearns, who directed and produced One Big Hapa Family, will be joined by special guests from the film for a panel discussion after the screening.
Doors open at 6 p.m., and the event is set to run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m in the special events hall at the museum (6688 Southoaks Cres.). Tickets are $5 regular, $4 for seniors, or free for Nikkei Centre members and students. Buy online at centre.nikkeiplace.org/events/hapa-identity/ or call 604-777-7000, ext. 109.
