In the opening narration for the documentary “The Ito Sisters: An American Story,” director Antonia Grace Glenn states, “My family started recording interviews with my grandmother and her two sisters when they were in their 80s and 90s. At first these were home movies, capturing familiar family stories.” She continues, “But the three sisters wanted to keep talking. And as they did, they revealed a complicated and surprising chronicle of the early Japanese-American experience.”
The Ito sisters were Nancy, Lillian, and Hedy, and their story began after their father decided to make a life for himself in America as a farmer in 1897. Eventually the family settled in California’s Sacramento River Delta.
The documentary is a lesson in American history as much as it is a family portrait. There’s personal anecdotes about growing up in the first half of the 20th century, as well as stories about marriages, children, and hardships. The film also explores how many historical events impacted the lives of the Ito family. These include school segregation, racist American immigration policies, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, the Great Depression, and World War II.
As a West Coast family comprised of Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans, the Itos were forced to leave everything behind and relocate to internment camps for the duration of the war. The sisters’ experiences in the concentration camps are examined in depth, and evoke allusions to current events — namely the crisis at the U.S. border. The film also makes comparisons between the treatment of Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor to Muslim-Americans following 9/11.
The story of the Ito sisters is complemented by family photographs, archival news footage, contemporaneous quotes from prominent figures, and commentary from academics. Making the documentary even more of a family affair is its leading scholar, sociologist Evelyn Nakano Glenn, daughter of an Ito sister and mother to the filmmaker. There are also animated sequences that help depict the family’s saga, as well as a score that’s a mix of jazzy Big Band and traditional Japanese music.
Ultimately, the Ito girls exude sisterly affection, and the documentary lovingly tells their story. They’ll remind everyone of their grandma, and leave viewers feeling warm, in spite of the solemn subject matter.
“The Ito Sisters: An American Story” has been broadcast on PBS and screened at multiple film festivals. It has won several prizes, including the Sacramento Japanese Film Fest’s Emerging Filmmaker Award and Berkeley Video & Film Fest’s Grand Festival Award and Audience Award.
Upcoming Screenings:
- August 17 – Japanese Film Festival Los Angeles – Costa Mesa, California
- August 18 – Care Connection Network – Huntington Beach, California
- August 24 – Cincinnati African & Asian Diaspora Film Festival – Cincinnati, Ohio
- September 20 – Smithsonian – Washington, D.C.
- November 7 – The Osher Marin JCC – San Rafael, California
Keep an eye on the film’s official website for added screenings.
Published monthly, Under the Radar offers a chance for us to highlight works by and/or about women that haven’t received big releases or significant coverage in the press, but are wholly worthy of attention.
To recommend a title for this feature, please e-mail womenandhollywoodinterns@gmail.com.
