Educational Distribution
““Told with elegance and sensitivity, FTG is a story of happiness in hardship and of joy in adversity. Both a beautiful family history and a compelling reminder of a past too easily seen in the present, FTG will touch your heart and move you to action.””
Film: First to Go: Story of the Kataoka Family
Logline: One December morning in San Francisco, a young girl's father was forced from his home and family. He was first and 120,000 Americans were next. This is her story.
Synopsis: A couple hours after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941, Ichiro Kataoka was the first San Francisco Japanese prisoner taken by the FBI from his hotel in Japan Town. Through a series of unfortunate events, Ichiro would eventually reunite with his family three years later in Topaz, Utah after President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which forced all Japanese residing on the West Coast to relocate to desolate Internment Camps throughout the country. Their only crime was being of Japanese ancestry.
Decades later, though a collection of footage, the Kataoka family legacy is being told through Ichiro’s daughter, great grandson, and relatives of what this family had endured. Although this was a dark time in America’s history, we find that love and happiness can blossom in the darkest of places.
Directed & Produced: Myles Matsuno
Assistant Producers: Marjorie Bokowski, Christine Fukumitsu
Starring: Mary Matsuno, Margaret Takemoto, Joe Kataoka, & Toshi Handa
Cinematography: Jonathan M Smith, Myles Matsuno
Music: Immanuel James Davis
Art Director: Mark Matsuno
Film Editing: Myles Matsuno , Kevin Ray
