“Growing Up Behind Barbed Wire” 2022

Watch this 7 minute film to understand the story behind “The Kindness of Color” and Mendez, et al. v. Westminster, et al.  Inspired by the book, the animated film captures our Munemitsu story of leaving Westminster for the Poston incarceration camp through the eyes of 7 year old twin sisters, my aunts.  

Forced to leave the only home they knew during WWII because of their Japanese heritage, this true story is the prelude to the school segregation the Mendez family would face on this same Westminster farm.

The film is a perfect complement to my book and for students and classroom use when studying WWII, American history, and the Japanese American incarceration.  

The film is directed/produced by Brendan Bubion, as his thesis for this MFA degree in documentary filmmaking, Dodge College of Film, Chapman University.  Brendan’s hope is for the film to be used in classrooms so that this history is taught and known. 

The California premiere was at the Newport Beach Film Festival, October 19, 2023. It was also officially selected as the Best Student Film 2023 at the Thin Line Film Festival, Denton TX; as well as at the 2023 Riverrun Film Festival, Winston-Salem, NC and 2023 Northwest Fest Documentary Film Festival, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

I am honored to have Brendan select our story as his thesis film and as advocate and ally to sharing all of history. 

Janice