Tadashi Nakamura (filmmaker)

Nakamura is a fourth generation Japanese American, born and raised in Los Angeles. His father, Robert A. Nakamura, is also a filmmaker and is sometimes referred to as "the Godfather of Asian American media".[1][2] His mother is the author and filmmaker Karen L. Ishizuka.[3]

Nakamura's films focus on the Japanese American experience. Three of his films, Yellow Brotherhood, Pilgrimage, and A Song for Ourselves, form a documentary trilogy about Asian Americans and the importance of community. His most recent film, Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings, is a full-length documentary about Jake Shimabukuro, a Japanese American ukulele virtuoso and composer from Hawaii. The film won the 2013 Gotham Independent Film Audience Award.[4]

Nakamura received a M.A. in Social Documentation from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)[5] in 2008. He received a B.A. in Asian American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)[6] in 2003. His father is also a graduate of UCLA (MFA, 1975).

• Yellow Brotherhood (2003)
• Pilgrimage (2007)[7]
• A Song for Ourselves (2009)
• Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings (2012)
• Mele Murals (2016)[8]

• Tadashi Nakamura on IMDb