NEWPORT BEACH —?“Benkyodo: The Last Manju Shop in J-Town” will be shown on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 3:30 p.m. at The Lot 2, 999 Newport Center Dr., Newport Beach, as part of Newport Beach Film Festival’s “Shorts Lives Through Foods” program.
Benkyodo, operated by Ricky and Bobby Okamura, closed its doors last year after more than a century. Established in 1906, the manju shop served the San Francisco Japantown community continously except during World War II. Filmmakers Tadashi Nakamura and Akira Boch tell the story of the beloved family-owned business. which endured the anti-Asian laws of the early 20th century, wartime incarceration, redevelopment of the 1960s, and San Francisco’s notorious high costs of living.
The unsurmountable economic pressure, coupled with the two brothers’ desire to preserve their Japanese heritage, family business and community space, create an age-old conflict many children of diaspora face — between the laborious preservation of culture or the submission to the economic forces of racial capitalism.
Showing with “Circle of Donuts,” “Disco Sauce: The Unbelievable True Story of Penne Alla Vodka,” “Spear, Spatula, Submarine: Floridians Fight to Take Back Their Waters,” “A Roadside Banquet,” and “Food That Saves You.”
Info: https://newportbeachfilmfest.com/