In the middle of the night, before they are to be sent to a U.S. internment camp, one family buries a secret in their backyard garden. Eighty years later, a clue is discovered and what begins as a mystery soon turns criminal as a family of different minds try to come together to discover the truth of their past.
Written and directed by Paul Daisuke Goodman, “No No Girl” is a story told from the generations of Japanese Americans who suffer to this day from the incarceration of their ancestors during World War II. In the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans were, by executive action, evicted from their homes and sent to barracks in isolated camps scattered across the country. Many families, including the fictional one portrayed in “No No Girl,” didn’t want to part with their treasured possessions — so they buried them.
After the war, many of these families would return to their homes to find them ransacked, destroyed, vandalized with racism and hate and sometimes even outright stolen. They would have to start again, and move on. “No No Girl” explores three generations of Japanese Americans who discover the existence of family heirlooms in a home that is no longer theirs.
What it brings is more complicated than joy or relief because their place in history is complicated. This film explores identity and family, nationality and pride. And watching our characters ask themselves: If it’s yours, is it really stealing?
The cast includes Mika Dyo, Chris Tashima, Scott Keiji Takeda, Kurt Kanazawa, Jyl Kaneshiro, Hannah Leigh, Gary Murakami, Ken Narasaki, Josh Reynolds, Diana Tanaka, Mekael Dawson, Maggie Egan, Jenny Katrina, Kyler Miyake, Kendall Procaccino and Courtney Yada.
“No No Girl” opens Friday at Laemmle’s Glendale, 207 N. Maryland Ave., Glendale. Showtimes:
Friday, Sept. 9, and Saturday, Sept. 10: 1:20, 4:15, 7:10, 10:10 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 11, through Thursday, Sept. 15: 1:20, 4:15, 7:10 p.m.
Q&A schedule after 7 p.m. showings:
Saturday, Sept. 10: Mika Dyo (lead) and Hannah Leigh (supporting)
Sunday, Sept. 11: Chris Tashima (supporting), Jyl Kaneshiro (supporting), Paul Goodman (writer/director)
Tuesday, Sept. 13: Scott Keiji Takeda (supporting), Kurt Kanazawa (supporting)
Thursday, Sept. 15: Paul Goodman (writer/director):
For more information, call (310) 478-3836 or visit www.laemmle.com.