little vera ( russian : ма́ленькая ве́ра , malenkaya vera ) , produced at the gorky film studio and released in 1988 , is a film by russian film director vasili pichul .

the title in russian is ambiguous and can also mean " little faith , " symbolizing the characters ' lack of hope ( or a glimmer thereof ) .

the film was the leader in ticket sales in the soviet union in 1988 with 54.9 million viewers , and was the most successful soviet film in the us since moscow does not believe in tears .

part of its popularity was due to being one of the first soviet movies with explicit sexual scenes .

the film 's main character and namesake is a teenage girl , who just having finished school feels trapped in her provincial town .

with its pessimistic and cynical view of soviet society , the film was typical of its time ( perestroika ) , during which many such films , collectively known as the chernukha ( russian : чернуха , roughly " black stuff " ) , were released .

however , the film 's popularity did not prove long lived .

the film received 6 awards and was nominated for 8 more .

among its wins , it received " best actress " for natalya negoda at the nika awards in 1989 .

the film 's director , vasili pichul , received the special jury prize at the 1988 montreal world film festival and fipresci prize at the 1988 venice film festival .

the soundtrack 's main theme consists of two songs performed by sofia rotaru " bylo no proshlo " ( it was , but it has gone ) and " tol ' ko etogo malo " ( only this is not enough ) , " the leitmotif of the perestroika classic little vera " .

little vera

the irony is that
little vera
is being sold as a sex film .
she may have little faith , but there ' s lots of faith to be had in the movie .
because vasily pichul ' s ' ' little vera ' ' is a russian film , i suppose that vera must be analyzed as a political statement , a startling indication of just how open mikhail s . gorbachev ' s new russian society actually is .
little vera
is extremely autobiographical . vasily pichul , 27 , director of this first feature , was born into vera ' s grim blue - collar milieu in the smoke - infested , water - polluted port city of zhdanov - - named for andrei zhdanov , a notorious architect of stalin ' s purges . there ,
little vera
was filmed in an apartment identical to that still occupied by pichul ' s parents .
for americans ,
little vera
confirms what we already knew : life for the poor , the unemployed and the alcoholic is as bad in the soviet union as it is here .
' ' little vera ' ' will be shown tonight at 9 and tomorrow at 12 : 30 p . m . at the museum of modern art in the new directors / new films series .
with
little vera ,
a daring 1988 feature from moscow ' s gorky studio unveiled at the 12th montreal world film festival which wraps up today , glasnost comes storming out of the gate . even those skeptical about the new artistic freedom in the soviet union must concede that
little vera ,
which opens later this year in the soviet union and the united states , breaks the rules and crosses all boundaries .
scintillating portrait of russia after the fall of communism . vera painfully navigates the course of societal freedom minus any structure ( with little guidance from her dysfunctional family ) . natalya negoda is amazing in the title role .
roger ebert was born on this day in 1942 , and died a little over five years ago . i owe a good part of my success…
/ \ russian and soviet films with english subs on my channel . bring a little piece of russian culture into your life ! / \ ussr , 1988 genre - drama cast : natalya negoda - - vera andrei sokolov - - sergei yuri nazarov - - kolya ( vera ' s father ) lyudmila zajtseva - - rita ( vera ' s mother ) aleksandr negreba ( billed as aleksandr alekseyev - nyegreba ) - - victor ( vera ' s brother ) andrei fomin - - andrey watch my channel and enjoy ! )
the strategy of selling a foreign film on its sexual content is tried and true , but
little vera
is not a sexy film , and its star is not the new bardot or loren . the sex in
little vera
is sweaty and passionate but not erotic . the film ' s real fascination comes from its portrait of everyday life in the soviet union - life that contains few surprises but never has been shown with such frankness and honesty in a soviet film .
, with regular excursions to the bedroom of vera ' s lover . vera is well played by natalya negoda , whose beautiful body and somewhat grating voice make her at once sensuous and irritating . with blond - streaked hair , cigarettes , and a promiscuous manner of behavior , vera represents the rebellious soviet youth . vera struggles throughout the movie to overcome her mundane surroundings and banal existence , but to no avail .
sergei represents sophistication to vera . he is laid back , cool , completely sure of himself . at his initial meeting with vera ' s parents , a formal sunday dinner , he turns up wearing bermuda shorts . during the meal , bored by the conversation , he grabs vera ' s hand and walks out .
at recent soviet - style sneak previews of
little vera ,
audiences were especially impressed by nazarov ' s expert portrayal of the lowly alcoholic father , because the actor ; pichul explained , normally plays ,
commissars , party people , those who don ' t know what doubt means .
with the headline : reviews / film festival ; ' vera , ' a russian love story , abrasive and comic .
' ' little vera ' ' is a far cry from ' ' moscow does not believe in tears , ' ' the schmaltzy russian romantic comedy that won the foreign - language oscar some years ago , though not because of its partial nudity and its awareness that people sometimes enjoy sex out of wedlock .
among the scenes in
little vera
that we have not seen in a soviet movie before is one where policemen with guard dogs break up a meeting place of teenagers . the film is frankly on the side of youth and against authority , and the cops are seen as repressive agents of a humorless system .
one of the major aspects of
malenkaya vera
( called
little vera
in english ) is that it was the first movie from the soviet union that featured a sex scene , albeit a short one . the title is important : vera is the russian word for
faith
, identifying that punk vera ( natalya negoda ) has little faith in the soviet system . and as the movie shows , there ' s not much faith to be had in it . the opening scene shows the bleak industrial town of zhdanov , nearly a hell on earth . when vera ' s lover sergei ( andrey sokolov ) moves in with her family , it leads to some unexpected events . like in many russian movies , people ' s names describe their characters . for example , there ' s viktor ( remember that
victor
means winner ) . all in all , this is a good look at the soviet union while it was collapsing - and we can see why it was collapsing . really good .
until now ,
little vera
has eluded censorship , though pichul acknowledged that
rumors persist in some official circles that the film distorts reality , blackens everything , and that such works shouldn ' t be allowed to exist .
but the film has strong allies within the soviet filmmakers union , and groundswell public support bolstered by pichul ' s strategic casting of two beloved soviet actors , ludmilla zaitzeva and yuri nazarov , as vera ' s parents .
life in the cramped apartment becomes impossible . the drunken father fights with sergei , who moves out , and vera attempts suicide .
' ' little vera ' ' is less critical and daring than honest and frank . more important , it doesn ' t simplify or attempt to explain the contradictory natures of the characters . they ' re not exactly chekhovian , but they are complex , sometimes self - deluding and almost always , at some point , most engagingly comic .
but nothing works in her life , including engagement to a nihilistic university student . vera teeters between a doomed marriage and the allure of suicide .
the title character of the russian little vera is a headstrong teenage girl , played by natalya negoda . to the dismay of her parents , vera lives only for the moment , making no provision for her future . she ' d rather hang out at local cafes in garish makeup and provocative clothing . a chance meeting with handsome student sergei ( andrei sokolov ) develops into a sexual relationship . her parents send out vera ' s brother ( alexander alexeyev - negreba ) to talk some sense into her , which proves to be doubly dicey when it turns out that the brother is an old acquaintance of the rebellious sergei . vera lies , saying that she ' s gotten pregnant by sergei , so he obligingly marries her and moves in with her family , which serves only to make matters worse , as vera ' s drunken father ( yuri nazarov ) ends up stabbing his son - in - law . persuaded to lie about the incident to keep her father out of jail , vera takes her family ' s side . a last - minute tragedy is barely averted , but the audience gets the distinct feeling that vera ' s problems with her family in particular and her life in general are far from over . ~ hal erickson , rovi
miss negoda ' s vera is an enchanting creature . she ' s willful , sweet , a little silly and essentially honest . she has a laugh that is a fishwife ' s cackle , which , like elizabeth taylor ' s , is all the more infectious for having no apparent relation to the beauty from which it issues . miss negoda could be the discovery of the year .
but ' ' little vera ' ' is so funny , so abrasive and so true that it transcends newsworthiness . it stands on its own . it also suggests that in mr . pichul , its 28 - year - old director , and in mariya khmelik , who wrote the screenplay , the russians have a pair of first - rate new film makers who will soon be internationally known .
however , the most radical element of
little vera
is its obstinately pessimistic tone , a total rejection of the mandated pollyannaish romanticism of traditional stalin - khruschev - brezhnev cinema . never has there been such a bleak , kitchen - sink look at the daily life of soviet citizenry . some viewers may even wish for the return of the halcyon days of happy , politically correct tractor drivers .
little vera
comes advertised as the first soviet film to deal frankly with youth rebellion , discontent with the system , and sex . its star , natalya negoda , has gained a measure of fame by being the first soviet actress to appear nude in a fairly explicit sex scene . to help launch the film in america , negoda posed nude for playboy and told her story to people magazine .
' ' little vera ' ' will be opening a regular commercial run at the lincoln plaza on april 14 . go . adrift in a world of people on course little vera , directed by vasily pichul ; screenplay ( in russian with english subtitles ) by maryia khmelik ; photography by yefim reznikov ; edited by yelena zabolotskaya ; music by vladimir matetsky ; art direction by vladimir pasternak ; production company , gorky film studios ; an international film exchange release . at roy and niuta titus theater 1 , museum of modern art , as part of the new directors / new films series . running time : 130 minutes . this film has no rating . vera . . . natalya negoda sergei . . . andrei sokolov the father . . . yuri nazarov the mother . . . lyudmila zaitseva andrei . . . andrei fomin viktor . . . aleksandr alekseyev - negreba tolik . . . aleksandr mironov chistiakova . . . aleksandra tabakova mikhail petrovich . . . aleksandra linkov
vera ( natalia negoda ) is a tough , coarse 18 - year - old residing with her parents in a public housing project in a factory town far south of moscow . vera ' s pathetic father drinks himself sick every day in search of his male self - respect . her angry mother screams and shouts in stream - of - consciousness across the apartment ' s tiny three rooms . vera fights her claustrophobic home life by donning leather miniskirts , streaking her hair , and chasing after boys .
when sergei very casually suggests that maybe he and vera should marry , her parents immediately insist that he move in with them , which is when the trouble really starts .
is a coming - of - age film centered around vera ' s relationship with her family and her tumultuous affair with a good - looking but egocentric college student . this hunk , sergio ( andrei sokolov ) , after deciding that he and vera shall be wed , moves into her humble home . sergio ' s disdain for vera ' s parents soon becomes mutual , resulting in a progressively more belligerent atmosphere . vera eventually confides to her best friend lena that she is completely miserable in what should be
the happiest time of her life .
when lena shares a stress - reducing yoga exercise learned from her boyfriend , the two fall to the floor and laugh with a single
ha !
in montreal , this metal worker ' s son wore fancy continental clothes , drank campari for the first time , and swore allegiance to the international film community of directors schlondorf , scorsese and tarkovsky . he was flanked at parties by his attractive wife , the daughter of a well - known screenwriter , and by
my platonic love ,
little vera ' s
lead , negoda , 24 , sultry and leggy and who could emerge as the soviet union ' s first sex star .
a story about a young woman , vera , who is somebody , living the life of a troubled teenager in the time right before the end of the soviet union . she lives in a very small russian apartment with her mother and father , however being this close to each other makes the living get rough . their daily life is plagued with massive amounts of alcohol ( mainly vodka ) and when she tries to escape her home life , she meets up with a boyfriend , sergei who then moves into her already small apartment after sleeping with her . every day little vera has to go through hell just to get by , which even involves her going against her own morals after her father has done something extremely wrong .
vera , played with remarkable comic authority by natalya negoda , is not doomy enough to be classified as seriously alienated . underneath the punk hair style that her parents have learned not to criticize , she ' s bright , quick and common - sensical , adrift in a world where everyone else appears to be traveling a set course . vera is just out of school and about to take a job with the telephone company .
perhaps the most striking moment of the film occurs when vera learns that she was not a
wanted
child . why didn ' t her parents abort the pregnancy ? the answer is not the one americans would expect : vera was born so that her father could get the larger apartment he wanted . this situation is typical of the film - - it provides american viewers with a characteristic slice of life in the soviet union .
her mother and father panic when vera acknowledges she ' s having an affair with a good - looking young student named sergei , whom she met one night after a public dance that turned into a rock - riot .
vera herself finds what cheer she can in the arms of sergei , who meets her at a dance . he is an
intellectual ,
a nonconformist , but it is hard for him to express his free spirit when he must move into vera ' s flat with her warring parents . ( the housing shortage in the soviet union actually is one of the film ' s most important themes ; none of the characters can count on a moment ' s privacy . ) vera and sergei share a few moments of happiness , including one ironic interlude on the beach , where they pause in their lovemaking to discuss their goals , and vera says ,
in our country , we have but one goal : communism .
this line , in all of its sarcasm , reportedly has become as famous in the soviet union as
plastics !
became after the 1967 release of
the graduate
in this country .
a story about a young woman , vera , who is somebody , living the life of a troubled teenager in the time right before the end of the soviet union . she lives in a very small russian apartment . . . see full summary »
the sole reference to marxist ideology is an ironic one , when the bikini - clad protagonist , vera , lies across her amour ' s body on the beach and declares , tongue - in - cheek ,
we have a common goal : communism .
not surprisingly , vera seeks to escape from this life , and she leaves the apartment with relief , dressed in a mini - skirt , to hang out with a group of nonconformist teenagers who like to listen to rock ' n ' roll and bait the authorities .
in the meantime , she waits around . when she can , she hangs out with her girlfriends , picking up boys . she shares a cramped , working - class apartment with her father , who is a decent sort until he drinks ( when he turns into a slob ) , and her mother , a once pretty woman who works too hard at her job and spends her exhausted off hours fretting . the arbiter of family disputes is vera ' s older brother , viktor , a doctor who lives in moscow and who is telephoned every time vera does something wrong , which is constantly .
does dust intend to make any political commentary ? maybe not . but its imaginative use of the soundtrack—in counterpoint to the image—is quite damning . lesha’s therapeutic dance with the psychology student is set to alla pugacheva’s pop rendition of mandel ' shtam’s macabre “leningrad . ” lesha’s comic attempts to impress chance acquaintances with the documentary evidence of his “other body” are accompanied by sofia rotaru’s “only this is not enough”—the leitmotif of the perestroika classic little vera ( vasilii pichul , 1988 ) . but the film’s gem is viktor tsoi’s song “we are waiting for changes ! ” which acquired a quasi - religious status after the release of sergei solov ' ev’ assa ( 1988 ) . the song plays twice at the film’s end : the first time as an ironic quote , when lesha runs through the long corridor towards the lab and the promised land ; the second as the final credits start rolling . this time , the song acquires a body : a young man angrily interprets the lyrics into sign language .
the film takes place in a provincial city where vera , a restless teenager , lives in a cramped three - room apartment with her al coholic father and her thoroughly disillusioned mother . a brother has moved to moscow . life in the family is a drab routine : the self - pitying , unemployed father gets up in the morning and starts to drink , and the mother and daughter plan their days around his rages and remorses .
cut to a small , exceptionally pretty young woman as she stands on the tiny balcony of one of those apartment blocks , leaning on the rail in cheeky boredom . she is vera and she is definitely not forever . with the exception of her surprising spirit , everything about her will soon wear out or be cheerfully forgotten , including her dark glasses , the gum she is chewing and the loud rock music she ' s listening to .
takes place in the soviet union , the moral of the film is foreign only to the extent that americans ( and hollywood films ) seem to pride themselves on a constant glimmer of hope . the misery , however , is universal . it is not until half - way through the film , when vera says to sergio ,
we have a common goal . . . communism ,
that we are forced to remember that we are dealing with the soviet union and not just any desolate place .
the film that shocked the soviets with its depiction of your average russian family as a squalid , sottish , violent bunch of amoral no - hopers . filtered through western eyes , the sex scenes seem mild , the foul language blunted by subtitles , and the rebellious stance tame . but the film ' s message is still subtly affecting . the circumscribed sadness of life in a dull industrial town ; the inability of the generations to understand each other ; the hard eyed look at love as an explosive and divisive , not redemptive force ; these themes are mercilessly delineated . there ' s also a welcome anarchic humour at work : when stolid sergei bemoans vera ' s lack of purpose , she writhes on top of him purring : ' you and i share the same goal . communism ' . you can feel the shock waves from here . the film ' s chief revelation is negoda ' s searing performance as vera , a feisty , mean - minded hellcat who injects chaos into every life that touches hers . the booze fuelled tale is wildly melodramatic , but the performances , pitilessly shot in gritty , realistic settings , are excellent .
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urltoken
an independent , small - budget ( no - budget , to be precise ) film shot on digital camera , dust seemed an unlikely candidate for any recognition amidst the bombast of such new russian “blockbusters” as the turkish gambit ( dzhanik faiziev , 2005 ) and company 9 ( fedor bondarchuk , 2005 ) . nonetheless , upon its release in june 2005 loban’s film immediately raked in a dozen enthusiastic reviews by major russian film critics , who repeatedly called this modest film a sign of a new direction in russian cinema . screened in the “perspectives” program at the moscow film festival , [ 1 ] dust received a diploma of the jury of russian film critics for the “experiment on the body of the hero and on the language of cinema . ” while the second part of this peculiar citation is expected praise for an independent production , the first part has to do with the script . the plot is simple , clever , and—to avoid the tired imprecision of the word “topical”—contemporary .
the hero of dust is lesha sergeev ( aleksei podol ' skii ) , an obese 24 - year old man , balding and myopic , who lives with his grandmother . this intelligentnaia woman monitors every aspect of lesha’s life , from the intake of proteins and glucose ( franks and sugar - loaded tea for breakfast ) to suitable leisure ( making model airplanes ) to an appropriate outfit ( an oversized t - shirt with a kitten print , purchased in a second - hand store ) . for the duration of the film , lesha’s amorphous body will be draped in this “unisex” monstrosity , exchanged for female clothing at the film’s end . this expository part of the film is a small masterpiece of acting , editing , and mise - en - scène . unpretentious and unsentimental , the sequence has lesha’s entire life laid out with an unerring feel for turn - of - the - millennium russia : a fully internalized sense of alienation from “reality . ” lesha’s face , torso , hands , and even the kitten on his t - shirt , magnified and distorted by close - ups , all articulate dejected bewilderment .
by some fluke lesha is selected by the fsb to participate in an “experiment” for the “glory of russian science . ” neither the purpose nor , indeed , the nature of the experiment is clear , but its side effect has a profound impact on lesha in the form of a flickering image of the
lesha , a muscular , fit , and assertive one . in a gogolian attempt to regain this other body’s “beauty and power , ” the hero desperately chases after his athletic double through the streets , clubs , and gyms of post - soviet moscow . the hero’s sluggishness and submissiveness disappear , replaced by an outburst of activity . initially lesha follows the fsb instructions : do not return to the lab and call a psychologist in case of “anxiety . ” lesha’s further actions follow the same obscure but effective logic as ivan the homeless’ attempts to catch the elusive “foreigner” in mikhail bulgakov’s
. first lesha goes to victory park on poklonnaia mountain ; then tries to squeeze his way back into the lab ; finally , he tracks down the professor of gynecology in charge of the experiment ( petr mamonov ) and , despite the latter’s warnings , goes in for a lethal dose of the “experiment . ”
to say that dust is an independent cinema project by a team of audacious alternative artists only begins to describe this uncanny film and its creators . during the 1990s , director sergei loban and scriptwriter marina potapova created an art group with the shocking name zaibi— “for anonymous and free art . ” the two of them plus cameraman dmitrii model ' also worked on the program up to 16 and older for the ort channel . the self - proclaimed anarchists invited alternative artists to their programs , organized “street parties” ( a post - soviet analogue of conceptualist collective actions ) , and arranged fake pr campaigns for aspiring duma candidates . by 2000 their unorthodox activities became too much for the channel to take , at which point the trio announced the creation of the studio svoi 2000 . after several shorts , svoi 2000 made its debut feature film dust .
dust ’s symbolic budget of $ 3 , 000 , as well as its non - professional cast , which consists of the filmmakers’ friends plus petr mamonov , exemplifies zaibi’s slogan : “even a naked man in open space can be creative . ” albeit non - professional , the actors in dust are all familiar faces in the russian artistic underground . gleb mikhailov , the director of black dude ( chernyi fraer , 2001 ) —a campy parody of aleksei balabanov’s brother ( 1997 ) and brother - 2 ( 2000 ) —plays lesha’s “body . ” russian rappers white hot ice and rustaveli appear as carjacking gangsters . the former muztv host larisa piatnitskaia ( also known as squirrel ) appears as the fsb - employed psychology student , while the “revolutionary writer” dmitrii pimenov is featured as an fsb official .
shot with a hand - held digital camera , dust abounds in tight close - ups of unappealing faces and bodies , captured at strange angles . yet this is neither naturalism nor an attempt to go out on a limb for visual originality . the film’s zero - budget and the filmmakers’ inexperience may account for the rough picture , but the “dogme - 95 style” works well for the film . when the camera focuses on lesha’s bloated face or relentlessly pursues him through his meaningless search it is , as the authors claim , hyperrealism : we are challenged to watch a movie that , in the process of constructing reality , strips it of any cinematic glamour .
the trashy visual quality has another effect that is key to the film’s narrative . on the one hand , we are privy to the grainy but endearing authenticity of a home - video . on the other hand ,
the texture of [ video ] format inevitably brings to mind countless wedding recordings , video reports of investigative police actions , house security monitors , police surveillance [ … ] and other such foul material , dispassionately documenting in every detail the grimy everyday life . [ 2 ]
despite all these signs of art - house marginality , dust is not an obscure avant - garde text , with appeal only to critics and insiders . surprisingly enough , it is a cause - and - effect narrative film , character - centered , with clear psychological motivation . the narrative steadily progresses from initial equilibrium to disruption to resolution . as in classic hollywood films , the hero is driven by desire . the film suggests , however , that our desires and drives are side - effects of some ill - designed neuro - social experiment , whereas final equilibrium is achieved through a pulverization of the hero , who is finally able to catch up with his media - enhanced reflection—a kind of prequel to the matrix ( andy and larry wachowski , 1999 ) set in a country that never valued individual consciousness in the first place .
dust shares its penchant for hyper - realistic fantasy with such recent russian films as 4 ( il ' ia khrzhanovskii , 2004 ) and bipedalism ( evgenii iufit , 2004 ) . the loban - potapova - model ' team , however , are straight shooters . beginning as a profoundly humanistic narrative , dust gradually transforms into a godardian act of aggression on the viewer , as lesha gets lost among the forces of the post - soviet moscow - scape . the fsb appeals to lesha’s “love for the motherland” and harasses him ; 1960s intellectuals praise the new generation “which grew up free” ; liberals and neo - dissidents suggest emigration ; the fsb - employed psychologist encourages lesha to “open up and communicate” ; the keyboard - thumping preacher ( played with gusto by psoi korolenko ) at a religious sect meeting promises new life through god ; and so on and so forth . by the time the misanthropic professor delivers his outrageous 10 - minute long lecture - monologue ( which can only be compared with the marxist lecture in jean - luc godard’s weekend , 1967 ) on human insignificance—also known as “dust”— the viewer cannot but identify with the blessedly autistic hero . none of these discourses has any effect on him . he just stands meekly in the frame with a vacant stare , silent except for bashmachkin - like mumbling : “my body is there . i want it back . for keeps . ”
the viewer does not know how to feel . perhaps this explains why in a collective act of denial many russian critics described lesha using a transplanted term : “loser . ” but if the buff supercop / gangster / special forces agent , populating a score of recent films and tv productions , represents the positive pole of this paradigm , the “experiment” has , indeed succeeded . dust is a funky and accurate picture of putin’s russia : a stagnant police state with “kgb basements” below and the desolate imperial ensemble at the poklonnaia mountain above , and with second - hand consumer capitalism stuck in the middle . in the closing sequence , the flickering post - experiment lesha joins his grandmother in front of a tv , where stand - up comedian evgenii petrosian is doing his routine : like a cackling demon of banality , he spews out discursive fragments of the new “free” society .
dust is not easy viewing but it is a surprising discovery . the team’s next low - budget project , a film about summer vacations , is already underway . it is definitely something to look forward to .
1 ] dust was reportedly invited to participate in the cannes film festival but was not included because of problems with translation .
2 ] anton kostylev , “brat - 3 : vernite telo , ” urltoken ( 14 july 2005 ) . .
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sex romps from scandinavia .
her brother , visiting from moscow , screams in anguish over his impossible family situation . but what the film makes clear is that much of the unhappiness comes from a social system that has given people no clear tasks , few areas to exercise personal ambition , cramped living quarters , no privacy and too much bootleg booze .
eroticism in soviet films reminds me of dr . johnson ' s famous line about a dog standing on its hind legs :
it is not done well , but one is surprised to find it done at all .
what this film does express , strongly and clearly , is a deep discontent among the soviets who have lived in an incompetently managed society for too long . the angers in this film are the same ones that have produced mikhail gorbachev ( and , it would appear , the same ones that have resulted in the astonishing election results in poland ) .
an interview with terry gilliam , director of
the man who killed don quixote .
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montreal — glasnost for the soviet cinema began promisingly with the dramatic release in 1986 of the long - suppressed , controversial films ,
commissar
( 1967 ) and
theme
( 1979 ) , shelved with finality during the brezhnev era . still , those pictures were made a long time ago . would gorbachev ' s rhetoric encouraging internal criticism of soviet life actually be carried out in the newest cinema ?
there is casual nudity and several steamy sex scenes , beyond anything before on the soviet screen . uniformed soviet police , buttressed by snarling german shepherds , are photographed in several episodes as the enemy of youth trying to have fun . official soviet policy about aids is satirized when a student reads aloud from a stodgy government missive warning against
sexual contact with homosexuals , drug addicts , and those who lead a dissipated sexual life .
the script by pichul ' s moscow - raised wife , maria khnelik , was conceived by her after a visit to zhdanov to meet the in - laws .
i can ' t really say that i have some special strength ,
he said through a russian translator here at the festival .
maybe it ' s luck . as a boy , i was a soccer player , preparing to be a pro . some of my friends made that career , and sometimes i envy their fame , money , and their having less problems . but when i was 17 , and full of myself , the only career which could match my ambitions was to be film director - - although i didn ' t know at all what that profession really meant . people at the vgik film school in moscow were very kind to pick me . i think it ' s a miracle .
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the camera pans across a bleak industrial landscape of factories , smokestacks , warehouses , rows of identical apartment blocks . on the soundtrack can be heard the occasional call of a dove mixed with the noises of urban intercourse . there is a sense of activity , purpose and routine , of the heavy momentum that carries a great modern society from one day to the next , possibly forever .
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she receives excellent support from the other cast members , especially andrei sokolov as the debonaire sergei , and yuri nazarov and lyudmila zaitseva as her parents .
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movies and tv shows are certified fresh with a steady tomatometer of 75 % or higher after a set amount of reviews ( 80 for wide - release movies , 40 for limited - release movies , 20 for tv shows ) , including 5 reviews from top critics .
for all its bleakness and disillusion , there is a poignant innocence in it .
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for the soviet union and has captured the enthusiasm of millions of soviet movie - goers , largely for its unprecedented and erotic love scenes .
, however , is not an openly erotic movie ; its sexual scenes are merely a peek through a keyhole into the forbidden . and this is perhaps how the american audience will view
- - a peek into the once - forbidden soviet society , a first - time view of daily life in the ussr .
is a movie about misery . it takes us to the depths of deprivation and anguish with such realism that it makes the audience feel as if it were reading the diary of a recent suicide . we are tempted to close the diary quickly , but the film goes on . the characters slowly lose all hope until the film contains not a glimmer of optimism , but the film goes on still .
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jeanne sakata is an american film , television and stage actress and playwright .

her appearances include supporting roles in episodes of knots landing , la law , port charles , providence , family law , er , desperate housewives and others .

her first appearance on the big screen was in 1992 in the erotic thriller poison ivy .

in 2005 , she appeared in a minor role as a field reporter in the action film xxx : state of the union .

in 2002 she won the ovation award for lead actress in a play , for her performance in chay yew 's red , at ewp .

in 2007 , her first play , dawn 's light : the journey of gordon hirabayashi premiered at ewp .

the play was later retitled as hold these truths .

jeanne sakata

this sunday , there will be a q & a with hold these truths playwright jeanne sakata after the 2pm performance .
( l - r ) pasadena playhouse , producing artistic director danny feldman ; playwright jeanne sakata ; actor ryun yu and director jessica kubzansky at the opening of hold these truths at pasadena playhouse .
thank you , jeanne for taking your considerable time to enlighten my fellow asian - americans ' history .
jeanne sakata is an asian american film , television and stage actress and playwright whose work is known for provoking public conversation about culturally significant topics . jeanne ' s career spans across theater , film , television , and voiceover . in 2015 , her celebrated solo play hold these truths was selected to be featured in seattle ' s act . . .
i was most excited to get jeanne ' s insight on this dark and deplorable episode of american history .
an interview with playwright jeanne sakata about her play hold these truths , performed at the pasadena playhouse until june 25th . it tells the story of gordon hirabayashi , a civil rights leader who took his fight against japanese american internment in world war ii all the way to the supreme court .
joel de la fuente stars in jeanne sakata’s one - man show inspired by the true story of first generation japanese american and courageous civil rights leader gordon hirabayashi . challenging the forcible removal of all people of japanese ancestry on the west coast , gordon journeys toward a greater understanding of america’s triumphs—and a confrontation with its failures .
in december 2011 , jeanne was honored with an outstanding artist award for her career achievements by los angeles’ asian pacific american friends of the theatre .
sakata ' s first appearance on the big screen was in the 1992 erotic thriller poison ivy . in 2005 she appeared in a minor role as a field reporter in xxx : state of the union .
has attracted rave reviews from the new yorker , washington post and ap critics , as well as additional raves across the country . the script , published in japan studies association journal in 2010 , is currently on display at the library of congress playwrights archive in the asian american pacific islander collection in washington dc , where the jeanne sakata collection was established in july 2011 .
jeanne resides in los angeles with her husband tim , and together they enjoy traveling , cooking and baking , reading , writing , hiking , charity work , and music .
the epic theatre ensemble ' s new york premiere of jeanne sakata ' s solo play hold these truths ( formerly known as dawn ' s light : the journey of gordon hirabayashi ) , starring joel de la fuente , and helmed by lisa rothe , has been extended through november 25 , 2012 at the theatre at the 14th street y in new york . as gordon hirabayashi , de la fuente is a revelation in his nuanced tour - de - force portrayal of gordon , seamlessly transforming into 30 + other characters throughout the course of the play . i sat down to chat with jeanne sakata to talk about her inspiration to write gordon hirabayashi ' s life story , how she did her research , why she chose the solo show format and what she hopes audiences will take away from de la fuente ' s performance . urltoken
wow ! just from your answers , i can feel how close to your heart and passionate you are about this . i cannot wait to see hold these truths . thank you again , jeanne !
this evening’s performance will be followed by a special talkback featuring playwright jeanne sakata , actor joel de la fuente , kathryn bannai ( the first lead attorney on the hirabayashi case ) , and activist suki ports . g . w . ( greg ) kimura , president / ceo of the japanese american national museum in los angeles , california , will moderate the conversation on the legacy of the hirabayashi case in the context of asian american struggles for civil rights .
ten years ago , actress / playwright jeanne sakata began writing down her various thoughts on her personal connections with the subject matter of her dawn ' s light : the journey of gordon hirabayashi . through various reincarnations over the last decade , and a title change to hold these truths ; jeanne will be opening her play at the pasadena playhouse , in association with the east west players , may 30 , 2017 . hold these truths recalls the true story of gordon hirabayashi , a university of washington student , who began a 50 - year quest to right the wrongs to his family and his fellow japanese - americans who were relocated to internment camps in world war ii .
throughout her more than 30 - year career , jeanne has been honored as an actor for dynamic portrayals in both comedy and drama . called a “local treasure” by the los angeles times , her talent has been reflected onscreen in
is a renowned actor and playwright known for using her passion , versatility , talent and wit to provoke public conversation about culturally significant topics . jeanne’s talents span across theater , film , television , and voiceover , with upcoming productions in 2017 - 18 of her nationally acclaimed solo play
jeanne sakata : initially , the inspiration came from john de graaf’s fascinating documentary film a personal matter : gordon hirabayashi vs . the united states , where i learned about gordon for the very first time in the 1990s , and which you can now watch online . then further inspiration came from peter irons’ book the courage of their convictions which featured a couple of chapters on gordon ; sansei poet david mura’s poem gardens we have left , which mentions the deep impact that meeting gordon had on him ; and of course , gordon’s own writings – articles , interviews , and letters he wrote in wwii as a college student at the university of washington .
sakata has performed in many stage productions , working often with east west players ( ewp ) in los angeles . in 2002 she won the ovation award for lead actress in a play for her performance in chay yew ' s red at ewp . in 2007 , her first play , dawn ' s light : the journey of gordon hirabayshi , premiered at ewp .
earlier this year , jeanne’s voice work was featured in jennifer phang’s acclaimed indie film advantageous , which world premiered at the sundance film festival’s u . s . dramatic competition , and followed by showings in new york , los angeles , and san francisco . other feature film credits include playing mom wanda to olivia munn in the comedy the babymakers , xx2 : state of the union , and american fusion .
well known to los angeles theater fans , jeanne performed in the 2011 - 2014 seasons in the brothers paranormal at la jolla playhouse , blood at the geffen playhouse , hannah and the dread gazebo at the ojai playwrights conference , a cage of fireflies at the sundance institute theatre lab , seven at usc as cambodian human rights activist mu sochua and in julia cho’s the language archive at east west players . an la ovation award winner for best lead actress for her cross - gender portrayal of master hua in chay yew’s red at ewp , jeanne has performed regionally with the public theater , lincoln center theater , kennedy center , mark taper forum , la jolla playhouse , south coast rep , american conservatory theater , northlight theatre , intiman theatre , berkeley rep , a contemporary theatre , portland center stage , syracuse stage and the arizona theatre company . she received a 2013 monaco charity film festival award for best actress for her work in the indie film adultolescence , a stagescene “best of 2007” outstanding performance mention for her performance as maria callas in ewp’s master class , an entertainment today award for best supporting actress in chay yew’s a winter people at theatre @ boston court , and a dramalogue award for outstanding performance for her work in jean genet’s the maids at ewp .
a limited number of a / p / a - sponsored tickets are available for this performance and talkback . for nyu students , tickets are free ( limit 1 ) , but must be reserved with a $ 5 deposit ; for non - students , tickets are discounted ( limit 2 ) and priced at $ 10 each . please email apa . rsvp @ urltoken for more information or to make a reservation , indicating the number of tickets desired ( for non - student rate ) and nyu id # if you are a student .
hold these truths will be at the theatre at the 14th street y from october 21 to november 18 , 2012 . please visit http : / / epictheatreensemble . org for additional information on showtimes and ticketing .
co - sponsored by the japanese american association of new york , japanese american national museum , and japanese american citizens league ny .
unless otherwise noted , all content copyright new york university . all rights reserved .
the supreme court was right to overturn korematsu . now it needs to overrule hirabayashi
@ elmunc ' s wonderful essay in la times on # gordonhirabayashi ' s supreme court case - - a warning for us today . urltoken
@ ctschroeder please join us carrie , and bring everyone you know - - we ' d love to meet you . 🙏
friends ! check out this terrific interview with @ joeldelafuente , starring as # gordonhirabayashi in # holdthesetruths @ theatreworks , directed by @ lisamarierothe 7 / 11 - 8 / 5 . thanks @ mercnews ! # bayareatheatre urltoken
buzzing comedies such as the spy who dumped me await you in our summer movie guide . check in for all the info you need .
- listen to the rain on the roof ( 2006 ) . . . li wang
- i ' m your boogie man ( 2004 ) . . . mai lin
- suffer unto me the children . . . ( 2003 ) . . . nguyen
- good to the last drop ( 1991 ) . . . foreperson # 1
- do not attempt to remove ( 1990 ) . . . shopper # 4
: played
prudencia
in
the house of bernarda alba
, a play by ' federico garcia lorca ' , adapted by chay yew ( mark taper forum , los angeles , california , usa ) .
enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with prime video .
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nspired by the true story of civil rights pioneer gordon hirabayashi , to whom president obama posthumously awarded a presidential medal of freedom , the nation’s highest civilian honor , in 2012 . after its world premiere in 2007 at east west players , and subsequent workshops with the lark play development center and the the new york theatre workshop , the play made its off - broadway debut in 2012 with the epic theatre ensemble , and has since been performed at pasadena playhouse , portland center stage , the guthrie theater , perseverance theatre , seattle’s act theatre , playmakers repertory company , honolulu theatre for youth ( co - produced with daniel dae kim ) , terranova collective , people’s light & theatre , plays and players , coachella valley rep , and silk road rising .
a justin lin ( fast & furious 6 ) yomyomf youtube webseries . a recipient of the la ovation award for best lead actress for her cross - gender portrayal of master hua in chay yew’s
she has recently developed and performed new works with the la jolla playhouse , geffen playhouse , sundance theatre institute and ojai playwrights conference , as well as the east west players , the nation’s premiere asian american theatre . she has also performed with the public theater , lincoln center theater , kennedy center , mark taper forum , south coast rep , american conservatory theater , northlight theatre , intiman theatre , berkeley rep , a contemporary theatre , portland center stage , syracuse stage and the arizona theatre company , and is a member of la’s acclaimed classical group , the antaeus company . other special honors include the 2016 lee melville award for outstanding contribution to the los angeles theatre community from playwrights’ arena , los angeles’ pacific american friends of theatre outstanding artist award , city of pasadena certificate of recogntion for
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hold these truths
was first produced in 2007 by east west players under the title
dawn ' s light : the journey of gordon hirabayashi .
the current production at pasadena playhouse is directed by jessica kubzansky and stars ryun yu who directed and performed in the first run . can you talk about this play ' s 10 year journey ?
we’ve been very fortunate in that we’ve had several different productions that have happened across the country in that 10 - year span . after ryun and jess premiered the play at east west players in 2007 and took it to silk road rising in chicago , lisa rothe directed joel de la fuente in a production at the epic theatre ensemble in new york , that subsequently went to playmakers repertory honolulu theatre for youth , act seattle , and the guthrie . jess and ryun also took the play for a second time to act seattle , then portland center stage , and next year , they’ll be at the arena stage .
leslie ishii directed greg watanabe in a perseverance theatre production , and there have also been two other director - actor teams : daniel student and makoto hirano at players and players , and ron celona and blake kushi at caochella valley rep . marty yu played gordon in the first east west players high school tour . and finally , michael hisamoto will be doing the role in december at lyric stage company , directed by benny sato ambush . so , yes , literally an embarrassment of riches in terms of the brilliant artists and dear friends that have brought hold these truths to life over the last 10 years .
when i first wrote the play , it was intended to be told only from the very personal perspective of gordon himself . after our world premiere in 2007 , i got a chance to workshop the play with the new york theatre workshop , and the main feedback there was that it would be a more powerful play if gordon’s personal narrative were juxtaposed against the larger narrative about the social and political forces operating in 1940s america that led to this mass incarceration of american citizens .
the main reaction i’ve gotten over the years is astonishment from audience members that they have never heard of gordon . his story is simply not in our history books , and that’s a real shame .
also , as our country’s politics have lurched to the right , with hate crimes against minority groups and anti - immigrant hysteria terrifyingly on the rise , more and more audience members seem to be viewing gordon’s story as almost a direct response to threats and tragedies happening here and now .
one of the best moments for sure , was when the hirabayashi family – gordon’s wife , children , nephews and grandchildren all came down to see the play in seattle . they loved the play , which was deeply gratifying , and i even ended up babysitting gordon’s great - grandchild in the lobby so that his granddaughter could watch the show !
the greatest challenge was writing the first rough draft , which incorporated tons of historical research—facts , data . but , above all , i wanted the play to tell a great story , vibrant and alive , and not just be a recitation of those facts . so i had to do a lot of cutting and reworking before i felt i had achieved that .
the title
hold these truths
refers to the passage of the declaration of independence ,
we hold these truths to be self - evident : that all men are created equal .
can you talk about your thoughts on this as it applied in world war ii for japanese americans , and how this might apply now ?
i think it would have been very difficult for most of the wwii japanese american community members to “hold the truths” of their constitutional rights during that period of wartime , so rife with fear and hysteria and racial hostility , and to defy the government orders as gordon did .
many went into the camps , hoping that by cooperating with the government’s orders , they would win the trust of the american government , and also the trust of their fellow americans .
culturally , many were not brought up to resist the group dynamic , as japanese culture emphasizes the group over the individual , and putting the group’s needs first . that’s why gordon’s defiance dismayed and shocked so many in his own community .
today , if the government ordered americans of asian ancestry into concentration camps , i think the reaction would be very different – i think there would be much more active and impassioned resistance , because we have been able to absorb the lessons of our parents’ suffering .
i didn’t have a specific process in mind when i started out – i just plunged in with great passion for the story , knowing that i had terrific mentors like chay yew , len berkman , and so many others to whom i owe so much .
my script is based on personal interviews that i and historians , including roger daniels , had with gordon , as well as letters and articles that gordon wrote . i also drew heavily from dr . peter irons’ book justice at war , and my research on the wwii seattle japanese american community .
in the script , i often used direct quotes of gordon’s and stuck to the events as they actually happened whenever possible , but real life doesn’t always fit into the structure of a good drama , so there is also some ficitonalization of events and conversations in the play , and some chronological changes and compression of events .
in this production , gordon hirabayashi is played by ryun yu , who ' s not ethnically japanese ( it seems , please correct me if i ' m wrong ! ) . have people ever taken issue with this for your play or has this mainly been a non - issue ?
gordon has been played by a korean american , a chinese american , a filipino american and three japanese americans – and gordon’s wife told me she thought gordon himself would have been very pleased by that ! it hasn’t been much of an issue , as i don’t think this particular play demands an exact match of ethnicity . the larger requirement is that the actor cast can command a stage for 90 minutes solo , can bring gordon alive in a dramatically wonderful way , and have the versatility and virtuosity to create some 30 - plus other characters of different genders , ages , ethnicities and dialects !
that’s a huge topic , and i can’t cover it all here , but off the top of my head , i think of the phrase “two steps forward and one step back . ”
there are reasons to be encouraged . there are more asian american series regulars than ever before , more indie filmmakers and screenwriters who are doing stellar work . there are amazing asian american playwrights who are in the spotlight now and who are getting regularly produced at our country’s leading regional theaters .
but that progress is still slowed by whitewashing and limited perceptions on how apas can , and should , be cast .
i hope first , that they will be inspired and uplifted to have shared in a great american story , so little known by most of the country , as i was . i hope they will feel the urgency of recognizing that we can never take our freedom and our constitutional rights for granted , that we have to be willing to fight for them , not just for ourselves , but for future generations . and i hope gordon’s quiet heroism , his persistence and heart , will remind each of us that in our own individual ways , we can take small steps to build a world that may not be here yet , but that is still to come .
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this interview was edited for clarity and length , and cross - published in alhambra source .
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first - person essays , features , interviews and q & as ; about life today .
you had the world premiere of your hold these truths ten years ago at the east west players . how does it feel to celebrate its 10 - year anniversary coming full circle with east west involved with the pasadena playhouse this month ?
it feels incredibly gratifying . east west players launched the play in 2007 with our world premiere , and since the script ( then titled dawn ' s light ) was new and untested , it was still in a lot of flux . i have vivid memories of wrestling with the script with jessica ( kubzansky , hold these truths ' director ) and ryun ( yu , the original gordon ) , who both contributed so generously to its development , along with the rest of the team - we were dissecting , cutting , adding , exploring moments from every angle , and then there was the thrill of watching it all come to life onstage for the very first time . and i remember walking into the gorgeous interior of the pasadena playhouse as a young actor , and hoping i would get to work there someday . so , this feels like a special l . a . homecoming in more ways than one .
in the 1990 ' s , i saw on pbs , a documentary film made by john de graaf called a personal matter : hirabayashi vs . the united states , where i first learned about gordon . and i was just floored , because here was this absolutely riveting story about a young japanese - american college student who had taken such a brave stand for his rights as an american citizen , and i had never heard about him . it was fascinating , and enthralling , and also upsetting at the same time . i asked myself the same question that many people ask when they come to see the play -
why haven ' t i heard this story before ? why isn ' t it in our history books ?
after that , i became absolutely obsessed with the story and determined that i was going to find out everything i could about it .
that ' s right . gordon adamantly refused to register for the camps on several occasions , baffling and confounding officials who couldn ' t figure out what to do with him . so , he never set foot in the camps as a prisoner , although he did visit a couple of them .
his immediate family - his mother and father : mitsu and shungo , and his sister and brothers : esther , richard , james and edward - they were all prisoners behind barbed wire at tule lake , along with all of his relatives who lived anywhere on the west coast .
yes , i actually met gordon and his two brothers ed and james , all on the same day . gordon was visiting in california ' s bay area and he needed a ride from james ' place in mill valley to ed ' s in glen ellen , so he suggested i give him a ride and said we could do my first interview with him up at ed ' s . so , my husband and i drove him up there . gordon and ed started reminiscing over lunch and pretty soon they were just laughing and ribbing each other and telling stories about when they were kids . so i just sat there listening , taking it all in . and a story that ed told about the family
ofuro ,
or their japanese - style outdoor wooden bath , made it into the beginning of the play . later on , when i finished a first rough draft , james read it and gave me a lot of great suggestions as well . he also sent me writings by shungo and mitsu , their parents , and more anecdotes and historical details . and finally , in seattle , i met and became good friends with his sister , esther , who passed away only recently ; she was the last surviving hirabayashi sibling .
my father ' s side of the family was living in my hometown of watsonville , california , on the west coast when wwii broke out - so , yes , my father and my aunts and uncles , and my grandparents , all had to pack up with just a few days ' notice , and abandon their homes and schools and business , and they were all imprisoned in the poston camp in arizona .
no , never . if it was ever mentioned , it was in a very oblique way , and then they would quickly change the subject . later on , when i was older , and i was determined to learn more about the camps , i would ask my father questions ; but it was clear from his silences that he didn ' t want to discuss it . i didn ' t get much further with my aunts and uncles - just little bits of information given here and there , but almost secretively , like they weren ' t supposed to talk about it out loud . you could feel how deeply those experiences were buried , how traumatic it must have been for them
allegiance was a tremendous achievement , and i take my hat off to all who had a hand in its making . if you had told me years ago there would be a broadway musical telling the story of the wwii japanese - american concentration camps in my lifetime , i ' m not sure i would have believed it . watching it onstage , i wished my parents were still alive , so that they ' d witness their history being acknowledged on the american stage like that . and i think what allegiance did so successfully was to illuminate the very painful schisms that emerged in the japanese - american community by the internees being forced to declare whether they would : 1 ) be willing to fight in the armed forces for the united states , and 2 ) be willing to swear unqualified allegiance to the united states and forswear all allegiance to the japanese emperor . the paralyzing question of whether to answer
yes , yes
or
no , no
caused great panic and turmoil in the camps and tragically set friend against friend , family member against family member , often for a lifetime . the lasting impression i have of allegiance is watching george stand onstage at the end as the elderly sam kimura , finally forced against his will to come to terms with that schism in his community , in his family , in his own scarred psyche . it ' s a powerful moment i won ' t ever forget , especially knowing george as a friend , and all he went through during wwii with his own family .
i ' ve been in touch with susan carnahan , gordon ' s second wife , over the years , and so when she told me that the hirabayashi family was going to the white house to accept the medal of freedom ' s on gordon ' s behalf , i was just so happy for all of them - and for gordon ' s legacy , because he has been an unsung american hero for so many decades , and still unknown to many americans . i wish this had happened in his lifetime , to have been honored at the very same white house whose occupants persecuted him in the 1940 ' s for standing up for the constitution . and when i watched the ceremony on the white house website , and president obama giving gordon ' s medal to susan , it was incredibly moving .
this happened when i was having talks with the epic theatre ensemble and others in new york about an east coast production . it was suggested that dawn ' s light , while being a beautiful image , didn ' t actually tell you much about what actually happens in the play . so , the brainstorming began for a new title . and i started riffing on phrases from the constitution , from the preamble , from the declaration , the most obvious of these being
we hold these truths . . .
. and my friend zak berkman , one of the epic ' s founders , said ,
hey , what about that phrase without the ' we ' ?
and i knew that would be a great new title , because that is exactly what gordon tries so hard to do through all the twists and turns of this unpredictable journey - to just hold on to the truths of the constitution , and not let go , no matter what .
you bring hold these truths to high schools . why did you condense your 90 - minute show to half its length to tour schools ? was that to better fit into school class period restraints ?
marty yu , the actor that did the first east west players school tour , told me this great story about when he did the play at a high school with a large asian population . when the play finished , these students all jumped to their feet , cheering , and then they rushed up to marty and surrounded him , all wanting to talk . they wanted to help him take down the set , and help him carry the props to the car . and that meant a great deal to me , because when i was a young student growing up at a time when so few people on tv or in the magazines , or in the history books looked like me ; i know how much it would have meant to have a performer of asian ancestry come to my school , and share the story of an asian - american hero .
you are working with director jessica kubzansky and ryun yu as gordon hirabayashi again . ryun was the original gordon and has played the role in numerous productions since the first . any major changes or just minor tweaks between this production and the original 2007 east west production ? any specifics you kept in from the abridged school version ?
with the invaluable input of jess and ryun , i ' d actually made a number of changes in my original script for our ewp premiere . and then afterwards , one more change came about when i had the opportunity to do more work on the play with the new york theatre workshop at their dartmouth residency . up to that point , i had exclusively focused on gordon ' s personal journey in fighting the us government ' s racially targeted curfew order , and later , executive order 9066 . at dartmouth , and working this time with the east coast team of director lisa rothe and actor joel de la fuente , who each made wonderful contributions of their own , i discussed the play with jim nicola , linda chapman and geoffrey scott , who felt the play could benefit by addressing some additional questions : how did this mass violation of thousands of american citizens ' constitutional rights occur ? what were the social and political forces at work that allowed it happen ? who was responsible ? who could have stopped it and didn ' t ? they suggested some answers to these questions would be a great counterpoint to gordon ' s personal quest for justice . so , i added some of that content , and it gave the play a scope and breadth that i ' ve been very pleased with .
hold these truths lives on as you ' re taking it to dc ' s arena stage next year from february 23 through april 8 . any other plans for it ? more school tours ?
i n addition to the arena stage production next year , i ' m excited there will also be two new productions in 2017 in massachusetts - at the new century theatre in south hadley , massachusetts , july 27th to august 5th ; and the lyric stage company in boston , december 1st to 31st . there are also plans being developed to take the play as a dramatic staged reading into colleges , where it would be accompanied with a talk about the wwii japanese - american experience . and i ' m hoping to work on a screenplay soon !
years ago , after one of our very first staged readings in the ctg playwrights ' group , a mexican - american woman in the audience said that the way ryun played gordon , with such an engaging
everyman
quality , along with the ordinary circumstances of gordon ' s college life that had been so similar to her own - dorm life , dating , struggling to pay her tuition , struggling with racial discrimination , experiencing that first political awakening - that all these things made her feel like she was gordon . so much so that in the play , when he was suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances where he had to make some agonizing choices , she felt that shock and confusion right along with him . and i think that ' s what we are ultimately hoping for - that our audiences will identify in a very personal way with gordon , that they will feel they are walking in his shoes . i ' m sure gordon himself would wish to impress upon us all , that it is up to each of us to fight to protect our rights as american citizens , that we can never take them for granted . as echoed in the title of john de graaf ' s documentary film , the constitution is a personal matter . it is only a piece of paper unless , we as american citizens , safeguard it and give it life .
st . louis : backstage bite : deluca celebrates the muny ' s 100th season w / ooey gooey st . louie bars
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actor / author , hold these truths , inspired by gordon hirabayashi . join us at theatreworks in the bay area , july 11 - august 5 , 2018 !
gordon hirabayashi ' s wife susan has given # holdthesetruths the best review of all :
gordon would have been thrilled .
urltoken
it’s a good time to remember that 3 days ago a school teacher named @ kristinminkdc spoke truth to power , confronting pruitt in a restaurant . the next day pruitt was trending on twitter . we should all have her moral courage and raise our voices . they’re needed now more than ever .
the supreme court was right to overturn korematsu . now it needs to overrule hirabayashi
la - oe - muller - korematsu - hirabayashi - 20180703 - story . html
has begun ! see joel de la fuente as gordon hirabayashi , an unsung american hero , telling the story of japanese internment . buy tickets now !
last week ice reportedly encouraged a brazilian father seeking asylum to accept deportation in order to be reunited with his son . he refused . here he describes what living through family separation feels like .
justice kennedy ' s replacement will be another vote to strike down the aca and pre - existing condition protections . the health care security hotline is up : 1 - 866 - 426 - 2631 call and pass it on ; key points and sample script below urltoken
as a career prosecutor , i actually went after gangs and transnational criminal organizations . that ' s being a leader on public safety . what is not , is ripping babies from their mothers . urltoken
be bold . be courageous . never be afraid to speak up and speak out . together we can build a more perfect union . # goodtrouble
“through a lot of my work , i’m always trying to parse and understand what might really be chinese as opposed to the stereotypical or westernized views of what is chinese . ” –
sen . kamala harris at the families belong together march in los angeles :
we are better than this .
this is a beautiful play , a true story , and couldn’t be more relevant to what’s happening in our world * right now . * i do hope you join me in the coming weeks and see
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her television credits include ncis los angeles , tyler perry’s meet the browns , desperate housewives , er , threat matrix , line of fire , presidio med , american family , numb3rs , john ridley’s i got you , the mow’s the reading room , hiroshima , consensual relations .
hold these truths - in act ' s 50th anniversary mainstage season , july 17 - august 16 , 2015 . also july - august 2014 , 4 performances in central heating lab