Strawberry Fields (1997 film)
Strawberry Fields is a 1997 independent feature film directed by Japanese American filmmaker Rea Tajiri and co-written by Tajiri and Japanese Canadian author Kerri Sakamoto.
| Strawberry Fields | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Rea Tajiri |
| Produced by | Rea Tajiri Jason Kliot Hank Blumenthal |
| Written by | Rea Tajiri Kerri Sakamoto |
| Starring | Suzy Nakamura James Sie |
| Music by | Bundy Brown Sooyoung Park |
| Cinematography | Zachary Winestine |
| Edited by | Steve Hamilton James Lyons |
| Distributed by | Vanguard Cinema (DVD) |
Release date | 1997 |
Running time | 90 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
The story of the film centers on Irene Kawai, a Japanese American teenager in Chicago in the 1970s who is haunted by a photo of her grandfather she never knew, standing by a barracks in a World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans. Prompted by visits from the ghost of Terri, her dead baby sister, Irene journeys with her boyfriend, Luke, on a road trip to Arizona, where the Poston War Relocation Center once stood, and where the photo of her grandfather was taken.
Main cast
- Suzy Nakamura as Irene Kawai
- James Sie as Luke
- Heather Yoshimura as Terri
- Marilyn Tokuda as Alice
- Reiko Mathieu as Aura
- Chris Tashima as Mark
- Takayo Fischer as Takayo
- Peter Yoshida as Bill
Production
Strawberry Fields was filmed in Chicago, Illinois, and in California. It received funding from CPB, NEA and ITVS, and was completed in 1997.
Release
It premiered at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and was an Official Selection to the Venice Film Festival. It also screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival and won the Grand Prix at the Fukuoka Asian Film Festival. It was released on VHS and DVD by Vanguard Cinema.
Reception
Film critic Roger Ebert called the film "a moving piece of work."