Tadashi "Tad" Nakamura (born c. 1980) is an American documentary filmmaker. He is noted for films about the Asian-American and Japanese-American communities in the United States. His 2013 film, ''Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings'', received a 2013 Gotham Award.

Education

Nakamura graduated with a bachelor's degree in Asian-American studies from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

(UCLA) in 2003. He received his MFA in Social Documentation from the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge ...

(UCSC) in 2008.

Career

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 films are frequently shown at film festivals, where they have won numerous awards. His 2013 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 Audience Award for Independent Films.

Personal life

Nakamura is a fourth generation Japanese American, born and raised in Los Angeles. His father,

Robert A. Nakamura Robert Akira Nakamura (born July 5, 1936, Venice, California) is a filmmaker and teacher, sometimes referred to as "the Godfather of Asian American media." In 1970 he cofounded Visual Communications (VC) the oldest community-based Asian Pacific A ...

, is also a filmmaker and is sometimes referred to as "the Godfather of Asian American media". His mother is the author and filmmaker Karen L. Ishizuka.

Filmography

* ''Yellow Brotherhood'' (2003) * ''Pilgrimage'' (2007) * ''A Song for Ourselves'' (2009) * ''Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings'' (2012) * ''Mele Murals'' (2016) *''Atomic Café: The Noisiest Corner in J-Town'' (2020)

References

External links