“Point of Departure,” a film chronicling the new interpretive artworks at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial at Pritchard Park, is now available for viewing online.
The 10-minute film by islander Katie Jennings features Lilly Kitamoto Kodama–who was 7 years old when her family was forced to leave their home–as she shares her experiences.
The film was produced by the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association, funded by the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation with support from the City of Bainbridge Island Civic Improvement (LTAC) Fund.
The interpretive artwork at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial at Pritchard Park recalls the day in March 30, 1942, when 227 Bainbridge Islanders of Japanese descent, most American citizens, departed from this site for wartime exile. Their destination: a concentration camp in Manzanar, California.
The works, by artists Anna Brones and Luc Revel, were inspired by photographic images taken on the day of forced removal. An imposing mid-span gate was designed by Port Townsend craftsman John Buday..
The artworks were dedicated at a September 2022 ceremony.
“It’s a great privilege to have played a part in this beautiful film’s creation,” says Mary Meier, Parks & Trails Foundation executive director. “The exclusion and return is a foundational story for Bainbridge Island, tragic and inspirational, and we are pleased to be able to support the Japanese American Community in telling the story in such a moving way, through these artworks and this film.”
The film enjoyed its first Bainbridge Island screening at the recent Mochi Tsuki festival at Woodward Middle School. It is one of 13 films selected to participate in the Nichi Bei Foundation’s 12th Annual Films of Remembrance, Feb. 25-26 in the Japantowns in San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.
For more information about the Exclusion Memorial visit: www.bijaema.org.
