make your tax-deductible donation today. click here!

Sansei Sensibility (2027)

IG @ nosunrisewasted

Genre: Documentary

Duration: Feature Length, 90 minutes

Sansei Sensibility is an intimate profile of third-generation Japanese Americans as they reflect on their families' resilience during WWII incarceration and life in rural Oregon after the war. Through their personal archives and contemporary vérité, the film explores the paradox of small town America as refuge from and reminder of enduring xenophobia in America.

documentary subjects

dennis hironaka, sansei

Dennis Hironaka, born and raised in Ontario, Oregon, is a retired educator and cancer survivor who still lives in his childhood home. His parents’ contrasting wartime experiences—his mother’s incarceration at Minidoka and his father’s relocation to a labor camp—deeply shaped his life, marked by cultural silence, resilience, and the legacy of rural Japanese American identity.

DR. Marc iseri, Sansei

Dr. Marc Iseri is a retired urologist and lifelong martial artist who returned to his hometown of Ontario, Oregon, to establish his medical practice. The son of parents incarcerated at Tule Lake and Minidoka, he was raised in a household grounded in humor and pride despite the hardship of their wartime experiences.

carol takami tolman, Sansei

Carol Takami Tolman, a retired teacher, avid watercolorist, and passionate angler whose infectious laugh lights up any room. The youngest of four children, she lived at Cow Hollow well after the war due to her father’s dedication to remain until all the Japanese Americans found refuge elsewhere.

Creative Team

Devin Fei-fan Tau

Director | Producer

Devin is a gay, Asian-American filmmaker whose storytelling reflects his reaction to nearly four decades of cultural silence imposed on him by both his native and adopted cultures from his earliest years as an immigrant to the United States.

This is Devin’s 4th feature film — having released the documentary “Who’s on Top?” (2021) narrated by George Takei, “The Road Home” (2022) and “Half Sisters” (2023) which was on the premium cable network Starz.

Screen Shot 2021-10-05 at 7.30.01 AM.png

Tamberly Cockeram

Associate Producer

Tamberly recently retired from the City of Hillsboro as Community Services Manager after 25 years in public service. She now advocates for silenced voices and helps the unseen become visible in an effort to make the world a better place for everyone.

Subject matter experts

Dr. Satsuki Ina, Sansei
Lawson Fusao Inada, Sansei
Retired Oregon State Supreme Court Judge Lynn Nakamoto, Sansei/Yonsei
Former U.S. Congressman Denny A. Smith
Precious Yamaguchi, PhD, Gosei

additional interviewees

Sherri Hironaka
Becky Carlson Iseri
Roger Tolman
Oregon State Representative Mari Watanabe, Sansei

featuring

Mochi Master: Kenny Hiramatsu, Sansei
Voice Over Artist: Cathy Yasuda, Sansei

crew

Executive Producer: Brian M. Riney
Consulting Producer: Christopher Lucas, PhD
Director of Photography: Ryan Claypool
Camera Operator: Martin Van Londen
Drone Pilots: Ryan Claypool, Brule Lehman, Michael Sherman
Timelapse Photography: Jesse Andrew Clark, Ryan Claypool, Michael Sherman
Timelapse Assistant: Jeff Sherman
Behind the Scenes: Martin Van Londen
Production Coordinator: Sherri Hironaka
Production + Research Assistant: Olivia Kuchela
Assistant Editor: Emily Chiu
Story Consultant: John Dilley / New Doc Editing
Grant Writer: Christopher Lucas, PhD, Jonathan P. Streeter
Technology Consultant: Darrell Kundel