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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
Dennis Hironaka, a 76 year-old sansei 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
Dr. Marc Iseri, a 79 year-old sansei, 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
Carol Takami Tolman, a 69 year-old sansei, is a retired teacher, avid gardener, 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 is currently on the premium cable network Starz.
christoper lucas, PhD
Producer | Writer
Christopher Lucas teaches courses in documentary and non-fiction cinema, screenwriting, cinematography, film editing, and online journalism as an Assistant Professor at Southern Oregon University.
Lucas also works as a writer and filmmaker. He produced the documentaries Raising Aniya (DCEFF, 2025), Above All Else (SXSW, 2014), and he was an associate producer on The Sensitives (Tribeca, 2017).
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
Precious Yamaguchi, PhD
additional interviewees
Sherri Hironaka
Becky Iseri
Former Oregon Congressman Denny A. Smith
Roger Tolman
Oregon State Representative Mari Watanabe
featuring
Mochi Master: Kenny Hiramatsu
Voice Over Artist: Cathy Yasuda
crew
Editor: Emily Chiu
Writers: Emily Chiu, Christopher Lucas, PhD
Executive Producer: Brian M. Riney
Director of Photography: Ryan Claypool
Camera Operator: Martin Van Londen
Production Coordinator: Sherri Hironaka
Production Assistant: Olivia Kuchela
Grant Writer: Christopher Lucas, PhD, Jonathan P. Streeter
Technology Consultant: Darrell Kundel