Sansei Sensibility (2027)

IG @ nosunrisewasted

Genre: Documentary

Duration: Feature Length, 90 minutes

Sansei Sensibility is a personal yet expansive documentary that follows third-generation Japanese Americans reflecting on their families' resilience during WWII incarceration and life in rural Oregon, exploring the paradox of Ontario as both refuge and reminder of enduring anti-Japanese sentiment 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).

 
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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 Assistant: Olivia Kuchela

  • Grant Writer: Christopher Lucas, PhD, Jonathan P. Streeter

  • Technology Consultant: Darrell Kundel


THIS FILM IS MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO THE GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM


Fiscal Sponsor

  • Hollywood Theater