A locally produced historical film recreating the experiences of Japanese American families in western Washington wrapped filming Tuesday after a month of production at historic locations across the state, culminating with scenes at Seattle’s Panama Hotel and Onibaba restaurant in the Chinatown-International District.
“I Am American,” directed by filmmaker Kelsi Umeko, follows a Japanese American family before and after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcing more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry into incarceration camps during World War II.
The film is inspired by Umeko’s own family history and the experiences of other Japanese diaspora Nikkei families, Umeko told KING 5…