On Sunday, May 31, at 12 p.m., the historic Gardena Cinema will host a special community screening event that brings together two powerful documentary films connected by one shared purpose: to illuminate overlooked chapters of the Japanese American wartime experience and honor the resilience of those who endured injustice without surrendering their dignity.
The event will feature a screening of the celebrated documentary “The Manzanar Fishing Club,” followed by the public debut community screening of its companion film, “Little Guayule: The Lost Manzanar Rubber Project.” Together, the two films offer a deeply human portrait of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II — not as passive victims of history, but as individuals who found ways to preserve identity, purpose, creativity, and service even under the weight of government-sanctioned injustice.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A moderated by actress and community advocate Tamlyn Tomita, whose own family and cultural ties bring added meaning to the event…