Phil Friedman Outdoors

“THE MANZANAR FISHING CLUB” COMES 'HOME' TO THE SOUTH BAY STARTING LABOR DAY WEEKEND

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The groundbreaking documentary film, “The Manzanar Fishing Club,” will begin its first major run in the South Bay over Labor Day Weekend, starting Friday, Aug. 31, at the AMC South Bay Galleria 16, where Torrance, Gardena and Redondo Beach come together. The film will be presented in a complete digital format with six-track surroundsound and will run a full schedule of five screenings daily for at least one week.

 

“It's great to finally be coming to the South Bay,” said Director/co-Producer Cory Shiozaki. “So many of the people who worked on this film, including myself, are from here—Gardena, Torrance, Redondo. We've had successful runs in Santa Monica, Pasadena, Costa Mesa and even as far away as Seattle and Honolulu, but this will be our debut on our home turf.”

 

Shiozaki and Writer/co-Producer Richard Imamura will be featured guests for a Q&A session following the 5:40 pm screening on Saturday, Sept. 1.

 

“We love coming out to meet the audience,” Shiozaki added. “This movie came from the community, and we're more than happy to come out.”

 

With the exception of a screening on the Opening Day of the West Coast Film Festival last weekend in San Juan Capistrano, “The Manzanar Fishing Club” hasn't been shown in Southern California since early June. Ten weeks in Honolulu just concluded in Honolulu last week, with special screenings in Sacramento, Washington, DC and New York sprinkled in.

 

Six years in the making, “The Manzanar Fishing Club” is the untold story of incarcerees at the World War II-era internment camp at Manzanar who used to defy armed guards, barbed wire and searchlights to sneak out to fish for trout in the surrounding streams and lakes of the Eastern Sierra. In the process, they also fojund normalcy and freedom.

 

“It's an inspiring story about the value of freedom and the lengths people will go to just to grab back even a little bit of it,” Imamura noted. “Although we don't ignore the history, we concentrated on individuals and how they coped with a terrible situation. By doing that, we feel that we communicate a little bit of what it was like for regular folks living there on a day-to-day basis.”

 

Aside from Shiozaki and Imamura, who are both from Gardena, the South Bay contingent involved in the project is extensive. Executive Producer Alan Sutton, Narrator Scott Sutton, singer-songwriter Harold Payne (who wrote and performed the movie's theme song, “To Be Free”) and promotion man Chris Payne are also from Gardena, and Mas Okui, one of the internee fishermen featured in the movie, was a teacher at Gardena High School for a number of years. In addition, Editor/co-Producer Lester Chung hails from Torrance as does Narrator Philip Friedman. 

“We're very excited to be coming home,” Shiozaki said. 

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San Diego based Aztec 30-miles off Mexican Coast asked to move by Mexican Navy

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Here we go again. Nobody in the Mexican Navy seems to know what's going on as the San Diego based sportfisher Aztec was boarded around 2-pm on Saturday, 30-miles off the Baja coast by the Mexican Navy and asked to move out beyond the 24-mile zone that requires boats to check in in Ensenada, Baja California. 

I know what you are thinking. The Aztec was asked to stay outside of the 24-mile zone while he was fishing 30-miles from the Baja Coast. Doesn't make any sense, right? Well, the captain of this particular Mexican Navy vessel had a different interpretation of the law. You see, the Aztec was only 18-miles off the Coronado Islands. Apparently, the Mexican Naval Captain interpreted the Coronado Islands as Mexican soil and therefore deduced that the Aztec had to move further out to sea in order to comply with the 24-mile rule, law, or whatever it is this week.

This has been one of the problems for the San Diego fleet as Mexico seems to change it's mind and redefine things from day to day. There is that not too crazy perception that not only are the Mexicans being unfair and unjust to the US based fleet, but that they don't seem to know what's going on either. 

One very powerful Baja business owner told PFO that he/she cringes every time the Mexican Navy engages in this kind of behavior. "I just wish there were some easy to understand rules to follow and that they were well publicized," the source told PFO. "We are making a comeback here in Baja and we don't need the Navy riling up US public opinion against us."

SAC has already contacted Mexico City and is working feverishly to resolve this as well as a few other pressing issues. Much has been made about the head of SAC, Ken Franke not doing a good job throughout this debacle.

From my vantage point, SAC is lucky to have Franke. The guy is sharp and has a work ethic second to none. These are complex issues that have no easy answers. For those who say Franke is bringing a knife to a gun fight, I say that they lack some historical perspective in Mexican/American relations.

At Franke's side is Michelle Gandola who has command of the Spanish language and understands Mexican culture and how things work south of the frontera. She also has been working tirelessly on all the aforementioned issues.

Mexico could theoretically shut down sportfishing to US boats tomorrow so go ahead and tread on in there and thump your chest and make demands, reasonable or not. Those who want that gun fight may not like what happens next.

Politics is the art of compromise and Franke is doing a very good job of navigating in troubled waters. 

PRIVATE BOATERS

According to the Consulate Generals office in Baja Norte, private boaters are not exempt from this process. While it does not appear that private boaters are being targeted right now, it's any ones guess when that might start. 

 

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THE MANZANAR FISHING CLUB’ HOOKS UP WITH AMC THEATRES

Listen to Phil Friedman Outdoors Radio, Thursdays at 8pm or archived shows 24/7

THE MANZANAR FISHING CLUB’ HOOKS UP WITH AMC THEATRES

                  Acclaimed Film about Freedom and the Human Spirit Casts a Wider Net

LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 20, 2012 – Making its debut at one of the leading national circuits, "The Manzanar Fishing Club" opens on August 31 and September 14, respectively, at AMC's South Bay Galleria 16 in Los Angeles and Empire 25 in New York. Previously, the acclaimed documentary about the stealth fishermen at the World War II Japanese American relocation center in eastern California played some of the premier independent movie theatres on the West Coast and Hawaii.

The self-distributed film by a pair of third-generation Japanese American filmmakers, Cory Shiozaki and Richard Imamura, chronicles the internment from a unique perspective: through the eyes of those who triumphed over their incarceration by sneaking out through the barbed wire and searchlights to fish for trout in the nearby waters of the Sierra Nevada.  "Thanks to good reviews and word of mouth, we've had a remarkable run for a historical documentary," said Imamura, the film's writer and one of the producers. "The AMC bookings add a whole new dimension that opens the way for 'The Manzanar Fishing Club' to reach a national audience.”

Six years in the making, "The Manzanar Fishing Club" is the result of nearly 70 hours of interviews with surviving internees and their descendants, two MPs, two rangers from the Manzanar National Historic Site, the preeminent Department of Fish and Game authority on the Eastern Sierra Fishery and Dr. Arthur Hansen, a leading expert on the Japanese American internment.  In addition, a wealth of archival photographs and other images were obtained from the Toyo Miyatake collection, Densho, the WRA (via the National Archives and Library of Congress) and private family collections.  The film's original musical score includes the ballad "To Be Free," written and performed by multi-platinum singer-songwriter Harold Payne.  Dave Iwataki, a founding member of the legendary jazz-fusion ensemble Hiroshima, composed and performed the film’s end credits theme.  [Web site: www.FearNoTrout.com.]

A From Barbed Wire to Barbed Hooks LLC production, "The Manzanar Fishing Club" was made with support from the California State Library's California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP) and National Park Service's Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) grant programs, and private donations.  Cory Shiozaki directed from an original screenplay by Richard Imamura. The producers are Cory Shiozaki, Richard Imamura, Lester Chung and John Gengl. The executive producer is Alan Sutton.  

Photo: Cory Shiozaki and "THE VOICE" of Act III, Phil Friedman

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"THE MANZANAR FISHING CLUB" RETURNS TO PASADENA FOR FULL RUN MAY 18

"A worthy documentary... Absorbing."

--Gary Goldstein, LOS ANGELES TIMES

 

"A window into something that most of us have heard about

but still remains mysterious."
-Mick LaSalle, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

   


LOS ANGELES – "The Manzanar Fishing Club," the groundbreaking documentary feature chronicling an untold story of freedom during the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans on the West Coast, returns to the Laemmle Playhouse 7 theater in Pasadena for an exclusive engagement on Friday, May 18. The weeklong run marks the film's first extended stay in the City following a successful opening in Santa Monica March 30.

 

"We're pleased to bring 'The Manzanar Fishing Club' to Pasadena, so we can reach the many people who couldn't make it out to Santa Monica," said director/co-producer Cory Shiozaki. "This will be a lot more convenient."

The film has received a rousing reception since it debuted in Santa Monica at the Laemmle Monica 4. Two sold-out matinee screenings at the Playhouse 7 in April led to the current engagement.

 

"The overwhelming reception at the Pasadena matinees confirmed that we have a large audience who will come to see the film if it's within reach," Shiozaki added. "By playing in Pasadena now, we want to reach out not only to the people here, but also in Little Tokyo, Downtown, Hollywood, Silverlake-Los Feliz, Boyle Heights and so many more nearby areas."

Set during the World War II Japanese American Internment, "The Manzanar Fishing Club" relates a unique tale through the eyes of internees who all shared a love of fishing. But the documentary film is more than just a history book, as noted by Mark Sevi of the Orange County Screenwriters Association.

 

"The ending has a great reveal that would belie the documentary nature of the film," Sevi writes. "It's almost a treasure hunt worthy of a Ron Howard movie laid against the prejudices and hardships of the shameful nature of what America did to its citizens whose only crime was to be of Japanese heritage."

 

Telling the story of the incarceration through the eyes of the fishermen is a natural evolution, according to writer/co-producer Richard Imamura. "This year is the 70^th 'anniversary' of the roundup, and I felt it was time to flesh out the story, to personalize it. That's why we identify everyone interviewed by their hometown. 'So-and-so from Sawtelle.' Someone else from Boyle Heights. Another from Burbank. And Saugus, Venice, Terminal Island, Centinela and so on. This happened to real people from real places, often just down the street or freeway.

 

"But make no mistake," Imamura added, "this is not a fictional docu-drama. It's real."

 

The Laemmle Playhouse 7 is located at 673 E. Colorado Blvd., right in the Old Town district. There will be five shows daily, beginning at 1:10 pm.

 

In addition, special 11:00 AM matinees will again be held Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20, at the Laemmle Monica 4, 1332 2^nd Street, Santa Monica, and the Laemmle Claremont 5, 450 W. 2nd Street, Claremont.

 

Advance ticket sales are available on the Laemmle Theatres website (laemmle.com), and group sales inquiries can be directed to [email protected]. For additional information, call (310) 478-3836

 

"The Manzanar Fishing Club" was made with support from the California State Library's CCLPEP and the National Park Service's JACS grant programs and private donations.

 

A From Barbed Wire to Barbed Hooks LLC production, "The Manzanar Fishing Club" was directed by Cory Shiozaki from an original screenplay by Richard Imamura. The producers are Cory Shiozaki, Richard Imamura, Lester Chung and John Gengl. The executive producer is Alan Sutton.

 

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Fishermen find dead body floating at the Coronado Islands

John Spike Ivins from San Clemente and his friend Kevin Veal from Huntington Beach were enjoying some good yellowtail fishing at the Coronado Islands on Sunday when the pair spotted something floating in the water around 2:30 in the afternoon.

"Kevin and I saw something in the Middle Grounds (Coronado Islands) which at first we thought was a dead bloated sea lion. As we got closer to the floating object we were stunned to see human arms and legs: absolutely shocking," said Ivins.

Ivins said the body was bloated, decomposed with no hair or clothes. After discovering that it was a human being, Ivins called the United States Coast Guard. "They (USCG) asked us to stay with the body if possible," said Ivins. 

"We gave our location and all our info as well as the bodies description to the best we could to the USCG. The dispatcher kindly asked if we could stay on scene until a recovery boat could arrive, and I humbly replied yes," said Ivins. 

Ivins said that the body was in such a state of decomposition that it was almost unidentifiable. It wasn't until Monday when the discovery of the body had a more emotional impact.

"I know there has been speculation to the thought that the corpse may be Theo Mavromatis, the lost sailor from the tragic accident in the Newport to Ensenada race," said Ivins. 

Mavromatis, 49, from Redondo Beach, and three other men were taking part in an annual Newport-to-Ensenada race when their 37-foot boat fell off the event's vessel-tracking system about 1:30 a.m. April 28, according to the Newport Ocean Sailing Association, which oversees the event.

Searchers later that day found the bodies of William R. Johnson Jr., 57, of Torrance, Kevin Rudolph, 53, of Manhattan Beach, and Joseph L. Stewart, 64, of Bradenton, Fla.

Autopsies determined that Johnson and Rudolph died of blunt-force trauma and that Stewart drowned, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for the missing crewmember of the sailing vessel Aegean at 4:15 p.m., April 29, 2012.

The Coast Guard, Mexican Navy and civilian volunteers searched more than 600 square-miles.

"My wife sent me some articles on Mavromatis and that's when it hit home. I thought about his family and my kids today," said Ivins. "It's just very sad."

The body that was found near the Coronado Islands was confirmed today as Theo Mavromatis, the skipper of the Aegean who had been missing since last month's crash during the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race, the San Diego County Coroner confirmed.

"All I can say is God bless  Theo Mavromatis and his family," said Ivins. 

Photo: US Coast Guard vessel arrives on scene at the Coronado Islands where fisherman found a badly decomposed body floating on Sunday afternoon. Photo credit: John Spike Ivins

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The Manzanar Fishing Club is coming to a theater near you

"A worthy documentary... Absorbing."

--Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times 

LOS ANGELES – "The Manzanar Fishing Club," a documentary feature about freedom and the human spirit, is moving inland for special engagements April 21-22 at the Laemmle Theatres' Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, NoHo 7 in North Hollywood and Claremont 5 in Claremont, as well as reprising at the Monica 4 in Santa Monica. The film will be shown at 11:00 AM on both Saturday and Sunday.

The film debuted to a rousing reception in Santa Monica earlier this month.

"We've developed an ardent following over the years that we've been working on the film," said writer and co-producer Richard Imamura, "and we're gratified that those who came out to Santa Monica to see the film really seemed to like it. Now we want to expand to other areas of the city as well."

 

The release of "The Manzanar Fishing Club" this year coincides with the 70^th "anniversary" of the
World War II roundup of Japanese Americans on the West Coast in 1942. Manzanar, the first of ten "Relocation" camps built to house more than 110,000 people forcibly removed from California, Oregon and Washington, would be populated largely by people from Los Angeles.

 

"I wish I could say that we planned it [opening during the 70^th "anniversary" year]," director/co-producer Cory Shiozaki smiled, "but I can't. We've been at it a long time, and we would've finished earlier if we could've. It just worked out this way."

 

More than six years in the making, this unique tale of life in a prison camp in eastern California was described by Los Angeles Times film reviewer Gary Goldstein as one where trout fishing "became a lifeline for a group of dispirited prisoners who, defying armed guards and barbed wire barriers, temporarily escaped to the mountain lakes for the unfettered joy of sport fishing.

 

"Manzanar's surviving anglers offer absorbing testimony here of their time in captivity and their adventures in pursuit of the coveted golden trout."

 

In addition, the film is highlighted by a strong musical foundation. The expressive score composed and performed by Bill Ungerman and James Achor is augmented by sterling original songs contributed by platinum singer-songwriter Harold Payne, keyboardist Dave Iwataki (an original member of the jazz fusion group Hiroshima) and George Abe, a master of the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute).

 

The upcoming matinees at the Laemmle Monica 4 in Santa Monica, Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, NoHo 7 in North Hollywood and Claremont 5 in Claremont are part of an expansion following the film's successful debut.

 

'We plan to take the movie wherever we're wanted," Imamura added, "but we have to do it deliberately because we're such a small company doing it entirely on our own."

 

The Monica 4 is located at 1332 2^nd Street in Santa Monica; NoHo 7 at 5240 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood; the Playhouse 7 at 673 E. Colorado Blvd. In Pasadena; and the Claremont 5 at 450 W. 2^nd Street in Claremont. Advance ticket sales are available on the movie's website (fearnotrout.com) and the Laemmle Theatres website (laemmle.com).

 

Looking ahead, the filmmakers plan to roll the film out gradually in other cities based on reviews and word-of-mouth.

"The Manzanar Fishing Club" was made with support from the California Stete Library's CCLPEP and the National Park Service's JACS grant programs and private donations.

 

A From Barbed Wire to Barbed Hooks LLC production, "The Manzanar Fishing Club" was directed by Cory Shiozaki from an original screenplay by Richard Imamura. The producers are Cory Shiozaki, Richard Imamura, Lester Chung and John Gengl. The executive producer is Alan Sutton.

 

You can see the trailer, go to the Manzanar Fishing Club Website , hear the theme song, or check them out on Facebook. 

 

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