Between Pictures: The Lens of Tamio Wakayama
(71 minutes), 2024 - A TELUS original film
live action and animation documentary
Between Pictures: The Lens of Tamio Wakayama tells the epic journey of the late Japanese Canadian photographer Tamio Wakayama who decides to join the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the deep south during the 1960’s American civil rights movement. Learning the art of dark room photography along the way, this transformative moment in time allows him to confront his own identity and return ‘home’ to the west coast of Canada to begin a body of photographic work that continues to celebrate, re-present and document the spirit of Japanese Canadians who resided in the former Paueru Gai/Powell Street neighborhoods.
Click here to watch the trailer.
For film distribution inquires, please contact: mochizukistudiosdistributions@gmail.com
Screening History:
TELUS originals YouTube channel: April 2nd, 2026
Emily Alien: Tamio Wakayama at Vancouver Art Gallery: Oct 3, 2025 to Feb 22, 2026
Toronto Japanese Film Festival: June 12-16, 2025
Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival: May 30- June 15, 2025
Centre for Asian American Media Festival: May 8-11, 2025
DisOrient Asian American Film Festival: March 6-23, 2025
Victoria Film Festival: February 7-16, 2025
Utah International Film Festival: January 7-11, 2025
Silk Road International Film Festival (Ireland Premiere): November 11-15, 2024
Vancouver Asian Film Festival: November 7-17, 2024
Los Angeles Asian Film Festival (USA Premiere): October 12-13, 2024
Fukuoka Asia Film Festival (Japan Premiere): October 3-5, 2024
Powell Street Festival: August 3-4, 2024
DOXA Documentary Film Festival (World Premiere): May 2-12, 2024
Director, writer, producer, & animation: Cindy Mochizuki
Cinematographer & editor: Milena Salazar
Lead production artist & animation compositing: Wen Wen (Cherry) Lu
Narrator: Hiro Kanagawa
Interviewees: Judy Richardson, Mas Nakawatase, Leslie Kelen, Michiko Sakata, Linda Hoffman, Bryce Kanbara, Paul Wong, Kathy Shimizu
Sound Design, composer & musical collaborator: Chiyoko Szlavnics
Guitar: Seth Joel
Taiko, percussion & shamisen: Onibana Taiko (E. Kage and Noriko Kobayashi)
C & bass flutes: Rebecca Lenton
Shakuhachi: Takeo Yamashiro
Recorded at Studio Adam Asnan, Berlin
Recording Engineer: Adam Asnan
SEM, akademie de Künste, Berlin
Recording Engineer: Malte Giesen
Monarch Studios, Vancouver
Recording Engineer: Alex Penney, Aaron Klassen, Michelle Irving
Colourist: So Young Park
Distributions Producer: Kazuho Yamamoto and Alex Rosenthal
Tailer Editor: Candelario Andrade
Medio Production Assistant: Amanda Sum
Camera Assistant/Transcription Support: Jacob Willcott
With financial support from: TELUS originals, The Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council, The Audain Foundation, and The Asian Canadian Studies Society.
Community sponsors: Powell Street Festival Society and the Japanese American National Museum.