JANM Mourns the Passing of Legendary Filmmaker Robert A. Nakamura

Editors please note: JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; programs will continue on the JANM campus and at other locations at janm.org/OnTheGo. 

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) mourns the passing of Robert A. Nakamura. Known to generations of artists as “the Godfather of Asian American media,” he was a legendary photographer, filmmaker, and activist who was on the original advisory committee that developed JANM in 1985 and founded JANM’s Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center (MAC) as well as the JANM Moving Image and Photographic Archive. Born in Venice, California, Nakamura was incarcerated in the Manzanar concentration camp during World War II as a child. His camp experiences informed and inspired his life’s work, including his pioneering films Manzanar (1971), Wataridori: Birds of Passage (1975), and Hito Hata: Raise the Banner (1980). 

Manzanar was Nakamura’s personal experimental documentary that revisited his childhood memories of incarceration. As the first of its kind, it has been used as an educational tool in schools across the country for over fifty years. In 2022, it was inducted into the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress.

Wataridori: Birds of Passage focused on the legacy of the Issei through the stories of three elders, one of whom was Nakamura’s father. The Issei were the first generation of Japanese immigrants in America. In 1976 it was shown at the White House as part of the US Bicentennial celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. 

Hito Hata: Raise the Banner was a groundbreaking film directed by Nakamura and Duane Kubo. It was the first Asian American feature film about Asian Americans that was produced by Asian Americans. The film captured the contributions and hardships of Japanese Americans from immigration to the 1970s through the fictional story of one man. It was recently restored and has been shown nationwide.

In 1970, Nakamura was the founding director of Visual Communications which develops and supports the voices of Asian American and Pacific Islander filmmakers and media artists who empower communities and challenge perspectives. It is now the oldest community-based media arts center in the US. In 1996 he founded the UCLA Center for EthnoCommunications to promote the documentation, preservation, and creative expression of diverse ethnic experiences through emerging media and communications technologies.

During his tenure as the head of the JANM Media Arts Center (MAC), Nakamura directed Toyo Miyatake: Infinite Shades of Gray (2001), five films for the exhibition From Bento to Mixed Plate (1997) and the award-winning three-screen installation, Something Strong Within (1994), an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival. He also executive produced a five-part children’s educational video series on the World War II incarceration (2000), a multiple-screen installation for the core exhibition Common Ground (1999), and the film 9066 to 9/11 (2004), which draws parallels between the treatment of Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the treatment of Arab Americans and Muslims after September 11, 2001, and many other others.

For their multiple contributions in filmmaking, advocating for the cultural and historical significance of home movies, documentation of community events and recording of oral histories, Nakamura and Ishizuka received the inaugural JANM Legacy Award at the 2016 JANM Gala. The JANM Legacy Award recognizes individuals and organizations that have made a lasting contribution to the Museum’s institutional legacy and helped to distinguish JANM as a unique, vital, and valuable community resource.

Most recently, Nakamura’s life and legacy was captured in the 2025 award-winning documentary, Third Act. The film was directed by Nakamura and Ishizuka’s son, Tad (now the director of MAC), and premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Critics have pointed out that more than a just a bio-pic, Third Act reflects the generational effects of injustice, family and legacy, reveals the emotional weight carried by those who try to fight injustice even as they wonder if their efforts will ever make a difference and challenges the audience to reflect upon the penetrating impact of racial trauma and debilitating illness. 

“JANM is heartbroken by the passing of Robert A. Nakamura, a towering figure in Asian American media arts and a beloved member of the JANM family. Together with Karen, he helped shape and elevate the Watase Media Arts Center into the award–winning institution it is today—a beacon for community storytelling and cultural truth-telling. Bob’s exquisite eye, his reverence for photography and film as instruments of justice and memory, and his deep commitment to mentoring generations of emerging artists have left an indelible mark on the field and on our hearts. His legacy will endure in every story we tell,” said Ann Burroughs, President and CEO of JANM.

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