THE CATS OF MIRIKITANI
Cedar Rapids premiere |
Blending beauty and humor with tragedy and loss, The Cats
of Mirikitani is an intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war
and the healing power of art.
Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani survived the trauma of WWII internment
camps, Hiroshima and homelessness by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens
his life on the New York City streets and a local filmmaker brings him to
her home, the two embark on a journey to confront Jimmy's painful past. An
intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the healing powers
of friendship and art, this documentary won the Audience Award at its
premiere in the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival.
"Make art not war" is Jimmy Mirikitani's motto. The Japanese-American artist
was born in Sacramento and raised in Hiroshima, but by 2001 he is living on
the streets of New York, where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center
anchor the horizon behind him.
How did Mirikitani end up on the streets? The answer is in his art. As
tourists and shoppers hurry past, he sits alone on a windy corner in Soho
drawing whimsical cats, bleak internment camps, and the angry red flames of
the atomic bomb. When a neighboring filmmaker stops to ask about
Mirikitani's art, a friendship begins that will change both their lives.
His story
tumbles out to the filmmaker:
childhood picnics in
Hiroshima, ancient samurai ancestors, lost American citizenship, Jackson
Pollock, Pearl Harbor, thousands of Japanese Americans imprisoned in WWII
internment camps, a boy who loved cats...
What begins as a simple verite portrait
of one homeless man becomes a rare document of daily life in New York in the
months leading up to 9/11. How deeply these the stories of JImmy and the
filmmaker will be intertwined can hardly be imagined. This is the story of
losing "home" on many levels.
September 11 thrusts Mirikitani once again into
a world at war and challenges the filmmaker to move from witness to
advocate. Jimmy's story comes full circle when he travels back to the West
Coast to reconnect with a community of former internees and reunite with the
sister he was separated from half a century ago.
The Cats of Mirikitani is a heart-warming affirmation of humanity
that will appeal to all lovers of peace, art … and cats.
Sat Mar 7 |
8 pm
CSPS | 1103 Third St SE | Cedar Rapids
Free |
Donations accepted at the door
The film will be followed by comments from Grace Amemiya, an Ames resident who,
like Jimmy, was forced into an internment camp 67 years ago,
Discussion and informal reception to follow.
Ticket info
Go to
artist's Web site
Click here for a downloadable flyer (PDF)
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