Seth I. Pickens
Features Editor
Costa senior Maddox Chen released his documentary about Francis Uyematsu on Oct. 29 2022. In the documentary he interviews Uyematsu’s granddaughter, Mary Kao, and retired Costa teacher, Chuck Currier, to get a better view of the life and legacy of Francis Uyematsu.
Francis Uyematsu was a Japanese immigrant who moved to America in 1904 and started a very successful flower business. He grew his flower farm to span over 100 acres of land, but during World War II he was forced to sell all his land. In 2021 Manhattan Beach School District decided to build a plaque honoring his legacy. After hearing about this Chen decided to look further into Uyematsu’s story and make his documentary.
“I was inspired to make this film when I heard about the plaque that was being made to honor Francis Uyematsu,” Chen said. “I had never heard of Francis Uyematsu before, and when I looked into him more, I was shocked to learn that he had previously owned all of Mira Costa’s land. Francis Uyematsu had an immense impact on this community but wasn’t really given the recognition he deserves, which motivated me to make the documentary.”
According to Chen, a great deal of work went into making the documentary. Chen first started working on the film at a summer camp at USC that ended in August, but didn’t finish until October. He started by researching the Uyematsu family to find out more information and see who he could potentially interview. After making the general plan for the documentary he pitched his idea to his professor at USC and his idea was approved.
“I reached out to the people I would interview, came up with interview questions, got locations to film at, and made a list of what I would need to film,” Chen said. “When I was ready, I conducted four film shoots, where I filmed interviews and b-rolls. After I got the footage, I began editing the film together, which was the most time-consuming and difficult part of the documentary.”
Even though he already spent four months working on his documentary, Chen continues to spread word of Uyematsu. Chen has been submitting his documentary to film festivals and has put more eyes on Uyematsu’s story.
“This entire [production] process happened over the span of a few months, from July to October, way past when the USC summer course ended, where I worked on it whenever I had the chance,” Chen said. “However, I’m continuing to work on the project today by submitting to film festivals and trying to get more recognition for Francis Uyematsu, which has already led to success.”
According to sophomore Juan Cortes he learned from Chen’s documentary. Even after the plaque made in Uyematsu’s honor was unveiled, some students didn’t know who he was or how significant of a figure he was.
“Before this video I did not know who [Francis Uyematsu] was,” sophomore Juan Cortes said. “I learned a lot after watching the video and I am amazed at the amount he was able to attain throughout his life.”
According to Chen, he made the documentary to inform people about the life of Francis Uyematsu. Uyematsu’s incredible success in the face of so many challenges was something Chen thought deserved more attention.
“With this film, I hoped to spread awareness of Francis’ legacy and impact in the United States,” Chen said. “He was an Asian American that was able to overcome a lot of adversity and achieve great success in a country that was against him. Francis became a pillar of his community, and I think his story is an important and inspiring one to tell, especially for the Asian American community.”
The documentary, titled “Grandpa Cherry Blossom”, can be found on Maddox’s YouTube channel “MC Cinemas”. Senior Maddox Chen films and edits short films to upload on his youtube channels. According to Chen, his recent project “Grandpa Cherry Blossom” was made to spread awareness about Francis Uyematsu. Photo Courtesy of Maddox Chen
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