Topaz (1945)
48m
Running Time
May 23, 1945Release Date
Plot.
This documentary was secretly and 'illegally' shot inside the prison camps, established during World War II by American authorities to detain US citizens of Japanese descent who were considered a potential threat to national security.
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Cast & Crew.
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Details.
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Wiki.
Topaz is a 1945 documentary film, shot illegally by internee Dave Tatsuno (1913–2006), (though with the assistance of members of the camp staff), which documented life at the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah during World War II. Tatsuno went through a unique and challenging filming process in order to produce his movie due to lack of freedom within the internment camps that hindered his ability to film his experiences.
The film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress in 1996, and was the second amateur film ever selected for the National Film Registry (after the "Zapruder" film of the JFK assassination).
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