Manzanar, Diverted: Where Water Becomes Dust

CATS is pleased to partner with Onyx Downtown again on Sunday, May 26, in bringing this documentary, an inspired and poetic portrait of a place and its people.  Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust follows intergenerational women from three communities who defend their land, their history and their culture from the insatiable thirst of Los Angeles. In this fresh retelling of the LA water story, Native Americans, Japanese-American WWII incarcerees and environmentalists form an unexpected alliance to preserve Payahuunadü (Owens Valley), “the land of flowing water.” Featuring breathtaking photography and immersive soundscapes, the film recounts more than 150 years of history, showing how this distant valley is inextricably tied to the city of Los Angeles. It reveals the forced removals of the Nüümü (Paiute) and the Newe (Shoshone) who were marched out of the Valley in the 1860s by the US Army, and the Japanese Americans who were brought here from their West Coast homes and incarcerated in a World War II concentration camp. Water lured outsiders in and continues to fuel the greed which has sucked this once lush place dry.

Filmmaker Ann Kaneko will appear virtually after the screening.  Screened at 28 film festivals worldwide | BEST DOCUMENTARY – San Diego Asian Film Festival | HONORABLE MENTION – CAAMFEST and Milwaukee Film Festival.

Tickets will be available through the Onyx Theatre at https://theonyxtheatre.com in April 2024