Picture Bride - 30th Anniversary
PG-13for sensuality
Riyo marries a man more than twice her age. She is devastated and labors in the sugar cane field. At the end she is able to love her husband.
THE REPERTORY SCREENINGS FORUM presents the 30th Anniversary screening of PICTURE BRIDE as a fundraising event at Gardena Cinema, 14948 Crenshaw Blvd, Gardena on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. Doors Open at 1:00 pm. Screening starts at 1:30 pm. Co-sponsored by the JACL Greater Los Angeles Chapter.
Post-screening filmmaker panel moderated by George Johnston, Editor of the Pacific Citizen, and Alex Luu with special guests Lisa Onodera (Producer), Claudio Rocha (Cinematographer), and Wade Major (Film Critic).
Panelists:
- Lisa Onodera, Producer
- Claudio Rocha, Cinematographer
- Wade Major, KPCC Film critic
Moderated by George Johnston, Senior Editor at Pacific Citizen
Ticket Tiers: Samurai ($20)• Admission • Commemorative Program Daimyō ($35) • Admission • Commemorative Program• 11" x 17" in. “Picture Bride” miniposter Shōgun ($50)• Yellow wristband • Admission • Commemorative Program• 11" x 17" in. “Picture Bride” miniposter• Postscreening access to have filmmakers sign miniposter and get photo taken with filmmakers• Exclusive limited-window link & PW to audio file of panel discussion podcast
Tickets and info: gardenacinema.com
PICTURE BRIDE is a 1995 American Japanese-language feature-length independent film directed by Kayo Hatta from a screenplay co-written with Mari Hatta, and co-produced by Diane Mei Lin Mark and Lisa Onodera.
It follows Riyo, who arrives in Hawaii as a "picture bride" at the turn of the century for a man she has never met before. The story is based on the historical practice, due to U.S. anti-miscegenation laws, of Japanese immigrant laborers in the United States using long-distance matchmakers in their homelands to find wives.
Released by Miramax Films, the film stars Youki Kudoh, Akira Takayama, Tamlyn Tomita, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, with a special appearance by Toshiro Mifune in his penultimate film role.
Picture Bride premiered at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for narrative dramatic feature film. Considered a landmark Asian American work, the film was an Official Selection at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature.
