A Still from "Day of Independence" (2003) Directed by Chris Tashima
On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the forced removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans—most of them U.S. citizens—into 10 concentration camps in desolate locations across the country.
2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the rescinding of E.O. 9066, officially enacted by President Ford on February 19, 1976.
Working in partnership with the Short Films Branch of the Academy, this program offers a collection of animated, documentary and narrative works that explore what it’s like when your country questions you; how families endure; and how a community survives.
The program will feature remarks from Academy Museum Director and President Amy Homma and Governor of the Short Films Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Chris Tashima, who also directed one of the films in the program: Day of Independence (2003).
Short Films Honoring “Day of Remembrance: Executive Order 9066’
Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 7pm PT at Ted Mann Theater
Days of Waiting
1991 | 28 min. | USA | Color | English | Not Rated | 16mm
Print courtesy Academy Film Archive
DIRECTED BY: Steven Okazaki
STORY BY: Estelle Peck Ishigo
WITH: Estelle Peck Ishigo, Lynn O’Donnell, Dorothy Stroup
Minoru: Memory of Exile
1992 | 19 min. | Canada | Color | English | Not Rated | DCP
DIRECTED BY: Michael Fukushima
WITH: Minoru Fukushima, Takeo Yamashiro
Day of Independence
2003 | 27 min. | USA | Color | English | Not Rated | 35mm
DIRECTED BY: Chris Tashima
WRITTEN BY: Chris Tashima, Tim Toyama
WITH: Derek Mio, Marcus Toji, Alan Muraoka, Keiko Kawashima
Resettlement: Chicago Story
2023 | 16 min | USA | Black-and-white | English, Japanese | Not Rated | DCP
DIRECTED BY: Reina Higashitani
WRITTEN BY: Reina Higashitani, Eugene Sun Park
WITH: Lynn Masako Cheng, Natsuko Aoike, Toshio Hirano, Marika Engelhardt
Tickets to the Academy Museum are available only through advance online reservations via the Academy Museum’s website and mobile app.
Film screening tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors (age 62+), $5 for students, $5 for children (ages 17 and younger), and $8 for museum members.
General admission tickets for the museum’s exhibitions are $25 for adults, $19 for seniors (age 62+), and $15 for students. Admission for visitors ages 17 and younger and for California residents with an EBT card is free.
The Academy Museum’s exhibitions, galleries, and store are open six days a week from 10am to 6pm and are closed on Tuesdays and select holidays.
About the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
The Academy Museum is the largest museum in the world devoted to global cinema and the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. The museum advances the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema through inclusive and accessible exhibitions, screenings, programs, initiatives, and collections.
Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, the museum's campus contains the restored and revitalized historic Saban Building—formerly known as the May Company building (1939)—and a soaring spherical addition.
Together, these buildings contain 50,000 square feet of exhibition spaces, two state-of-the-art theaters, the Shirley Temple Education Studio, and beautiful public spaces that are free and open to the public.
These include: The Walt Disney Company Piazza and the Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby, which houses the Spielberg Family Gallery, Academy Museum Store, and Fanny’s restaurant and café.
