The Untold Story of a 442nd Veteran Comes to the Screen: “Shikata Ga Nai “ Showing at Gardena Cinema on Sunday, November 15 at 12PM (only)
The Nisei Veteran Legacy Presents
a special screening event
Shikata Ga Nai (It Cannot Be Helped) 110 minutes, drama
Ticket on sale: https://www.gardenacinema.com/movie/shikata-ga-nai-it-cannot-be-helped
Sunday, November 15, 2026, at 12:00PM
Gardena Cinema
14948 Crenshaw Blvd, Garena, CA (310) 217-0505
Please stay after the screening for a filmmaker panel Q&A with writer and director Eric Nemoto with film cast and crew.
SHIKATA GA NAI (It Cannot Be Helped)
A retired Honolulu man, a WWII veteran and member of the famed 442nd RCT, has visions of a young German soldier which recalls an incident from the war that haunts him still.
It is 1999. Tatsuo “Tats” Kaneshiro, a veteran of the famed 442 RCT, is in his 70s and retired in Honolulu, Hawaii. He spends his days doing yard work, entertaining another 442 buddy, and coping with his divorced daughter and his grandson who live with him. But this seemingly routine life masks a secret. Tats suffers from a condition that wasn’t recognized back then, PTSD. Beset by nightmares and visions of a young German soldier, Tats struggles to cope with life while refusing to tell anyone what happened over 50 years ago in a forest in France. Following Tats until the source of his past deed is revealed, “Shikata Ga Nai” is a story of what affected many Nisei veterans – a reluctance to talk about their time in the war.
Writer and Director Eric Nemoto is the owner of Yellow Brick Studio, which represents seven creative ventures, one of which, LegacyVision Films, has produced 19 feature length movies (including Shikata Ga Nai) since 2014, and represents 32 movies overall. As a writer, he has written or co-written 153 feature length screenplays (20 produced), and 18 produced stage plays (including Merry Christmas, Roberta, voted best play in Hawaii for the 2007-2008 season). As an actor he has played the lead (or appeared in a supporting role) in seven movies, had featured roles in the TV series Lost and Hawaii Five-O (recurring role of prosecutor James Chen), and has received two Po’okela Awards (Hawaii’s Tonys) for excellence in stage acting. As a director he has directed 16 movies and 11 stage plays. He is the founder and president of TAG – The Actors’ Group, one of Honolulu’s finest community theatres established in 1993, is the developer of All Hawaii TV, a public Roku streaming television channel dedicated to everything that is Hawaii, and has taught acting for over 30 years.
SHIKATA GA NAI (It Cannot Be Helped) (2024)
Produced by Yellow Brick Studio in association with Wicked Gecko Production, the Nisei Veteran Legacy, and Scott Ward
Written and directed by Eric Nemoto
Starring Dann Seki as Tats, Denise-Aiko Chinen as Lyann, Devon Nekoba as Shawn, Seth Okumura as Ryan, Allan Okubo as Seichi, Steven I. Dillard, Scott Ward, Blake Kirkpatrick