Sitting Down with Filmakers Christine and Bruce Johnson

For the first time here on campus Roger Williams University had their Roving Eye Documentary Film festival which al the Documentary film students were able to be a part of. My classmate and I both chose to be ambassadors for two visiting filmmakers attending our first film festival. We chose an amazing couple, Christine and Bruce Johhnson.
Christine and Bruce Johnson are a couple from New York who directed, Transcending: the Wat Misaka Story. My classmate and I went to meet the Johnsons as they were entering into the Roger Williams University campus. As we walked over to the car a woman stepped out to greet us and introduce herself as Christine Johnson, who was accompanied by her husband Bruce. Interestingly, both Christine and I were wearing orange dresses and we immediately had something to joke about together. The couple had amazing personalities and was very easy to talk to. It was no wonder Wat Misaka felt comfortable sharing his story with the them.
Transcending: the Wat Misaka Story is about an Asian-American basketball player growing up during the Japanese-American War. During this time the government had set up internment camps which housed the Japanese Americans living in the United states in one area. They were treated differently in schools and by the country because of the current events. Wat Misaka was a talented basketball player and so was his brother. Bruce and Christine were able to gather a decent amount of newspaper and historical information. They also did numerous amounts of interviews with Wat, family friends, and coaches. This helped them gather as much information about his life as possible. The documentary showed his amazing basketball talents as well as his positive outlook on life. It also portrayed the challenges that he was faced with and how he overcame these challenges with a generous peace of mind.
This film was amazing and inspirational in many ways. It took Bruce and Christine two years to make the film and they did most of the work themselves. In fact, Bruce did a lot of the editing right from home. They both described Wat Misaka as very modest and shy. Christine describes their inspiration to make the film from a picture on the wall that they had seen while Bruce was doing lighting and Christine was singing for a performance. When they went to the NBA HAll of Fame they notied that Wat Misaka was not featured there. Bruce expressed that it was also hard to find him in any history book. They made the film because they believed his story was important and should be told to the world. Neither knew how many people would be amazed and touched by Wat's story. When they first appproached Wat with the idea he was surprised and didn't think that his story was very important.
This film was also important for the Japanese Americans who had been put in the internment camps during the war. The couple discuss how many of the people in the internment camps felt that it was their fault and some even felt shame. They also express that Wat had been treatd like a "trivia question." Wat Misaka's story is very important and his story has caught the eye of many all over the world which is what Christine and Bruce wanted to achieve. Before I met with them they had just gone to Hawaii for the film and after they made plans to go to San Francisco. Sports Illustrated had also contacted them for a feature on Wat Misaka. Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story will also be featured in the 2009 Rhode Island International Film Festival. This is exactly what they wanted the film to achieve. Christine and Bruce are both wonderful people as well as filmakers and it is amazing to here their story of the inspiration their film has brought.