Linda Ohama

Linda Ohama is a Canadian artist and filmmaker. She is most noted for her 2001 film Obāchan's Garden.

Career

Ohama's first feature-length documentary was Obāchan's Garden, released in 2001. The film centred on Ohama's grandmother, Asayo Murakami,[1] and was partly filmed in Onomichi.[2] It was a Genie Award nominee for Best Feature Length Documentary at the 22nd Genie Awards in 2001.[3] Obāchan's Garden also won five Leo Awards including Best Director for Ohama.[4]

Following the tsunami that hit Japan's Tohoku region in March 2011, Ohama began working on the documentary A New Moon over Tohoku (2016), that chronicled the tsunami and its effects. She spent over two years filming the project.[2][5]

She has also directed the films The Last Harvest (1994),[6] Neighbors, and Wild Horses & Cowboys,[5] as well as two episodes of the documentary television series A Scattering of Seeds.

Ohama is principally a visual artist, whose work centres on her Japanese Canadian heritage.[7]

Personal life

Ohama was born and raised in Rainier, Alberta on a potato farm.[7] Her family lost the farm in the 1990s.[5]

References

1. Davis, Rocío G. (2008). "Locating Family: Asian-Canadian Historical Revisioning in Linda Ohama's Obaachan's Garden and Ann Marie Fleming's The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam". Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'études canadiennes. 42 (1): 1–22. ISSN 1911-0251.
2. Endo Greenaway, John (2016-09-06). "A New Moon Over Tohoku". The Bulletin. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
3. Michael Posner, "Atanarjuat, War Bride lead Genie list: Each feature picks up seven nominations, followed closely by Last Wedding with six". The Globe and Mail, December 13, 2001.
4. Lanthier, Nancy (2016-10-03). "Linda Ohama documents psychic and social costs still borne by survivors of the Japanese tsunami". POV Magazine. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
5. Eisner, Ken (29 September 2016). "VIFF 2016: Linda Ohama ponders Japan after the flood with A New Moon Over Tohoku". The Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
6. Bonnie Malleck, "Love and loss on the farm; Daughter chronicles her Alberta family's struggles". Edmonton Journal, March 24, 1994.
7. "Burnaby Art Gallery marks Asian Heritage Month". Burnaby Now, May 8, 2014.

External links

• Linda Ohama at IMDb
• Official website