BIO

JESSE NISHIHATA was a pioneer Japanese Canadian filmmaker. Born Hideo Nishihata in 1929 in Vancouver to Japanese immagrant parents, Jesse grew up on Powell Street, the former Japantown, until 1942 when his family were among the 22,000 Canadians of Japanese ancestry expelled from the BC coast. The Nishihata family were sent to Tashme internment camp. Later, Jesse completed his education in Montreal and attended graduate school in London.

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From 1966 to 1978, Jesse worked as a contract producer for the CBC Public Affairs Department. During this time Jesse produced and directed many documentaries including Watari Dori: A Bird of Passage (1973). Watari Dori uses Jesse’s own family history as a framework for exploring the Japanese Canadian internment. This was the first film concerning the Japanese Canadian World War II experience to be broadcasted on Canadian television.

From 1979 to 1995, Jesse taught film and media studies at Ryerson University’s Image Arts department. It was during this period that Jesse established himself as an independent producer and director.

Jesse’s independent productions include some of his best-known works such as The Inquiry Film (1977). This film provides a visual report of the commission of Inquiry conducted by Mr. Justice Thomas R. Berger into the social, economic and environmental impact of a proposed pipeline in the Western Artic region known as the Mackenzie Valley. The Inquiry Film earned Jesse the 1977 Canadian Film Award for Best Documentary over 60 minutes.

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Jesse also ventured into the avant-garde through films such as Black Earth (1988), an experimental visual-essay, which illustrates a poetic metaphor of the earth as a woman. Black Earth was filmed on location in India and was awarded a citation for Personal Vision and Cinematography at the 1988 Oakland International Film Festival. Other notable films include Justice in Our Time: How Redress Was Won (1989), a video record of the Japanese Canadian fight for Redress and Catch the Spirit! (1991), which documents the Earth Spirit Festival.

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From 1992 to 2000, Jesse worked as the Managing English Editor of the Nikkei Voice, a Japanese Canadian monthly publication. Jesse states that during his time at the Nikkei Voice he came to "understand and appreciate the dynamics of the Nikkei community in its many and varied aspects as it struggles to retain a semblance of integrity and identity."

Jesse's prolific career in film opened up doors for all Japanese Canadian artists and Canadian documentary filmmakers in general, as he continually brought pressing issues and interesting stories into the public consciousness.

Jesse passed away in 2006 after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.