OMAK – Our Mr. Matsura, a documentary about the Japanese frontier photographer who adopted the Okanogan as his home, will have free screenings for the community in Okanogan County on Friday, April 18 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, April 19 at 2 p.m. at the Omak Theater.
“We are thrilled that Maria Lassila, owner of the Omak Theater is so graciously opening the doors to us,” said the team of documentarians.
Our Mr. Matsura, a feature documentary “is the story of photographer Frank Matsura who journeyed from his native Japan to live in rural Washington State in the early 1900s. The son of a samurai, orphaned at a young age, Matsura was raised in Tokyo in the early Meiji Era, emigrated to Seattle as a young man and eventually made his way to Okanogan County, Washington,” write the creators of the documentary.
“There he embedded himself in a community of Native people and homesteaders, including cowboys, ranchers, miners, fruit growers, shopkeepers, small business owners and other local movers and shakers. In the short time he had in the Okanogan, he became one of the area’s leading photo-chroniclers and, arguably, its most beloved citizen,” said the filmmakers.
“More than 2500 Matsura photos survive today. Much of his portfolio is a striking departure from the staid portraits we associate with early 20th-century photography. It expands on and challenges the better-promoted narratives of the American West,” they say.
“The goal of Our Mr. Matsura is to present a picture of the “frontier” that departs from the existing narrative in popular culture and celebrates the singular contribution of an immigrant artist in America.”
Doors open an hour before the showings. See https://shorturl.at/DIlgo for more on the project and the documentaries team.
After the screenings in Omak, the filmmakers will launch the film’s festival run. Followed by other community screenings, an art house cinema run, streaming and more. Our Mr. Matsura was recently featured on TV. The filmmakers ask people to check out this segment on Portland’s lifestyle show Everyday Northwest by visiting https://shorturl.at/vnvKP.
