Filmmaker Raises Funds for ‘NAMI,’ a Story About Her Mother’s Mourning

Jan 15, 2014

Masami Kawai is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who has created a role that only her mother, who is a Japanese immigrant, can play–and she’s raising $10,000 to do it. But the film, which was inspired by Kawai’s mother following the death of her father, is aiming to do a lot more:

"For me, this stands as an important representation of a character that usually goes unnoticed in our society. Sometimes we see older immigrant women as grandmas or workers, but rarely do they get to be a protagonist with their own struggles and triumphs. It’s important to me to create nuanced immigrant characters for the screen."

Kawai originally set her fundraising goal to produce the film, called NAMI, at $7,000. When supporters hit that mark, she stretched it to $10,000 to help with costs for post-production and festival submissions. With just 15 hours to go at press time, Kawai needs to raise just $580 to make this film a reality.