June Inuzuka | Filmaker & Writer
JUNE KAZUKO INUZUKA
June is a writer and filmmaker living in Denver, Colorado with her husband Steve and her cat Muse. She has three extremely talented children who care about making the world a better place and help make her films possible.
June is a "Sansei," or third generation Japanese American, born in California. Her parents, are second generation Americans (Nisei) born in the U.S. as well. Her father and his family were imprisoned behind barbed wire during World War II at the Gila River internment facility in Arizona. Her grandparents were first generation immigrants to the United States from Japan (Issei) and made their living as a housekeeper and gardener. Her mother, thirteen and an American citizen, was trapped in Japan during the war. Her mother's sister watched a giant mushroom cloud rise over Hiroshima.
June has degrees in history, nursing, and law. She spent several years in Washington, D.C. working on behalf of women and the Asian American community. She was on the Board of the National Institute for Women of Color and President of Pan Asia, an Asian woman's public policy organization.
After moving to Denver, she attended the Colorado Film School. She is also at work on a poetry memoir, "A Name and a Place," about three generations of a Japanese American family.
CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO
Increase diversity in film production creators and crew to produce stories of the American experience from perspectives are not reflected in mainstream film and media.
Encourage remembrance, retrieval and inspiration from our histories, families and communities.
Imagine new and creative paths to tell our stories.
DIRTY ROTTEN TOFU
and THE GOHAN GIRLS
One of Top Ten Best
Western Short Scripts for 2019
Introduction:
1880 was a presidential election year. "Yellow Fever" or fear and hatred of the Chinese was reaching its peak. The xenophobia resulted in the killing and burning of entire Chinese sections of towns all over the West. Asians were seen as less than human and Asian women were considered property to be used and discarded.
The film brings together the Wild West, strong female action heroes and the influences of science fiction, anime and martial arts films that have become a part of American pop culture. Picture "Kill Bill" goes west with a young Michelle Yeoh shooting up serious bad guys at the Mos Eisley Cantina in "Star Wars." That's "Dirty Rotten Tofu and the Gohan Girls."
The film has a predominantly Asian cast and takes place in a Chinatown that is not just a side story. It is a unique and entertaining twist on the traditional western inspired by true events and characters.