442nd Animation

I recently received this message from my nephew the animator. I post it here for anyone who might be interested.
–Don

*****

Hello Friends, Family & Supporters,

It is Brad Uyeda Jr., and I am finally done writing and ready to direct of my animated feature film, Purple Heart for Effect.

When Japanese Americans’ eligibility for military service was restored in early 1943, the number who chose to enlist out of the concentration camps chose to do so despite their family’s continued incarceration. Most became members of the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which fought in some of the toughest battles on the European front and became one of the most decorated units in the war. Others joined intelligence units in the Pacific as Japanese language specialists whose skills in interrogation and translation contributed greatly to Allied successes.

As I began to think about this I realized that my own children will never know who these family members are other than the photographs on the walls. I want my family and every extension of it to know the history behind the name and names we’ve given our offspring. So when covid happened I decided to spend the time in locked down to write the story. I knew a long time ago that I was going to tell it I just wasn’t sure when that would be…until now.

Artist, Father, Grandfather…a Soldier.

Stripped of his freedom in 1944, Mas, my grandfather, a Japanese American enlists in a segregated unit of the U.S. army to prove his allegiance to his country during World War 2 and in the process heroically saving a lost battalion in the mountains of France. Like so many who fought and survived in WW2 they really didn’t talk about their experiences. Wounded in battle and lost some portion of his thigh my grandfather never talked about any of the wartime. Only in recent years did my generation step up and start asking those who are alive their stories. After researching and talking with my family and those who remember I pieced together my family story.

This past February my Uncle Rich, my grandfathers youngest son passed away. I had been sharing with him my film ideas and this story. He told me “You better do it, you better make this movie.” I told him I would and I am.

But your help is needed now to get this film started. I’m asking for $20,000 to create 20 minutes of the film in what is called a proof of concept. A POC is the best way to communicate the bigger picture to the investors that make the big decisions, and every dollar will have its purpose. The money will be specifically dedicated to this film only; none of it will fund my morning coffee. The completion of this project is my sole objective, and whatever you can give will be appreciatively used to breathe life into that ambition..

Also, I’m especially pleased to announce that we have received fiscal sponsorship with From The Heart Productions LLC, our partner whose 501(c)(3) status will provide all donors with a tax deduction for their gifts.

What You Get

We would like to create with you a communal experience with some goodies, as our way of saying “THANK YOU.” Check out those perks when you join our global team of supporters!

Perks include digital access to the film, a credit in the film, VIP invite to the film’s premiere, signed copy of the poster, script access, producer credit, and more!

Please share this campaign and film project with your friends, families, and social media!

Here are the bullet points for what the money raised will help to achieve:

Production Benefits

Money raised will:

1. Create a Proof of Concept trailer to show to investors – myself and a small team will work on this ($25,000)
2. Investment goes to Development and the effort to raise the $3.5 million for final budget

Please donate or share with the people you think would like to support our cause (remember we are tax deductible).

Here is a link to the information page from the Purple Heart for Effect.

https://savmostudios.com