Between Worlds: A Conversation with Filmmaker Megumi Nishikura on Mixed-Race Identity and Dual Citizenship in Japan

Join us for a conversation on mixed-race identity and belonging featuring acclaimed filmmaker Megumi Nishikura. 

Megumi Nishikura will share her personal experience as a mixed-race individual and her commitment to the power of storytelling, including with her celebrated documentary HAFU: The Mixed Race Experience in Japan. The film highlighted the stories of mixed-race people navigating life in Japan. Megumi will also discuss her current film project Kokusekihou, which focuses on the impacts caused by Japan’s nationality law, which does not recognize dual citizenship. Whether you are mixed, multilingual, multicultural, or just curious about mixed race identity, we hope you will join us for this conversation with Megumi Nishikura!

Ticketed and open to the public (pre-registration required).

A portion of ticket sale proceeds and donations goes towards funding Megumi Nishikura's work and current film project Kokusekihou. To donate to Megumi Nishikura, please visit this link.

Megumi Nishikura – Presenter

Megumi Nishikura is a documentary filmmaker whose work explores identity, belonging, and the cultural intersections between Japan and the world. Her feature documentary "Hafu - the mixed race experience in Japan", which she co-directed with Lara Perez Takagi, was screened theatrically throughout Japan and aired on PBS and NipponTV. She produced "Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight: The Japanese War Brides", which aired globally on BBC World News, and in 2019 directed "Minidoka" a short film about the Japanese American internment experience during WWII, published by TIME magazine. She is currently making a film about Japan's Nationality Law and the dual citizenship issue in Japan.  When not making her own films, she works as a producer on docuseries for major streaming platforms. To read more about Megumi Nishikura's work, visit her website.

Yuga Cohler – Moderator

Yuga Cohler is Head of Engineering at Coinbase Developer Platform, where he leads the development of global financial infrastructure that powers the movement and use of digital assets. Previously, Yuga worked at Google, where he led teams within Cloud and Search. Of Japanese and American descent, Yuga speaks Japanese fluently and is an Associate Member of the U.S.-Japan Council. He has a strong interest in foreign policy and international finance, serves as a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and was a David Rockefeller Fellow at the Trilateral Commission.Yuga graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College, where he studied computer science, and from the Juilliard School, where he studied orchestral conducting. His work focuses on advancing an open, global financial system through blockchain technology.

Trailer for HAFU: The Mixed Race Experience in Japan

Released in 2013, Megumi Nishikura's documentary film HAFU: The Mixed-Race Experience in Japan explores the intricacies of mixed-race, ethnically half Japanese people and their multicultural experiences in modern Japan.