J&S Auto Press Kit
Press Contact: grace.hj.jung@gmail.com

Title: J&S Auto
Director: Grace Jung
Genre: Documentary short
Year of Completion: 2021
Country of Origin: USA
Runtime: 13 minutes
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Filmmaker’s bio and director’s statement

Logline
J&S Auto follows a day in the life of Joe Iwama—a 99-year-old Japanese American auto mechanic in Los Angeles who has been opening his auto shop every morning since 1949.

Synopsis
J&S Auto follows a day in the life of Joe Iwama—a 99-year-old Japanese American auto mechanic in Los Angeles who has been opening his auto shop every morning since 1949. In this portrait verité documentary, Joe narrates his life as an Asian American working-class immigrant about the California farm life, his family’s incarceration at Japanese “internment” camps, and the middle-minority existence he encountered as an Asian between white and Black neighborhoods. This film follows the rhythm of an elderly Asian American who has an intimate tie to the shop he has been a part of for over 70 years, and embodies nearly a century’s worth of experiences as an émigré, camp survivor, small business owner, father and an Angeleno. 

Premiere Status
World Premiere: Maryland Film Festival, April 27, 2022
Texas Premiere: Houston Asian American Film Festival, June 2022
New York Premiere: Brooklyn Film Festival, July 2022
Massachusetts Premiere: Boston.Doc Film Festival, July 2022
more dates TBA

Cast and Crew
Director – Grace Jung
Executive Producer – Thomas Bucher
Producer – Grace Jung
Producer – Diana Hong
Cinematographer – Siru Wen
Cinematographer – Grace Jung
Cinematographer – Kayla Velasquez
Editor – Grace Jung
Colorist – Haruka Motohashi
Sound Mixer – Yu-ting Su