Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - As part of their Every Tuesday Movie Night film series, the Costa Banderas Chapter of Democrats Abroad will present "The Cats of Mirikitani" on January 22nd, at 7 pm at the Paradise Community Center on the Southside of Puerto Vallarta. The 2006 film has won 13 major film festival awards.

The Cats of Mirikitani

Filmmaker Linda Hattendorf offers a remarkable profile of a man who, after surviving one of the most shameful episodes in American history, finds his nation preparing to make the same mistakes all over again.

Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani is an elderly man of Japanese heritage who lives on the streets of New York City, where he makes a meager living peddling his drawings. Mirikitani specializes in sketches of cats, but that's hardly the only thing he draws.

When he was a young man, during World War II, Mirikitani lived in California and found himself in an internment camp in Tule Lake, CA, where Japanese-Americans were stripped of their rights and locked away because of racist assumptions about their loyalties; his years in Tule Lake are a common subject in his more personal work.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, Mirikitani found life in New York City harder than ever for the homeless, and filmmaker Hattendorf, who had struck up an acquaintance with the artist, offered to let him move into her home. As Mirikitani slowly but surely takes over Hattendorf's flat under the gaze of her camera, he shares with her horrifying stories of his days in confinment, discusses the emotional scars that have yet to heal from his experiences, and his growing rage over the casual racism that has taken over since the attack on New York - racism which mirrors his experiences in the '40s.

Don't miss your chance to see this fascinating film, presented by the Costa Banderas Chapter of Democrats Abroad. Advance tickets are available prior to the show every day between 9 am and 2 pm at the Paradise Community Center for $60 pesos. Tickets are available at the door on Tuesday night for $70 pesos. The movie starts at 7 pm but we invite movie-goers to come at 6 pm and enjoy the food vendors at the Community Center and eat before the show. Wine, beer and other refreshments are also available.

Please Note

Due to higher than expected attendance and to help us make the films enjoyable for all, we encourage you to buy your tickets in advance. This will help us to anticipate the turn out for each film. We also suggest that you arrive early. The theater doors open at 6:30 at which time you can enter and save a seat.

Paradise Community Center is located at 127 Pulpito, directly across from Coco's Kitchen in Puerto Vallarta. For further information, contact Tobe Jensen - tjensen1942(at)hotmail.com or David Camp and Judy Snow - snowkamp1(at)yahoo.com.