Omoiyari: Japanese American Identity in Cinema

A conversation with Kishi Bashi, the pseudonym of singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Kaoru Ishibashi. He will discuss his experience growing up as a Japanese-American, as well as his film, “Omoiyari: a Songfilm by Kishi Bashi. Kishi Bashi is an internationally-acclaimed recording artist, violinist, vocalist and composer who has released six albums and has built a live concert following around the world.  He has also toured internationally as a violinist with diverse artists such as Regina Spektor, Sondre Lerche, and of Montreal.  His latest album, Omoiyari (a Japanese word for the idea of creating compassion toward other people by thinking about them) was released in 2019, and his 2020 Emigrant EP, a very special companion piece to ‘Omoiyari’, serves as a time capsule of the 2020 condition and a continuation of the concepts explored in 'Omoiyari'.”  Kishi Bashi’s co-directed feature film length documentary for Omoiyari makes its world premiere debut at SXSW 2022.