By Director/Producer Mayumi Maruyama

Dear Dad is a personal story about the cultural wall that exists between the Japanese and American cultures and the conflict it can create within a family. I was first made aware of this clash through the events surrounding my father’s suicide. I was raised in America. My father on the other hand was raised in Japan by a traditional, wealthy, Japanese family. Since I am culturally American, there was conflict when we tried to communicate. On October 23rd of 2000, we had one such argument. It would be the last argument I had with my father. As usual, I voiced my opinion and my father responded with silence. My arguments with my father were frustrating because the Japanese don’t voice their feelings. He simply stated that we had money, and 20 minutes later, he hung himself. I felt responsible for his death. I felt that I should have listened more to his feelings, and instead of attacking him like I did, approach him in a more positive way. My guilt motivated me to find out if it really was my fault that my father died. In making this film, I hoped to break the cultural wall of silence, and deliver a message to my grandfather and grandmother in Japan to whom I hadn’t spoken in 5 years.

The struggles that I had with my father and the struggles he had with his parents serve as an example to all families dealing with cross cultural communication problems. This film will explore this cultural divide and serve as a grave reminder of what can happen if a family that cannot learn to confront it.