The Film | The Filmmaker | The Book

The Film

The FISHBOWL Film Project
Visit filmmaker Kayo Hatta’s site and find press clips, cast and crew bios, a fun photo gallery and an article on the conflicts and challenges around Pidgin English and education.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Director Takes Low-Budget Approach to Filming Yamanaka Tale
Read this 2003 article on the making and casting of FISHBOWL and and get Kayo Hattašs take on working within the confines of a low budget film.

The Captain and Tennille Official Web Site
In FISHBOWL, Lovey and Jerry dress up as the Captain and Tennille and, in Lovey’s fantasy, perform the 1975 mega-hit, “Love Will Keep Us Together.” Learn all you need to know about the pop duo whose hits also include “Muskrat Love” and “Do That To Me One More Time.”

The Filmmaker

"I'll miss Kayo deeply as a creative comrade and as a dear friend. But, the loss is wider—the Asian-American community, the independent film community, and film audiences around the world have lost a great deal of richness with her passing." —Diane Mark, producer Picture Bride

FISHBOWL and Picture Bride director Kayo Hatta died in July 2005 in a drowning accident. The following articles offer remembrance and speak to her legacy as a pioneering filmmaker:

Asian American Film: Kayo Hatta Obituary

San Diego Asian Film Foundation: Hawaiian Filmmaker's Long-Lasting Legacy

Honolulu Advertiser: Kayo Hatta, Pioneering Filmmaker

Asian Week: Remembering Kayo Hatta

The Book

Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers: A Novel
by Lois-Ann Yamanaka
(Harvest Books; reprint edition,1997)
Three chapters from Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers were the inspiration for FISHBOWL, the film. In her debut novel, author Lois-Ann Yamanaka presents a Japanese American family living in Hawaii in the 1970s. With teenager Lovey Nariyoshi’s narration at its center, this coming-of-age story about cultural difficulties and trying to fit in is universal.

Wikipedia: Lois-Ann Yamanaka
View a bio of the Hawaiian-born Japanese American poet and novelist whose critically acclaimed works often use pidgin dialects and deal with controversial issues and themes exploring how Asian American families fit within the local culture of Hawaii.

The Orange County Register: Controversial Adventures in 'Paradise': Bully Burgers and Pidgin
"Linguistic identity and cultural identity are skin and flesh," says Yamanaka in this 1996 interview around the publication of Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers. Get insight into the authoršs personal experiences using pidgin dialect in school and the how she captured its nuances on the page.

Los Angeles Times: Authentic Characters or Racist Stereotypes?
Read this 1999 article on the nation-wide debate about Yamanaka’s “no- holds-barred” style, pitting Asian American scholars against writers over such issues as artistic freedom, social responsibility, racial stereotyping and the criteria for literary honors.

Mid-Week: Old Friends: Lois Yamanaka
Peruse this April 2006 interview with Yamanaka about her latest book, Behold The Many, inspired by her autistic son.