Gena S. Hamamoto Assistant Director Center for EthnoCommunications 3229 Campbell Hall Ph. 310-206-8889 Fax. 310-206-9844 eMail: ghamamoto@ucla.edu

Biographical Information

Gena S. Hamamoto graduated with her BA in Asian American Studies at UC Irvine.  After working in Japan as an English teacher for two years, she attended the UCLA Asian American Studies MA Program, where she is completing her thesis film on Okinawan American WWII veterans, entitled The Language of War. Hamamoto co-directed Beyond the Sea: Filipinos in the U.S. Navy, which has been screened at various festivals and universities. She previously worked with the Japanese American National Museum as the Project Coordinator for Dilemmas + Decisions, a youth media project that addresses issues of citizenship in communities in the Los Angeles area.  Recently, she began her job as Assistant Director for the Center for EthnoCommunications at UCLA. In addition to her work at UCLA, she is the Program Manager at Films by Youth Inside, an ongoing program that teaches filmmaking to incarcerated youth to provide them with educational and creative options.