TRAGEDIES like the Japanese-American internment during World War II can be hard to render artistically. So I’m especially surprised that a college student turned out a short animated film as powerful and understated as Yamashita. I met the student, Hayley Foster, recently to discuss her work as an animator and her ambitions to do more projects that look at issues of social justice. (She also spoke about her love of the films of Hayao Miyazaki such as Spirited Away.)
Foster, who now works at Warner Bros., is one to watch. Here is my story for the online magazine of her alma mater, Loyola Marymount University. It includes a link to the film’s trailer.