The “Far East L.A.” documentary series seeks to bridge a gap between cultures. The focus of the documentary is the cross-cultural connections between Japanese Americans and Mexican Americans in Los Angeles, specifically in Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights. The four-episode series delves into a century of overlap and intersectionality through the lenses of residents and institutions.
At its core, this series is a show about the solidarity between Japanese and Mexican American communities — it showcases the cultures and the creators of culture, who invest their time and energy into shedding light on the importance of heritage and cross-cultural connection.
The first two episodes of the project were shot before the 2024 presidential election, and the last two after. These latter two episodes are geared more towards activism.
The documentary is directed by Rubén Guevara III and Jun Shimizu, who has been working tirelessly to recruit members to the team in an effort to make the best final project possible. As of right now, the producers hope and intend for the production to air on a public channel, as they believe that the documentary is important for the public to be able to consume. The project is meant to be an educational series, encapsulated with beautiful visuals to pair: “It’s a documentary series,” according to Guevara.
The filmmakers also received funding from the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), California Humanities and The Eastside Arts Initiative.
Kristel Gomez is the director of photography for the series. She is responsible for visual aesthetics, lighting, shots and camera placement. She also assists with scouting and equipment, as well as leadings the camera department.
She met Guevara in October of 2022, when he pitched her the idea for the documentary.
“At the time, it was still just an idea. He really wanted to work with a Latina ‘D.P.’, and I thought it was just a fascinating project. It took a long time for us to get going, but it was just such a great opportunity,” said Gomez.
“I am such an advocate of diversity, and this definitely highlights a lot of the diverse culture of this city that a lot of people don’t know about — a lot of tourists come, and hit the same spots…it’s good to bring exposure to areas of the city that have more culture and history,” Gomez explained.
Mona, one of the series’ characters, is a rapper from Kyoto who has a “deep respect for the culture.” Many topics are considered in the scope of this project, including cultural considerations like the question of appropriation versus appreciation.
The second character in the storyline is Maceo Hernandez, a Chicano who spent a lot of time in Little Tokyo as a child. He is a taiko drummer, and a young kid from East LA who got asked to come perform in Japan. Unfortunately, he got into an accident and he had to return home. After coming back, he formed the band Getzel, and created East LA Taiko.
“He is the taiko guy in the community,” explained Guevara on the promising character whose role is apparent within the scope of the series as a cultural trailblazer and figure.
Right now, the project is in post-production, and the filmmakers have been hard at work every single week investing their time, energy and passion into what they hope will become a cultural milestone of a film.
The docuseries is slated to come out this year, if all goes according to plan. The filmmakers also recently initiated an Instagram presence and have been talking to L.A. Times reporters.
“How does the public respond to it? How do audiences respond to it?” is a question the producers often consider and ask themselves.
“In an age of social media, it can be difficult to navigate, said Guevara. “So we are also trying to talk about that in the series — when people feel as though they are overstepping — that hybridity."
“Your life experiences dictate your actions,” explained Guevara, on some of the realizations and epiphanies they’ve experienced over the course of filming.
Although the series was financed by ITVS, it’s not a given that it will be aired on public media. But that’s the goal of the team: for their production to be available to everybody.
“It’s educational programming and it should be free,” finished Guevara. The cast and crew look forward to a hopeful 2025 release.