SANSEDAI

Through intimate conversations over old photobooks and home movies from the 1930s, SANSEDAI (三世代) explores themes of identity and belonging as it follows the filmmaker’s 92-year-old grandmother’s journey growing up during war, migrating to a country that was once deemed an enemy, and what it means to be Japanese-American.

Directed by Kayli Kimura
Produced by Kayli Kimura & Visual Communications

Director’s Bio: Kayli Kimura is a Japanese-American creative director and visual storyteller. She was a 2023/24 Armed With a Camera Fellow and 2023 Asian American Collective Mentee. Kayli has worked on a variety of commercials, TV shows, documentaries and music videos including projects for Netflix, Hulu, PBS, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Telfar, A$AP Rocky, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Adidas. She is the creative director and manager for Nigerian-American artist, AKINYEMI. Together they have collaborated on over a dozen music videos with their work recognized in Rolling Stone & Billboard.

Kayli was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado and recently relocated to Los Angeles, CA after living in NYC for almost 5 years. She graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine with majors in Sociology and Environmental Studies and a minor in Music. She also studied cinematography at Maine Media Workshops and College in their cinematography intensive program.

Plays in

Stories Our Moms Never Told

What don’t we know about our mothers? Who are they beyond the defining and confining role of motherhood? This showcase delves into the hidden realms of mothers, soon-to-be mothers, and grandmothers—women with secrets, aches, longings, dreams, and griefs. These are the stories our moms never told.