New Film on the Horizon for "Mrs. Judo" Director

As part of the extended MRS JUDO family, you are among the first to know that filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer is embarking on an exciting new film project. The documentary (working title DIAMOND DIPLOMACY) chronicles the shared love and historical connections between the U.S. and Japan through baseball.Masanori "Mashi" Murakami (pictured above), pitched for the SF Giants in 1964 and paved the way for other Japanese baseball players. It was an honor to be able to document the Giants' 50th Anniversary celebration of this historic U.S.- Japan baseball first. As you can see, production has already begun on the film and we promise to keep you posted on our progress!In MRS JUDO news, the film had a wonderful broadcast debut during Asian Pacific Heritage Month in May, thanks to CAAM. Hopefully many of you had a chance to see MRS JUDO on PBS, as part of the CAAM series Japanese American Lives hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi including three other documentaries; Don’t Lose Your Soul, about MRS JUDO’s musical composer Mark Izu and ethnomusicologist Anthony Brown, Stories of Tohoku by Dianne Fukami, and Honor and Sacrifice by Lucy Ostrander and Don Sellers.Our social media campaign kept us busy coming and going. Check out our June newsletter for details.We got many messages in many forms; Facebook posts/messages, Tweets & re-Tweets, Instagrams, Pinterest pins, emails and even an old-fashioned phone call or two! Some messages were from old friends of Fukuda Sensei who were thrilled to know more about her. Others were from people who’d never been anywhere near a judo mat, but were moved and happy to learn about her pioneering life. As we've learned throughout the years of producing MRS JUDO, Fukuda Sensei's legacy is one that continues to grow and promises to stand the test of time.