American: An Odyssey to 1947
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- Simon Callow
- Richard France
- Howard Kakita
- Gray Brechin
- Laura Williams
- James Naremore
| American: An Odyssey to 1947 | |
|---|---|
 Official Poster for American: An Odyssey to 1947 | |
| Directed by | Danny Wu |
| Written by | Danny Wu |
| Produced by | Danny Wu |
| Starring |
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| Edited by | Danny Wu |
| Music by | Sean William |
Production company | Maple Road Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
American: An Odyssey to 1947 is a 2022 Canadian documentary film written, directed, edited, and produced by Danny Wu.[1] The film is a compilation of stories on different Americans, most notably Orson Welles, and Franklin Roosevelt leading to the year 1947.[2] The film premiered at the 2022 Newport Beach Film festival, followed by internationally at the 2023 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.[3] It was named one of film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum's best films of 2022.[4]
The film begins by exploring the early rise of Orson Welles, from his rise as a prodigy at the Todd School for Boys, to his arrival in Hollywood to direct Citizen Kane.[5] Welles' ascension to stardom is juxtaposed with President Roosevelt's navigation of the Great Depression. As the story approaches World War II, a Japanese American boy named Howard Kakita travels abroad, and an African American soldier named Isaac Woodard enlists in the army. The film explores topics such as the Japanese internment camp, the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the emergence of the Civil rights movement, and the beginnings of the Cold War. In the end, as one American returns home, another American is forced to exile.[2][6]
Production
On November 10, 2021, it was reported that Canadian director Danny Wu would produce a new documentary to be about the politics of Orson Welles, with actor Simon Callow as one of the main storytellers, and that the relatives of Isaac Woodard would also appear in the film.[1] UC Berkeley announced on October 22, 2022, that historian Gray Brechin will also be included in the film's storytellers.[7]