Far from baseball camp

Mike Sciacca

As a child, Derek Mio heard the stories of how members of his

paternal grandfather’s family were moved into a Japanese-American

relocation camp in California during World War II.

It’s been nearly 59 years since the war officially ended and now

Mio is up on the silver screen portraying a young man whose family is

sent to an internment camp during World War II in the short film,

“Day of Independence.”

A screening of the film, with a panel discussion to be held

following its conclusion, will take place tonight at Chapman

University in Orange.

“This has been an incredible experience,” said the 21-year-old, a

graduate of Huntington Beach High School who will finish the USC

School of Film in May and join other alumni such as Oscar-winning

filmmakers George Lucas and Robert Zemeckis.

“It’s my first acting job and to play a part that had something to

do with my family’s history was amazing,” he said.

Mio said his paternal grandfather’s family was interned at the

Manzanar War Relocation Center at the foot of the Sierra Nevadas in

eastern California’s Owens Valley.

It was one of 10 camps where Japanese-American citizens and

resident Japanese immigrants were interned during World War II.

Today, Manzanar has been identified as the best preserved of these

camps.

In the film, Mio plays the lead role of Zip, a 17-year-old whose

family is interned after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The crux of the

story revolves around the conflict he faces when his parents -- his

father is gravely ill -- decide to leave him behind “for a better

life,” as they return to Japan.

Zip is a baseball talent, and becomes the star pitcher in the

internment camp.

“I did play Little League baseball, although that was a long time

ago,” said Mio, who played varsity basketball at Huntington Beach

High. “I did have a pitching coach for a few months, to prepare for

this role. I practiced pitching every Sunday, to get down-pat the

broad and exaggerated moves pitchers had back in those days.”

Mio learned about an audition for the role of Zip when an aunt

mailed him a clipping from the Japanese-American newspaper, the Rafu

Shimpo, that announced a casting call for the film.

The 27-minute film was created by Chris Tashima and

writer/producer Tim Toyama -- both Oscar winners. It has been

screened in Hollywood, Orange County, Redondo Beach, Stockton and

Sacramento.

“Although I have been going through film school, I have always

been attracted to acting,” Mio said. “After playing this role, I’d

definitely like to continue acting.”

Mio said his ambitions upon graduation are to produce independent

films and pursue acting.

He’s writing a few scripts and earlier this month began shooting

a video with his good friend, Chris Kato.

The two went around Surf City with a mini digital video cam,

capturing scenic shots that depicted “the vibe of Huntington Beach,”

Mio said.

The two hope to shoot more footage and eventually have the film

screened at the Huntington Beach Central Library.

“I’ve always had an affinity for this city, because it’s so

beautiful,” Mio said. “The weather, the people -- everything’s great

around here.”

Kato, a graduate of Marina High and senior studying studio art at

UC Irvine, agrees.

“Derek and I had wanted to do a video like this for quite some

time but we never got around to it,” Kato said. “I proposed the idea

of the video to my teacher as part of my class project, and we took

it from there.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.