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“A Tradition My Dad and I Shared for Nearly Three Decades” | Tadashi Nakamura, Third Act

A black and white photo of filmmaker and artist Robert A. Nakamura, who smokes a cigarette while leaning on a camera.Third Act, courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why?

Looking back on the production of Third Act, one of the most significant days for me was filming a scene of my dad and me driving to the Rose Bowl for a UCLA football game. This wasn’t just any outing—it was a tradition my dad and I shared for nearly three decades, starting when I was 12.

My dad was a professor at UCLA, and I was obsessed with football as a teenager, so going to those games became our special ritual. It was the one thing we did exclusively together, year after year, through every phase of my life—middle school, high school, college, my 20s, my 30s, becoming a filmmaker, getting married, and eventually becoming a father myself. That day of filming wasn’t just about capturing footage for the film; it was about preserving a tradition, a special time and space between me and my dad.

What made those drives to the Rose Bowl so meaningful was how they allowed us to talk and bond in a way we couldn’t in other settings. Like many Asian fathers and sons, my dad and I didn’t naturally sit down for deep, face-to-face conversations. But in the car—sitting side by side, both staring straight ahead at the road—it felt easier to talk. There was something about that setting that broke down barriers. The hour-long drive through L.A. traffic gave us the space to talk about life, school, work, and eventually, my own creative struggles and questions about balancing family and career.

Now, my dad can no longer go to the games with me, and I’ve started taking my own son to UCLA football games. Filming that drive to the Rose Bowl was significant because it captured not only a meaningful tradition, but also the emotional transition between generations. That day wasn’t just about capturing footage for the film—it was about recognizing how these small, seemingly ordinary moments quietly shape who we are and become the memories we cherish most.

See all responses to our annual Sundance Question here.

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