Topaz is a 1945 documentary film, shot illegally (though with the assistance of members of the camp staff), which documented life at the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah during World War II. Filmed by internee Dave Tatsuno (1913–2006), it was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress in 1996, and was the second amateur film ever selected for the National Film Registry (after the "Zapruder" film of the JFK assassination). Tatsuno always credited his store supervisor, Walter Honderick, for helping him get the movie camera into the camp. Film was smuggled out of the camp on trips that Tatsuno made to buy merchandise for the store. While images appear to show the internees happy and enjoying their lives, Tatsuno said that they were "hamming it up" for the camera, hiding their sorrow. See also Japanese American internment References External links Topaz essay by Karen L. Ishizuka at National Film Registry Topaz essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 388-390 http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/nikkeialbum/items/3575 through http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/nikkeialbum/items/3617 1945 films United States National Film Registry films Documentary films about the internment of Japanese Americans American documentary films 1945 documentary films Black-and-white documentary films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films