Internees arrive at a camp in the Utah desert.

Aaron Yoo (right) as Lyle Nomura. At left is Seth Sakai as Nori Morita.

Masatoshi Nakamura (left) as Kaz Nomura and Leonardo Nam as Lane Nomura.

The critically acclaimed motion picture “American Pastime” from Warner Bros. will have a free screening at Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St. in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m.

Kerry Yo Nakagawa, the film’s associate producer, will participate in a Q&A session after the screening. The director of the Fresno-based Nisei Baseball Research Project, which has documented Japanese American baseball through exhibitions, publications and documentaries, Nakagawa also has a brief role in the film as a baseball player.

The movie addresses an often overlooked era in U.S. history — the forced removal and internment of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. “American Pastime” tells the story of a Japanese American father, Kaz Nomura (Masatoshi Nakamura), and mother, Emi (Judy Ongg), and their two sons, Lyle and Lane (Aaron Yoo, Leonardo Nam), whose love of baseball helps them cope with living in one of the internment camps.

Lyle is embittered when his chance to attend college on a full baseball scholarship is cut short by the war.

Lyle falls in love with Katie Burrell (Sarah Drew), a music teacher and the daughter of a camp guard, Billy Burrell (Gary Cole), who tries to put a stop the relationship.

Meanwhile, Lane decides to join the 442nd Regimental Combat Team to prove his loyalty.

After forming a camp league, the detainees propose an exhibition game against the local minor- league team, whose star player is Billy Burrell. An intense game with a climactic ending leads the town residents and detainees to discover that they’re really not that different after all.

The film was directed by Desmon Nakano, who also co-wrote the screenplay.

“American Pastime” won the Audience Award at this year’s San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

Admission is free. The cathedral can be reached at (415) 749-6300. For more information on the film, visit www.warnervideo.com/americanpastime.

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