Rabbit in the Moon

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Janice Giteck composed the music for Rabbit in the Moon, a film by San Francisco filmmaker Emiko Omori that made its world premier in January 1999 at the Sundance Film Festival. The film had a tremendous response at the festival where it received a prize for the best cinematography for a documentary. The soundtrack was made up mostly of Giteck originals and was recorded at Jack Straw by engineer Tom Stiles.

Omori spent seven years making Rabbit in the Moon, which traces the history of resistance within Japanese-American World War II internment camps. Narrated by Omori, the film includes interviews with people who were resisters and is threaded through her own family plight.

“The music is both expansive and intimate, and it follows the seriousness and the sweetness of Emiko’s storytelling,” says Giteck. “The music helps to pull together all the layers of interviews, newsreel and family stories.”

Giteck became involved with Omori’s film when the two crossed paths in San Francisco while Giteck was working on another film score. In fall of 1998, Omori asked Giteck to score Rabbit in the Moon. In addition to composing new music for the film, Giteck’s score includes an original song by Japanese-American guitarist Mike Sasaki and two 1940s pop songs, “Pearl Harbor Blues” and “Dream.”

Recorded at Jack Straw, the soundtrack included performances by Sasaki and Seattle musicians: Paul Taub (flute), Toby Hansen (accordion), Karen Iglitzin (violin), Roger Nelson (keyboards), Susie Kozawa and Matthew Kocmieroski (percussion), Buddy Catlett (string bass), Gunnar Folsom (drums) and Cathy Croce (soprano vocals).