About the Film

A LIFE REIMAGINED tells the story of groundbreaking Japanese photographer George Masa and his passion to celebrate and preserve the American wilderness. Even before his tragic death in 1933, George Masa’s story was cloaked in mystery and unknowns.

After more than twenty years of research, Emmy®-award-winning director Paul Bonesteel’s obsession with his subject takes the film deep on several levels, revealing surprising breakthroughs and details about Masa’s origins and his immigrant and artistic odyssey.

From a difficult early life in Japan to mountaineering and baseball in the Pacific Northwest and then his brave reimagining of himself in Asheville, North Carolina, Masa’s love for mountains, his photographic skill, and a driving vision for conservation powered his role in creating the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Appalachian Trail.

But on his journey, Masa faced suspicion and repression, detachment from his homeland, and alienation from his past, all while persevering in his work and passion for the mountains he adopted. The film travels across these landscapes alongside researchers, archivists, photographers, hikers, and historians, pairing sweeping scenery with Masa’s archival photographs in both historical and modern contexts. 

A LIFE REIMAGINED reveals how one immigrant’s passion helped others recognize landscapes worth protecting - and why that vision still resonates today.

“This film is about curiosity, discovery, honor and respect.”

— FILMMAKER, PAUL BONESTEEL