Tuesday, June 7, 2011
6:30 - 8:30 pm
ROOM: HAINES A2
Free Food
Featuring students from UCLA's Asian American Studies EthnoCommunications
Spring 2011 Course in Video Ethnography and Documentary Filmmaking.
REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED. All are invited to this free screening.
For directions, please visit: http://maps.ucla.edu/campus/
Parking is available in structure 2, 4, or 7.
AWAKEN
Director: Dieu Huynh
David Cho and his family came to America when he was 9 years old, looking to fulfill the American dream. Through unforeseen circumstances, David's family lost their legal status, and David became one of the hundreds of undocumented students in the UC system. This film lets David tell his story and struggle to fight for a chance to contribute back to this country he calls home.
I TAKE REFUGE
Directors: Mihiri Tillakaratne and Stepfanie Aguilar
One of the first things Buddhists chant during religious services is “I take
refuge” - in the Buddha, his teachings, and the Buddhist community. I Take
Refuge focuses on the importance of the latter in the formation of identity.
This 8-minute documentary tells the story of Charlini Somaweera and Ravi
Amarawansa, two Sinhalese Sri Lankan Americans from Southern California, and
how these two were able to use their Buddhist temple as a site to connect
with their Sri Lankan Sinhala identity. Somaweera and Amarawansa talk
frankly about the subtle racism they have experienced and the notion that
they are not "Sri Lankan enough." They describe how the temple is a site of
refuge from the prejudices and confusions they face.
OPEN TO THE YOUTH
Director: Jermaine Abrantes
"Open to the Youth" documents the story of 2 youth advocate groups in Carson, California called Carson Student Movement and Filipino Student Forum. Together, they run campaigns related to drug and alcohol awareness and have built a bond in their struggle to make change in their community. They have successfully introduced and facilitated many community events and ordinances such as a city-wide Red Ribbon Week (celebrating a week of anti-drug awareness) and much more. Many youth who have gone through these groups have become leaders for change in the city of Carson at a young age.
JOURNEY
Director: Asiroh Cham
A visual life history of Julie Thi Underhill, born in 1976, to a Cham-French mother and American father who fled Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon, in the United States. As a mixed-race Cham-American, growing up in Oklahoma and Texas, she struggled to fit in and find community. Through the search to uncover her own identity and Cham roots, she also began to document Cham experiences in Vietnam and Cambodia through film.
PLANTING SEEDS, PRESERVING HISTORY
Director: Melissa Jamero
This documentary highlights the long legacy of Filipino laborers in the California Central Valley, and Herb Jamero's continued efforts to preserve this important piece of Filipino American history years later. Herb Jamero currently lives on the property where the Filipino labor camp once stood, and has successfully taken care of the property and some of the original structures in order to share the story of the Manongs. Although he is unsure about the future of the farm, he does know that all we can do is "plant seeds" and hope the younger generations of the family will continue the work he has invested so much love and energy into.
TAUHI VAIVAI
Director: Natasha Saelua
Focusing on the lives of Tongan women who provide service to the elderly as caregivers, and how they work to grow and strengthen their families here in the United States.
THE HEART OF A CARING COOK
Directors: Jenni Nakamura
This film chronicles the story of a group called Caring Cooks that delivers Japanese food to local community members who are homebound, ill or going through hard times. Through personal stories and reflection, Betty Mikuni and friends show the central role of food in preserving culture, continuing a tradition of service past generational boundaries and sharing burdens within the Japanese American community.
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