(music) GRACE LEE: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is an interesting concept, because we live 12 months a year.

It's a 24/7 experience.

One of the reasons I got into filmmaking in the first place was this lack of representation.

I have made a point of focusing on stories of Asian Americans, because it not only reflects who I am, but it reflects what this country actually looks like.

There is a whole wealth of stories out there.

We haven't even scratched the surface.

Hello, everyone.

I'm Stephen Gong, Executive Director of the Center for Asian American Media, and I'll be your moderator for this Facebook Live event, presented by CAAM, Public Media's World Channel, and its documentary series, America ReFramed.

In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and PBS's My APA Life social media campaign.

With us for the next hour are four independent media makers whose projects have focused on APA stories.

Each of their latest projects were presented this month as part of Asian American... Asian Pacific American Heritage Month programming on World Channel, and are now streaming on worldchannel.org.

I'd like to introduce our filmmakers, starting with Grace Lee.

Grace is an independent dir... uh, independent filmmaker, director, producer and writer, working in both narrative and nonfiction film.

Her films include the Peabody Award-winning American Revolutionary, The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, The Grace Lee Project, American Zombie, and Janeane of Des Moines.

Grace's most recent work is K-Town '92, an interactive Web project examining the 1992 Los Angeles rebellion in Koreatown and beyond.

This was one of the most exciting stories that I have covered in my more than three decades of journalism.

MAN: The most common question I heard from Korean Americans is: Why us?

Why Korean Americans?

Why are we being targeted?

We knew we had to fight to have our stories be told.

And next, I'd like to introduce Leo Chiang.

Leo is an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker, whose films include the Emmy-nominated film, A Village Called Versailles, and Mr. Cao Goes to Washington.

His most recent documentary, Out Run, profiles Bemz Benedito, one of the leaders of Ladlad, the only LGBT political party in the world.

She, who is a transgender woman, is fighting for acceptance and equality by running for a seat in the Philippine Congress.

Leo is also cochair of New Day Films, the American social issue documentary distribution cooperative.

Next, I'd like to introduce Keoni Lee.

In 2009, Keoni cofounded the first native Hawaiian television station, Oiwi TV, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Oiwi has since produced the largest collection of Hawaiian language television programming, and has gained a reputation for authentic and high-quality productions.

Keoni's most recent work, Mele Murals, is a documentary on the transformative power of modern graffiti art and ancient Hawaiian culture for a new generation of native Hawaiians.

MAN: When I lived in California, it was me by myself.

I was missing a feeling of connectedness.

WOMAN: For me, being Hawaiian in this time, it's kind of hard.

MAN: I think that's what's attracted them to this project.

It's another way to express who they are culturally in a different way.

KEONI: Coming here, and then painting about our culture, it's more of a sense of I don't want to let these people down.

Finally, I'd like to introduce James Q. Chan.

James is a San Francisco-based filmmaker who has collaborated on Emmy- and Grammy-winning projects with telling pictures.

Forever, Chinatown is James's directorial debut.

This short documentary is the story of self-taught 81-year-old artist, Frank Wong, whose breathtakingly realistic miniatures capture half a century of memories in San Francisco's Chinatown.

WONG: I want to capture my memories, and the only way for me to capture my memories is to make them in three-dimension.

♪ Someday ♪ ♪ We'll build a home ♪ ♪ On a hilltop high ♪ ♪ You and I ♪ ♪ Shiny and new ♪ ♪ A cottage that two ♪ ♪ Can fill ♪ ♪ And we'll be pleased ♪ ♪ To be called ♪ ♪ The folks who live ♪ ♪ On the hill.

♪ Thank you all for joining us.

So, I'd like to start, and I'll ask each of you your thoughts about Asian American Heritage Month.

Your personal thoughts, if you'd like, about being Asian American and a Pacific Islander filmmaker in America today, in a politically divided America.

Um, the films that we're showing this last month, and your... positioning as an Asian American and Pacific Islander maker, did they carry unwanted and unfair burdens on your work as filmmakers, or is this something that's important to your approach to filmmaking overall?

So, shall we start, maybe, with Leo?

-Hi, Stephen.

-Hi.

Well, that's a... that's a tough question.

I think that, like anything else, um, it's sort of a little bit of both.

Uh, I've certainly, um, in my career, very much focused on API stories, uh, you know, immigrant stories, stories from, uh, marginalized communities, um, and those are the stories that I responded to, that resonated with me.

And, um, you know, not necessarily by choice, but by, uh, instinct, those are the stories that I'm drawn to.

Um, at the same time, I do recognize that-that, uh, for the most part, the API stories are... the stories themselves are marginalized in the American media landscape.

People often will consider it to be sort of niche and regional and not something that the larger community can relate to.

Um... so that's definitely something in my career that I've come up against and that I've had to, uh, struggle with, um, but I think that at this point I'm realizing that regardless of how people perceive the stories, they just need to be told.

Um, and I, you know, I think that it's really wonderful that we've got this month on Public Media to really put the focus on APA stories.

But, you know, the hope is that the stories themselves will also be featured and prominent throughout the year, not just in this month.

Thank you, Leo.

Hey, Keoni, how about you?

In Mele Murals, um, you know, as part of this question, let me ask you, in a sense, who was your audience?

Were you somehow making it more for young, you know, native Hawaiian, uh, youth, or are you seeking the broadest audience yourself in your approach to filmmaking?

Yeah.

Hi, Stephen.

I just want to say thank you for having this opportunity for us to have this... this discussion.

Um, it's really good that we're having these kinds of talks, and that diversity is on the forefront, you know.

Thank you to your organization, and also to the World Channel for this opportunity.

Um, yeah, I think with Mele Murals specifically, um, as an example, uh, we went about it with the intent for it to be a national audience.

Um, and we struggled with it because, uh, telling a really powerful, effective story through film in our community, we could push a lot harder on some of the cultural aspects, but we have to be very literal, um, in-in telling it to a national audience and we knew that there was gonna be compromises and gives and take, um, give and take in the storytelling because of that.

But, you know, I think the reason why we wanted to tell this story was that, you know, it may be Hawaiian... it may be a Hawaiian-based story, but there's a lot of universal themes in it.

You know, there's art.

There's, uh, education.

There's children.

There's culture.

So, I mean, those four major themes, you know, we felt that if we took it to a national audience that other people from other communities could find a little bit of themselves in that story and therefore, you know, kind of open up their world a little bit because they found some relevance in the story, then be able to see kind of our characters and the arc that they were going through and what we were trying to tell with the story.

Wonderful.

Thank you, Keoni.

James, let me ask you.

In Forever Chinatown, which, you know, I introduced, is this, uh, uh, portrait of Frank Wong, but it's also about a community.

So, how do you parse this question about, you know, your audience and your responsibility as-as an Asian American filmmaker?

Sure.

Thank you very much, Steven, for having me.

Um, the question that you proposed was thoughts on-on being an APA filmmaker in today's America?

-Was that it, right?

-Yes.

And tying into the film... um... I-I think that, I think...

I know, actually, being-being a filmmaker is-is not disconnected from being a citizen.

Um, and, to me, the emotions that come up from-from being a citizen like with-with all-all the-the struggles that's going on right now, map back to being a filmmaker.

In that essence, being-being able to grieve, um, what's going on.

Being able to organize then we resist, right?

Um, and then what's really powerful is that we get to then create, um, and we continue to move our stories and centralize them.

And for me, in Forever Chinatown, what was really important was that the artist was one entry point into San Francisco Chinatown.

His story was one entry point.

And, uh, I wanted to pull focus back on the community.

And the community was important because, um, in this film that is ultimately a love letter to San Francisco Chinatown, it is also... an issue in this film to talk about the-the encroaching changes that are coming into a beloved neighborhood.

And those changes are redevelopment, uh, gentrification.

And, to me, I wanted to make a film that was a love letter, but it was also a film that policy makers could-could come to the table, watch it and potentially be moved by what they see.

Um, and for them to potentially maybe come to a-a... conclude with the idea that, um, development can happen without the displacement of community.

So, in a way, an artist story, but it needs to be about the broader perspective of the community.

And, to me, it's-it's, um, uh, if you, if you think about just the community as a statistical number or a profit, uh, number, uh, you miss out on those personal stories.

And so when you know the personal stories, you end up connecting with them.

Thank you very much, James.

That's really beautiful.

Um... Grace, you know, of-of...

I can't think of another filmmaker whose work is so central about this notion of-of, um, putting a stake into, you know, or-or staking out this territory, what it means to be Asian American and you've done that in so many interesting ways.

Your latest project, K-Town'92, is a kind of deconstructed documentary for-for our viewers who haven't sort of seen it yet.

Uh, and one of the-the sort of subtitle, if I understand it correctly, to your approach to the L.A.

Riots was, um, who gets to tell the story?

So, I imagine for you this is something that... it's not just central in-in this particular project, but through all of your projects.

Um, h-how do you, how do you feel about this question of your work and-and the-the time we're in today in today's America?

Um, thanks, Steven.

Thanks, everyone.

It's great to hear everyone's perspectives.

Um, I guess who gets to tell the story sort of is a kind of running thread amongst all the work that I do because the stories that I'm interested in telling and also that sort of reflect this, uh, the world that I live in, um, are, uh, exclusively Asian American, but oftentimes those are the stories that I'm drawn to.

Um, I think it's especially important at this moment, um, in the United States because of where we are and, um, you know, the kinds of things that are happening, um, on a daily basis.

Uh, you know, L.A.... uh, K-Town'92 looks at this kind of tumultuous event that happened in Los Angeles that explores, you know, kind of race and racial tension, rebellion, um, police brutality, all kinds of issues.

But the story that has been, um, sort of recycled over and over again for the past 25 years overlooks a lot of different perspectives and I think that that, you know, sort of gets at the heart of what I'm interested in doing.

Um, and, you know, and it so happens that a lot of these perspectives are Asian Pacific American.

And, you know, telling the story in a deconstructed way in an interactive piece was the way that it came out for-for this particular project.

Wonderful.

Thank you and thank you all for such thoughtful answers.

Um, Leo, I know you may have to leave us soon for another appointment, a screening that you need to go to.

So, uh, we thank you for being with us.

You take off, please, whenever you, uh, need to, but I'll throw up one more question for you.

And, um, in a way, what I'd like to ask each of you to maybe think about is, uh, is that the ac... the passion that it takes, you know, the commitment to be an independent filmmaker, to see a project through, that takes, you know, usually takes years to pull together.

Although K-Town'92 came together real quick.

Um, so anyway, um, Leo, uh, for Out Run... maybe just... or each of you, share one piece about this project and what was the-the most important, passionate piece that you wanted to make sure your audiences received about your film?

What would you like them to-to take away?

Well, um, uh, this, the... Out Run was, um, um, a sort of a-a interesting project in the making of it.

We, uh, we-we set out to do a fairly ambitious project that's, um, more global.

Um, that we actually had, um, done production work in, uh, a couple other different countries before we ended up in the Philippines.

Um, but, uh, you know, I-I think that once we got there, we realized that that was the right story and we had the-the-the fantastic access that allowed us to-to tell the story the way we wanted to.

Um, if there is something to take away, um, I-I guess... uh, you know, I-I know that's a cliché to talk about how some stories are universal, but I really do believe that-that some stories are universal.

Um, you know, that this is, this particular story is about a transgendered woman in the Philippines running for political office.

But I think that her struggle and the people around her, you know, in order to achieve their dreams, um, is the same that-that we all experience when we're chasing after something that-that seems unattainable, uh, but we believe, you know, in-in, uh, every, uh, bone in our body that this is the right thing to do, which is not unlike, uh, documentary filmmaking.

Um, so, uh, at the same time, I also would love people to walk away realizing that, yes, there are, you know, universality, uh, in all the stories, but there are also unique complexities in each particular story that we should not ignore and-and dismiss, uh, as we are watching and learning about all these different stories.

And even within the, uh, A.P.A.

community, and A.P.A.

stories, they are different shades, uh, different twist and turns and different directions that we cannot just, you know, simply dismiss it as one narrative.

Uh, that there are all these interesting nuances and complexity to them.

And I do have to, to go, so thank you for having me, even for a very brief time.

Bye-bye.

Well, Leo, thank you for your time.

-Thank you, Leo.

-Thank you.

Uh... okay.

Uh, we-- we've got about 15 more minutes.

Um, I'll-- let's carry on through.

Uh, Keoni, uh, for you, yeah, again, you may have-- you've touched on this a little bit, but, um, as I think about Mele Murals, you know, uh, we're-- we-- we're following two young guys who don't-- who have a different, sort of, backgrounds and what they bring to their art.

And, in a way, they're teaching us, you know, some really important things about, uh, Hawaiian culture.

But, at the same time, they're needing to learn it and reclaim it themselves.

So, tell us about, you know, what it means to be, uh, you know, a Hawaiian in-in a disrupted kind of cultural setting.

Yeah, I think you hit it right on the ne-- on the head.

Um, the-the irony of it is that these two artists go to a school to teach kids how to paint, but the reality of it is that the kids are actually teaching them about being Hawaiian.

And the two artists, you know, they are native Hawaiian by blood, but they never grew up that way.

Um, you know, it's-it's the reality of a settler state, colonial settler state, right?

Um, but these guys are on their path to reconnection.

And I think that's the story we wanted to get out there.

Um, one, you know, what James said earlier about the entry point really resonates, um, especially with our film, that, you know, what we're giving people is a very different look into the Hawaiian community.

It's not that tourist, um, very, you know, tiki, tiki style, uh, Hollywood-ized version of Hawaii.

This is real, rural Hawaiian community that people are getting access into, right?

So, opening the veil to what the modern Hawaiian existence looks like today, and, you know, to show people that, you know, we have had resiliency in the face of the colonial settler state, and that, you know, our language is coming back, our cultural practices are coming back, and by-- through this story of art, and teaching, and cultural reconnection, that, you know, people who aren't from Hawaii get a very different view of what it's like here.

And, you know, if they find a way to relate to a backstory of one of the characters, or a teacher in the story, then, you know, it-it allows them to put their guard down to be able to take in more of the story.

You know, you guys are talking about the political climate that we're faced with today, right?

And we all know about this, uh, psychological thing called "cognitive bias," right?

And that people are only gonna accept information in that, um, aligns with their view of reality.

I think we, as filmmakers, have to take that into account and, and know that, you know, through these stories and finding these universal themes that kind of help to build bridges between the audiences who may be different, um, culturally, ethnically, um, politically, that, if we can find ways for us to relate to each other, through story, that that then starts to bring the guard down a little bit, and that starts to allow them to accept more information in that may differ from their limited scope of reality, and that, you know, there are these rich and diverse cultures and people, and it's not an us versus them kind of thing, it's a we.

And, the m-- I think, to me, that's the-- what I'm trying to get up with with the different work that I'm doing in film and that Mele Murals is.

It's really about finding ways to get people to relate to each other a little bit better, so, hope that answered your question.

Oh, that was wonderful.

Very, very, very, uh, very articulate.

So, makes me want-- I'll jump to, uh, to Grace on this because Grace, um, I think it is implicit... (echoes): implicit... in, whoa, K-Town '92, um, that you're wanting people to look at history in a different light, right?

Uh, that, something that they may have thought that they understood, but, but was-- but it was really filtered.

And, so, it's about media, it's about how we gain information.

But, but don't let me put words in your mouth.

What is the takeaway that you would like, and what was it like for you to, uh, create these elements in this, in this amazing, interactive web series?

-Mm-hmm.

-Web program.

Um, yeah, well, I think it's hard to explain in words, but if people want to go to ktown92.com they can see that the piece is an opportunity for use-- participants to explore different media, mediated, um, images of 1992 Los Angeles rebellion.

And, um, for me, like, the two takeaways, I would say, is our, um, number one, you know, by providing both a disruption of the media, that, sort of, news media that we saw back in 1992 with, um, interviews that I did with a wide, you know, a very diverse range of Angelinos talking about that event, from Koreatown and beyond, I think it, you know, offers an opportunity for stories that we haven't heard, from perspectives we haven't heard from before to, you know, become more uplifted.

Um,, the second thing, too, is, you know, Koreatown itself is not a monolithic community.

Just like, you know, Los Angeles or the United States is not one particular, you know, kind of community.

And, I think, that's what I'm really interested in because I live in this neighborhood.

You know, it's majority Latino, you know, there's a Bangladeshis community here, there's a mosque, one of the oldest mosques in L.A. is in Koreatown.

I think that there's a lot of different kinds of communities intersecting and it's what makes it such an exciting place.

And then, number two, you know, the way that 1992, um... that event has been portrayed in media for the past 25 years, it really is only one kind of story, or similar stories keep coming out.

And, for me, um, K-Town '92, the site, sort of, flattens the idea that there, um, is no one spokesperson, you know?

I think that there are many different kinds of stories that come out, and it's up to you, the user, to explore, on your own, what this means for yourself.

Beautiful.

Thank you.

Yes, and I commend...

I strongly urge everyone to go to this amazing site.

And it's a... it points away to such an exciting way to... to tell important stories.

So, overall, one of the things I'm hearing is that, um... is that the artwork, your work, is in-- is... um, bridging gaps, divides.

It's creating empathy in our audiences.

So, I want to return to James, uh, on this kind of issue.

And it's not just about different communities, or ideologies, or political views, uh, what strikes me, James, in your work and-and the relationship you develop with Frank, -it sits across generations.

-Yeah.

Um, so I wonder, if you don't mind, sort of, bringing in your own up-- your own background, growing up in San Francisco, Chinatown, and the way that figured into wanting to tell Frank's story.

How much of it is Frank's alone and how much of it is something that comes from you directly?

Thank you.

Um... I-I didn't grow up in San Francisco, Chinatown, I was, I was, uh... my-my family and I came over as refugees, Uh, we're ethnic Chinese, born in Vietnam.

Uh, we spent two years in a refugee camp in Indonesia.

And, uh, we sponsored over to Minnesota.

And in Minnesota, our-our house, where we were-- our apartment was, uh, we were the only... Chinese family living in that area, so, our house, you would say, would be Chinatown.

Um, and so... my brothers and I assimilated, but my dad had a hard time finding community, um, so he would-- we would be the only ones that he would-would have conversations with, and that must've been incredibly hard.

Um, he was in his late 30s, early 40s, and so he heard about this place in San Francisco called Chinatown, and he heard about this population and this community.

And so he saved some money, brought us over, and San Francisco, Chinatown, was what he was missing.

And it became this community that took him in, and he was able to flourish.

And for me, during the weekends we would... he would drop me off at the Portsmouth Square, and I would be one of those kids running around-- the latch-key kids running around at the playground, and then going through the alleyways alone.

And so my... my childhood was... was on the streets of San Francisco, Chinatown, as a... as a child.

In my teens, I went to a place called Donaldina Cameron House, and it was an incredible, um, youth organization that, um, empowered myself and friends.

And, um, as I became an adult, I looked back at this community that held, um, held and gave a foundation to my family.

And it just made sense that I'm telling stories from the community that, in a way, I came from.

And so, moved back to... around Chinatown.

I'm based now in San Francisco, Chinatown, and, um, it just makes more... makes sense that my focus is on the community.

STEPHEN: Wonderful.

Okay, um, we just have five minutes left.

One more quick go-around with you.

I want to thank you, each of you, for hanging in there with us.

Um, as... now, as veteran filmmakers who have shared your vision with the world, uh, do you have any words of advice for young people seeking to, uh, you know, maybe enter the field?

So maybe we'll...

I'm gonna end with you, Grace, because I know you have some particular advice.

But, um, starting with our two other guys, Keoni, you want to... Any words of advice to an aspiring filmmaker?

KEONI: Yeah, um... make sure this is what you really want to do.

Find passion in it, because it's not easy.

To get to the highest levels of this industry, it's a climb.

And...

But I think if you're passionate about it, and you really believe in yourself and you have the drive, then anything is possible.

I think, you know, finding organizations that can help provide mentorship and training for you, take advantage of as many of those as you can.

Like, for us at Oiwi TV, we kind of see ourselves as a proving ground for some of our young Native Hawaiian filmmakers and storytellers to come and, you know, cut their teeth in the practice for a little while so that, you know, they can be ready one day to be able to step up to bigger projects, you know.

My director of photography and assistant producer on Mele Murals started with me as interns in college.

And, you know, six years in-- five or six years in, they're on a national public television documentary.

So that's kind of how... the system that I've put into place to kind of help these next-generation guys.

But, you know, if you're not passionate about it, you're never gonna make it in this industry.

So, you know, this is not something you just figure out, "Oh, that sounds great.

I want to do it."

I mean, you've really got to be passionate about telling stories.

And if you have that, and you have the desire to work hard and put your time in and reach out to contacts, you know, the sky's the limit, you know?

Thanks to Pacific Islanders Communication.

You know, they provide opportunities for us through the Minority Media Consortium, as CAAM does, too, right?

And so CAAM helped to fun our film in Hawaii.

And, you know, appreciate that when you guys are helping to tell more diverse stories.

So, what we're trying to do here at Oiwi TV is to bring in some of the Pacific Islanders, and help Native Hawaiian storytellers.

Give them some training and some opportunities so that they can step it up and make a lot of films for you guys, and that'd be really awesome.

So thanks again for all of your guys' support, and the opportunity to share today.

STEPHEN: Thank you, Keoni.

James, how about you?

Words of advice to a filmmaker.

JAMES: Sure.

Keoni hit it on the nail... uh, the head on the nail...

I mean, the nail on the head... (laughter) ...uh, when he said this month's intern will be next year's, like, producer and director.

And I fully believe in that, absolutely.

I think I would add to it where, uh, for me, my storytelling sensibilities map back to, um, my love for nature shows, my mom's cooking, and backpacking trips through Southeast Asia.

So bring that with you as you go into internships.

Don't forget about your own personalities.

STEPHEN: Wow.

That was beautiful.

We have.. well, yes, you've done a great service to interns all over the country.

That's great.

Um, Grace, so, I know that you and Leo have been the... the driving force for helping to organize the Asian-American Documentary Network, so I don't want to saddle you with this.

You can give us your general advice to aspiring filmmakers, but if you could also maybe point, you know, if we've got any young filmmakers out there that aren't connected-- how do they get connected into the network?

GRACE: Right, um, well, I mean, I echo what Keoni and James say.

You know, know why you're doing it, because if you have another reason to do something else...

This is really hard work, but for sure worth it if you have a story you want to tell.

You know, this Asian-American Documentary Network is something that came out of me and Leo and others having conversations about how do we support each other?

You know, I mean, that's my other piece of advice is just support each other on this journey, because it's so difficult.

And, you know, if you're trying to tell stories that are already kind of overlooked in the, kind of, mainstream, um, landscape, you need help.

And I think that we can help each other in an incredible way.

We're a very powerful community.

We have, you know, a lot of history and tradition.

We have a lot of networks that exist, if we would just sort of recognize them and sort of band together.

So ADOC, which is our sort of shorthand for this network, exists to do just that, and we invite anybody who is interested in, you know, sort of who's committed to the documentary field and telling these kinds of stories to, um, you know, reach out.

And, you know, as James said as well, it's like I mentor people because I want them to be my colleagues, and I want them to, you know, produce and, like, make other projects that maybe someday they'll hire me, you know, in the same way that I can benefit from their talents now.

Um, we are in the midst of figuring out how to have, like, a more public face.

We're sort of organizing internally now, but I think, um...

This is embarrassing, I don't know the actual gmail address, but maybe we can...

I'm sure we can add it to this chat, right?

Like, I think it's aa.network@gmail.com, but I need to clarify that, and so... STEPHEN: Right.

So we will post that with our World Channel friends, and make sure that on the Facebook site we'll have the proper connection.

So I apologize for not cluing you guys in earlier to have the... the right... GRACE: Leo would know it if he was here, but he left.

STEPHEN: Okay.

Thank you, Grace.

Thank you, all the filmmakers.

I'd like to thank everyone online for joining us-- our host at World Channel, America ReFramed, CAAM, for making this event possible.

Chris Hastings and Sharon Wong at World Channel.

Carmen Vicencio and Natalie Ruiz Tofano at America ReFramed, and Momo Chang and Ashlyn Perri at CAAM.

Of course, we thank all of our filmmakers.

For more information, you can go to our respective web sites-- worldchannel.org, americareframed.org-- one word, all of these one word-- and caamedia.org.

Thank you, everyone, and have a wonderful evening.

Bye-bye.

-JAMES: Thank you.

-GRACE: Thanks.