CAAM Annual Report 2008-2009
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Transcript of CAAM Annual Report 2008-2009
W W W . A S I A N A M E R I C A N M E D I A . O R G
ANNUAL2 RE
PORT
ANNUAL2RE
PORT
REPORT
ANNUAL2
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ASIAN AMERICAN MEDIAC E N T E R F O R
W W W . A S I A N A M E R I C A N M E D I A . O R G
2 0 0 8
2 0 0 9
COV E R I M AG E C R E D I TS :LEFT TO RIGHT
Filmmaker Ang Lee (photo by Albert Chau)
FORGOTTEN WOMAN24 CITYTREELESS MOUNTAINTHE MOSQUE IN MORGANTOWNScreenwriter Alex Tse (photo by Albert Chau)
ADELA
I N S I D E COV E R I M AG E C R E D I T:FRUIT FLY cast at the Castro Theatre
The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is a non-profit organization dedicated to
presenting stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American experiences
to the broadest audience possible. We do this by funding, producing, distributing and
exhibiting works in film, television and digital media.
C A A M A N N U A L R E P O R T 0 8 | 0 9 1
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
2 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND BOARD CHAIR
3 BOARD + STAFF
4 A CONVERSATION WITH DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA MICHELLA RIVERA-GRAVAGE
6 CAAM SUPPORTS A NEW GENERATION OF ASIAN AMERICAN MEDIA MAKERS
7 CAAM PROJECTS 2008-2009
9 29 YEARS OF POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT BOTH PERSONAL AND GLOBAL
10 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 27TH SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
12 FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT
14 THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
D E A R F R I E N D S ,Greetings and welcome to our 2008/2009 Annual Report! 2008/2009 was in several ways a remarkable year for us at the Center for Asian American Media, characterized by challenges, achievements, and above all, a reinvigorated commitment to our mission of presenting rich and diverse stories of Asian American experiences to the broadest audience possible.
As an organization premised on diversity, the election of Barack Obama as our President carried deep meaning for us. The makeup of America is dramatically shifting (in both demographic and symbolic ways), and theimportance of diversity as a core asset of America is being recognized more than ever before. We are hopeful and optimistic about the future as we witnessed the way younger generations became empowered by the election through social media and cultural activism in their communities. The commitment to embrace diversity as a core principle of our work requiresthat we engage more deeply with its complexity and provide America’syounger and more ethnically diverse audiences with rich and relevant content.
As the promise of America’s diversity has been reaffirmed by the recent general election, so too has the interconnectedness that we all share with the rest of the world in social, economic, environmental and cultural arenas. If there is a constant to this time of change, perhaps it’s simply that we look to our artists and storytellers to make sense of chaos, to remind us of wherewe’ve come from, and to chart the directions in which we’re headed.
Sincerely,
CAAM has always been committed to representing the diversity of AsianAmerican communities from some of the longest standing like the Chineseand Japanese Americans to the newer immigrant communities fromSoutheast Asia. Furthermore, CAAM strives to fund and present works thatbroaden perspectives of what it means to be Asian American. It is work suchas National Emmy Award winning SENTENCED HOME and Academy Awardnominated NERAKHOON: THE BETRAYAL, both funded by CAAM, wherevital Asian American stories can be told, recognized and heard within mediaand public broadcasting.
We invite you to look through this report and delve into CAAM’s many high-lights of the past year, including our successful 27th SFIAAFF, innovative digital media projects, our support of a new generation of Asian Americanmedia makers, Media Fund projects of compelling documentary films for pub-lic television, and our distribution service to schools and libraries nationwide.
For twenty-nine years, CAAM has worked to fund, produce, exhibit and distribute rich and diverse stories of Asian Americans, correct often distortedportrayals of them in mainstream media, and create opportunities for the fullparticipation of Asian American producers in public media. Looking ahead,there is still so much more to do. If you understand the importance of mediain shaping attitudes, opinions, and public policy and if you enjoy seeing filmsthat challenge the mainstream, join us and support a dynamic nonprofitorganization that is making a difference in the way that Asian Americans areseen and perceived. o
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND BOARD CHAIR
Stephen Gong
E X E C U T I V E D I R E C TO R
Dipti Ghosh
B OA R D C H A I R
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B O A R D
C H A I R P R E S I D E N T Dipti GhoshV I C E C H A I R David LeiS E C R E TA R Y Johnnie GilesT R E A S U R E R Roger Kuo
John ChungGaurav DhillonLisa HsiaKen IkedaBill ImadaPhilomena KingGlenn OsakaSusie Jin PakParmila RamchandaniAnn Sung-RuckstuhlJean TsienFrance VianaMona Lisa Yuchengco
S T A F F
A D M I N I S T R AT I O N
E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R Stephen GongA D M I N I S T R AT I V E D I R E C T O R Kar Yin Tham
D I R E C T O R O F F I N A N C E Lui GonzalesO F F I C E M A N A G E R Nani Ratnawati
D E V E L O P M E N T
D I R E C T O R Rina MehtaM E M B E R S E R V I C E S & D O N AT I O N S M A N A G E R Shelly Kim
A S S O C I AT E Frances Pomperada
D I G I TA L M E D I A
D I R E C T O R Michella Rivera-GravageA S S I S TA N T Luis Mamayson
E D U C AT I O N A L D I S T R I B U T I O N
M A N A G E R Nicole TseA S S I S TA N T Misa Oyama
F I L M F E S T I VA L
D I R E C T O R Chi-hui YangA S S I S TA N T D I R E C T O R Vicci Ho
P R O G R A M & P U B L I C AT I O N S M A N A G E R Christine Kwon
M E D I A F U N D
D I R E C T O R Sapana SakyaA S S O C I AT E Ellen Park
P U B L I C B R O A D C A S T
D I R E C T O R O F P R O G R A M M I N G Donald Young
CAAM BOARD + STAFF
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WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GET INTO DIGITAL MEDIA?
In college at UC Berkeley, I developed a love for film and video, especially works that
grappled with themes of race, gender and sexuality. To learn more about storytelling
in different formats, I started working at the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC).
At BAVC, I was inspired by the intersection of art and technology. So I decided to
go after my master’s - an MFA in Digital Art and New Media. While earning my MFA,
I focused on social media by creating transmedia projects that were multi-vocal
and required community participation in order to be successful.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DIGITAL MEDIA, AND HOW DO YOU FEEL IT IS SIGNIFICANT TO CAAM’S WORK?
I see several major changes in the creation and consumption of media that impacts
CAAM’s work. Social media, including online video sharing, has really changed
the game when it comes to distributing indie media. CAAM’s mission is to present
Asian American stories to the broadest audience possible so it is only natural that
we would employ digital media tools that enable us to distribute video online, connect
to our communities via social networks and tell stories across different media
platforms. Our audiences and public participants are already interacting with these
types of media. They are already using twitter to connect at events, watching video
on their phones and playing digital games. That is where we need to be, too. As
we’ve seen video tools become more and more accessible over the last twenty-nine
years, we're now seeing mobile media, game development and transmedia pathways
become more available to indie makers. CAAM needs to be on the forefront of these
media strategies so we can reach people, guide our filmmakers and collaborate with
new media producers.
A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, CAAM RECEIVED A GRANT FROM THE WALLACE FOUNDATION. WHAT DOES THE GRANT ENTAIL, AND WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT TO CAAM’S WORK?
One of the foci of The Wallace Foundation is to increase arts participation. We
proposed a strategy to use new media to facilitate arts participation by specific ethnic
groups – Filipinos, mixed race Asian American, and South Asians. We wanted to
increase the number of participants from these groups at our Festival. So we
challenged ourselves to see if we could use targeted new media projects to outreach
and engage these communities. We wanted to foster different types of engagement
as well as channel that interaction into participation in our Festival. We selected
these groups because, despite having large populations in California and the Bay
Area specifically, they were underrepresented in our Festival.
I think one of the really important connections we are measuring is the one between
digital interaction and in-person interaction. Can one type of interaction encourage
the other? That’s something that the Wallace grant has helped us think about. It
also allowed us to realize that there are other types of engagement. Butts in seats
MICHELLA RIVERA-GRAVAGE
IS CAAM’S DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR,
DEVELOPING NEW MEDIA PROJECTS AND
MANAGING WEB ASSETS, VIDEO CONTENT,
SOCIAL MEDIA, ASIANAMERICANMEDIA.ORG
AND HAPAS.US.
A CONVERSATION WITH MICHELLA RIVERA-GRAVAGE
BY FRANCES POMPERADA & MICHELLA RIVERA-GRAVAGE
C A A M A N N U A L R E P O R T 0 8 | 0 9 5
is one type of engagement, but then there are other types of engagement we can have
with people that could be strictly online but still meaningful and educational. We are
discovering, too, the right mix of brick and mortar events and online activities like
watching videos, sharing photos, participating in a digital game, etc. We need to
serve our constituencies through different media as holistically and comprehensively
as possible.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY PROJECTS OR INITIATIVES THATCAAM HAS DONE SO FAR? WHAT DO YOU THINK HAS BEENIMPORTANT IN ENGAGING CONSTITUENTS WITH CAAM’S WORK?
We’ve done a combination of small and big projects. Last year, we launched
HAPAS.US, a media-sharing site for multiracial Asian Americans. It is a space where
representation and identity is multi-vocal and dynamic, where participants can share
about the mixed race experience in whatever medium they are most comfortable.
We designed the site so that it is very easy for the user to create videos. We
wanted to make it easy for people to tell their own stories. We’ve also provided
tools for festival-goers to record and share their experiences at our Festival and
then shared these videos online.
In the past year, we have really grown and organized our content on the web. Online
video is a way for people to find out about us, to keep up with what we are doing if
they already know about us, and a dynamic way to promote CAAM. We are still
trying to figure that out – how valuable that experience is in terms of how people think
about issues and how it engages people with CAAM. We try to have all the online
assets connected so people can plug into what they are most comfortable with easily.
If they become fans on Facebook, they might follow us on Twitter, watch web videos
or sign up for HAPAS.US. We've actually been involved with social media for a long
time – four to five years. But we sort of hit the ground running in the last two years,
being more active on Facebook, Twitter and coming up with ideas to get people to join
us and participate in physical spaces. In the nonprofit context, we're doing really well.
FINALLY, ANY LAST WORDS ABOUT DIGITAL MEDIA?
I think we need to be visible and dynamic in the current media landscape. People’s
relationships to media have changed, and for us to stay vital, we need to be on top
of these changes. And I’m not just saying we need to know about the technology.
As a public media organization, we need to be able to use new media in ways that
fit our mission, which is, first and foremost, about presenting the stories of our
communities in a meaningful and substantial way. Right now, we are in a really
good position to think through what is powerful, effective storytelling in a new media
context. o
*Be sure to visit the CAAM Channel at www.asianamericanmedia.org to see our latest
innovative videos and digital media projects.
P H OTO BY JAY JAO
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WITH ITS LANDMARK PROJECT THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA,CAAM ADDED A SIGNIFICANT NEW FACET TO ITS PRODUCTIONREPERTOIRE: NARRATIVE FEATURES. PRINCESS paired iconic director
Wayne Wang with a promising young cinematographer/director named Richard
Wong, best known for festival hit COLMA: THE MUSICAL. On COLMA, Wong worked
with composer/actor H.P. Mendoza, whom CAAM chose to write and direct its next
major feature production, FRUIT FLY, also a musical that would be shot by Wong.
Premiering at the 27th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival,
FRUIT FLY is an unabashed love letter to San Francisco and a frenetic musical
celebration of 21st century multiculturalism: gay, straight, Filipino, white or - to use
two of the film’s more colorful terms - versatile bottom or fag hag. The film, which
features many CAAM staff members on both sides of the camera, confirms Mendoza
as one of the most unique voices in the indie cinematic landscape. It also reunites
him with COLMA’s lead actress and his longtime friend, L.A. Renigen, a worthy muse
for Mendoza and his irreverent aesthetic vision. When the two share the screen,
which they do quite often in FRUIT FLY, they demonstrate a genuinely loving rapport
that any director would dream about.
CAAM recently found a new platform for this rapport: LALA, a Mendoza-directed
series of shorts for the web and Comcast on Demand that is, above all, a showcase for
Renigen's boundless charisma. It is also an exploration of Asian cuisine, primarily
in and around Los Angeles, where Renigen now lives. Mendoza and producer E.S. Park,
who is CAAM's Media Fund Associate, join Renigen to sample foods as diverse as
stinky bean, jellyfish, beef liver sashimi, and Korean barbecue tacos. Boasting the
same whimsical playfulness that COLMA and FRUIT FLY radiate, LALA is a
celebration of a contemporary Asian American culture that honors tradition while
embracing experimentation and ethnic cross-pollination.
Asian cuisine also plays a prominent role in a series of documentaries that CAAM
produced for Comcast on Demand during APA Heritage month in 2009. They range
in subject from Chinese restaurants in Istanbul and South Africa to a Hawaiian
watercress farm and a treasured annual event in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district,
when the Asian Chefs Association hosts a dinner for hundreds of homeless people.
On the surface a collection of short comedic episodes, the CAAM original web series
ON THE CLOCK uses humor to spotlight creative Asian Americans and celebrate
culturally vibrant trends. One episode shows photographer RJ Lozada competing in
the Mr. Hyphen contest, while another follows a confused intern (ON THE CLOCK’s
protagonist) to a screening of the cult hit KAMIKAZE GIRLS, where he learns what
the term “Lolita” means to Japanese fashionistas.
Written, shot, edited, and starring CAAM staffers and interns, ON THE CLOCK
is testament to the tremendous creative energy found within the CAAM family.
Through its work producing web programming and larger projects such as FRUIT FLY,
CAAM is supporting and inspiring the next generation of Asian American media
makers, who are taking their cameras to depict and shape the world around them. o
CAAM SUPPORTS A NEW GENERATION OF ASIAN AMERICAN MEDIA MAKERS
BY JONATHAN L. KNAPP
H P M E N D OZ A P H OTO BY M U H A M M A D A S R A N U R
F R U I T F LY
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A H E A D O F T H E M A J O R I T Y By Kimberlee Bassford
AHEAD OF THE MAJORITY is a one-hour documentarythat explores the life and times of the late U.S. Repre-sentative Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927-2002), the firstwoman of color in Congress anddriving force behind Title IX, the landmark legislation thatmandated genderequity in education.
BROADCAST 2009FESTIVAL 2009FUNDED 2008
A M O M E N T I N T I M EBy Ruby Yang
In the distant past, there was a moment in time whensix movie theaters in San Francisco’s Chinatown crystallized the memories, beliefs, sorrows, aspirations,and experience of Chinese immigrant families throughthe films they loved – from Cantonese opera toWesterns. These Chinese movies reduced elders to tears, challenged the young to find out how theycould be American and Chinese at the same time, and helped to bridge the gap between generations.
DISTRIBUTION 2009FUNDED 2003
A S O N G F O R O U R S E LV E SBy Tadashi Nakamura
During the 1970swhen Asians inAmerica were invisibleto the country, the late Chris Iijima’smusic provided thevoice and identity anentire generation hadbeen in search of.Through animated photographs, intimate home movies,archival footage and Chris’ own songs, this documentaryshows how Iijima’s music unleashed the contagiousenergy of the Asian American Movement with an unrelenting passion for social justice and a life well lived.
DISTRIBUTION 2009FESTIVAL 2008FUNDED 2008
A V I E W F R O M A G R A I N O F S A N DBy Meena Nanji
Told through the eyes of three Afghan women - a doctor,teacher and women’srights activist - thisdocumentary tells the story of how war,international interfer-ence and the rise ofreligious fundamental-ism has strippedAfghan women of rights and freedom. Together with rarely seen archivalfootage, their powerful stories provide illuminating con-text for Afghanistan’s current situation and the ongoingbattle women face to gain even basic human rights.
BROADCAST 2009FUNDED 2004, 2006
B O L I N AO 5 2 By Duc Nguyen
In 1988, a group of Vietnamese boat people attemptedto flee their country in search of freedom. Once at sea,the boat’s engine died leaving over 100 people strandedin the ocean. What happened next was an unbelievablestory of perseverance that changed the lives of the survivors forever.
BROADCAST 2009FUNDED 2006
D E L A N O M A N O N G S By Marrissa Aroy
DELANO MANONGS tells the unknownstory of a group of Filipino farm workers who toiledunder the yoke ofracism for decades,then rose up as oldmen to fight for fairwages and humane work conditions. The Manongs instigated one of the finest hours of the American labormovement, the Great Grape Strike of 1965, which led to the formation of the internationally recognized United Farm Workers Union and made Cesar Chavez a household name.
BROADCAST 2009FUNDED 2009
H I G H T E C H , LOW L I F E By Stephen Maing
HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE follows the evolution of a young vegetable seller into one of China’s first citizenreporters as he challenges the boundaries of free speechby reporting on China’s censored news stories. At 26, Zhou Shuguang - known to his internet community as Zola - helped mobilize thousands of supportersthroughout China, marking the beginning of his new life as a roving citizen reporter.
FUNDED 2009
H O L LY WO O D C H I N E S E By Arthur Dong
HOLLYWOODCHINESE is a captivating revelation on a little-knownchapter of cine-ma: the Chinesein American feature films.From the firstChinese film produced in 1916, to Ang Lee’s triumphant BROKEBACKMOUNTAIN almost a century later, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE brings together a fascinating portrait of actors, directors, writers, and iconic images to show how the Chinese have been imagined in movies.
BROADCAST 2009FUNDED 2001, 2005, 2006
H O U S E O F S U H By Iris Shim
The HOUSE OF SUH deconstructs the complex dynamics of a family torn apart. As the history of the Suh family unfolds, issues of cultural assimilation,gender inequity, traditional values and justice are examined, raising questions of guilt, innocence and the illusive gray area in between.
FUNDED 2009
K I P F U L B E C K : S E L E C T E D V I D E O S , VO LU M E S O N E & T WOBy Kip Fulbeck
Spanning over a decade of creative, thought-provoking,and humorous work, Kip Fulbeck’s two-volume shortfilm compilation addresses Hapa identity issues andAsian American media portrayals from many angles.Featuring a total of thirteen shorts, notable titles includeBANANA SPLIT, SOME QUESTIONS FOR 28 KISSES, and GAME OF DEATH among others.
DISTRIBUTION 2009
M A D E I N I N D I A By Rebecca Haimowitz & Vaishali Sinha
MADE IN INDIA is about the humanexperiences behindthe phenomena of “outsourcing” surrogate mothers to India. The filmlooks at couplesacross the US whose struggle with infertility has ledthem to seek a surrogate mother to carry their child and the surrogates who choose to carry their fetuses for a fee. What unfolds is a complicated clash of families in crisis, reproductive technology and out-sourcing played out across cultures and countries.
FUNDED 2009
N E W M U S L I M CO O L By Jennifer Maytorena Taylor
Puerto Rican-American rapperHamza Pérezpulled himselfout of drug dealing andstreet life andbecame aMuslim. Hemoved toPittsburgh’stough North Side to start a new religious community, rebuild hisshattered family and take his message of faith to otheryoung people through hard-hitting hip-hop music. NEW MUSLIM COOL takes viewers on Hamza’s ridethrough streets, slums and jail cells, following his spiritual journey to some surprising places in an America that never stops changing.
BROADCAST 2009FUNDED 2005
CAAM PROJECTS 2008 - 2009
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N I N OY By Tom Coffman
The Philippines’Benigno Aquino,from a stance ofdefending constitu-tional governmentagainst martial law,was subjected toeight years in prison. In the process he evolved from a “Boy Wonder” politico into a deeply thoughtful andeffective practitioner of nonviolent resistance. At a time when the vast majority of people everywhere were saddled with dictatorships, he became the archetype for using nonviolence as the method for driving out national dictators and strengthening the cause of constitutional government.
FUNDED 2009
OA K PA R K S TO RY By Valerie Soe
OAK PARK STORYrecounts the journeysof three families whocome to live at a low-income apart-ment complex inOakland, California,encountering dailylife in America’sunderclass. Parents
raised their children amidst drug dealing, gang violenceand prostitution. Yet their worst problem was their land-lord, who raised rents even when El Nino rains floodedtheir units. They join forces to sue their landlord and the film follows their struggle for justice.
FUNDED 2009
O N E I N A B I L L I O NBy Geeta Patel
ONE IN A BILLION humanizes the common and quietstruggle of millions of first-generation Americans whostruggle with the idea of not marrying within one’s traditional religion and culture. The film takes us inside the world of the Indian-American semi-arranged marriage industry and addresses questions at the heartof the American immigrant experience: is ‘cultural sameness’ a prerequisite to a good marriage, cultural preservation, and true love?
Funded 2009
R O OT S I N WAT E RBy Stuart Yamane
The Sumida watercress farm in Hawai’i is a multi-generational organicfarm that steadfastlyrefused to give up their values or busi-ness. For owner DavidSumida, it’s also hometo his punk musicianalter ego ‘Beano Shots.’ ROOTS IN WATER is a warmand touching personal story that covers family, identity, land use, green farming, and sustainability issues.
DISTRIBUTION 2009
S O M A G I R L S By Nandini Sikand
SOMA GIRLS is a half-hour documentary short whichexplores the lives of several girls (ages 6 to 17) who livein a home in Kolkata, India. Their mothers live and workin Kalighat, one of the largest red light districts in thecity. Each girl is painfully aware of their individual circumstances but yetthey play, dance andstudy and speak of wanting to grow up, tobecome independent andfind a way to get theirmothers out of the trade.
FUNDED 2008, 2009
T H E B E T R AYA L ( N e ra k h o o n ) By Ellen Kuras & Thavisouk Phrasavath
Filmed over 23 years, THE BETRAYAL is the AcademyAward®-nominated directorial debut of renowned cinematographer Ellen Kuras in a unique collaborationwith the film’s subject and co-director, Thavisouk(“Thavi”) Phrasavath. After the U.S. government waged a secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War, Thavi'sfather and thousands of other Laotians who had foughtalongside American forces were abandoned and left toface imprisonment or execution. Hoping to find safety,Thavi’s family made a harrowing escape to America,where they discovered a different kind of war.
BROADCAST 2009FUNDED 1994
T H E G O L D E N S P I K EBy Amy Y. Chan & Jim Choi
Although over10,000 Chineseimmigrantshelped build the western half of theTranscontinentalRailroad, theircrucial contribu-tion was largelyoverlooked for almost a century. The story of these forgotten workers is told with photographs, paintings,and political cartoons from the period. Even thoughthese workers were absent from the famous photographof the completion of the railroad at Promontory Summit,their strength and courage are clear from what theyaccomplished.
FUNDED 2005DISTRIBUTION 2009
T H E M O S Q U E I N M O R G A N TOW N By Brittany Huckabee
A small university town in West Virginia becomes theunlikely battleground for the soul of Islam in Americawhen Asra Nomani fights for the right of women to pray alongside men in the local mosque. THE MOSQUEIN MORGANTOWN is a thoughtful, even-handed documentary about a community struggling with change while trying to hold itself together.
BROADCAST 2009FUNDED 2007
T H E T I M E I S R I G H T F O R M E EBy Foung Heu
In January of 2002, Mee Moua became the first Hmong American to be elected to a statewide political office for the first time in United States history. This documentary details Moua’s historic and whirlwind campaign to become Minnesota State Senator as she navigates a competitive political field and mobilizes her immigrant Hmong community to become registered voters, all the while involving everyone in the great American political process.
DISTRIBUTION 2009FUNDED 2002
W I N G S O F D E F E ATBy Risa Morimoto & Linda Hoaglund
What were Japanese Kamikazes thinking just beforecrashing into their targets? When Risa Morimoto
discovered that her beloved uncletrained as a Kamikaze pilot in his youth, she wondered thesame thing. Throughrare interviews with surviving Kamikazepilots, Morimotoretraces their journeysfrom teenagers todoomed pilots andreveals a complex history of brutal training and ambivalent sacrifice.
BROADCAST 2009FUNDED 2006
WO A I N I ( I LOV E YO U ) M O M MY (PREVIOUSLY WHITE STORK HOTEL) By Stephanie Wang-Breal
For the past eight years, China has been the leadingcountry for U.S. international adoptions. WO AI NI (I LOVE YOU) MOMMY is a 60-minute documentary aboutChinese adopted girls,their American adop-tive families and theChinese political andcultural pressures thatled to their abandon-ment. The charactersand events in this story challenge our traditional notions of family, culture and race.
FUNDED 2009
X M A S W I T H O U T C H I N A By Tom Xia
News reports slamming China drove proud immigrantTom Xia to challenge his American neighbors to doChristmas without Chinese goods. The Joneses down the street accept eagerly. What follows is a humorousand surprising intercultural exchange that reveals themisunderstandings, bravado and yearnings of Americansin a world of great change and shifting identities.
FUNDED 2009
CAAM PROJECTS 2008 - 2009
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One such PBS program is Kimberlee Bassford’s 2008 documentary PATSY MINK:
AHEAD OF THE MAJORITY, which traces the remarkable life of the first woman of
color in the United States Congress. Born in Maui, Hawaii, to Japanese American
parents, Patsy Mink entered politics shortly after she graduated from the University
of Chicago’s prestigious law school but struggled to break into the male-dominated
law field. By 1964 Mink had risen through the ranks of Hawaii’s Democratic party
to land a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Here, she quickly gained notoriety
as a tireless advocate for women, children, and the underrepresented.
A onetime presidential candidate and an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War,
Mink refused to play by other people’s rules and, as such, endured great opposition
throughout her career – both from obvious opponents on the right and from
supposed allies on the left. Bassford’s documentary deals directly with this adversity
and presents Mink as the American treasure that she is: a rare politician who refused
to compromise her beliefs and a role model for Hawaiians, women, Asian Americans,
and progressives of all stripes.
While PATSY MINK celebrates an important historical figure, another CAAM
production, PROJECT KASHMIR (2008), strives to inspire dialogue in one of the
world’s most disputed, and misunderstood, regions. Directed by Indian American
Geeta Patel and Pakistani American Senain Kheshgi, PROJECT KASHMIR seamlessly
melds the personal with the political. The film follows Patel and Kheshgi as they
discover how their respective ethnic and religious identities (Patel is Hindu, while
Kheshgi is Muslim) affect their perception of highly polarized Kashmir, where a Hindu
minority rules over a Muslim majority.
Lest one think that Kashmir’s situation can be easily summed up by the equation
“minority oppresses majority,” Patel and Kheshgi also discover the horrible suffering
of Hindu villagers, who fled the territory to save their lives. As a fearless, well-
connected Muslim journalist explains to them, “This country is not simple.” He adds
that Kashmir’s unrest is “not senseless violence.” To the contrary, the insurgency is
carefully orchestrated and deeply passionate; outsiders have difficulty understanding
its complexities. Through their elegant and beautiful film, Patel and Kheshgi
hope to move toward an understanding.
PROJECT KASHMIR embodies key elements of CAAM’s mission. At once a nuanced
exploration of the identities of two different Asian American women, the film also
engages with one of the world’s most complicated conflicts. It and PATSY MINK
show how political engagement and ethnic identity so often go hand in hand. o
29 YEARS OF POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT BOTH PERSONAL AND GLOBAL
PATSY M I N K : A H E A D O F T H E M A J O R I T Y
P R OJ E C T K A S H M I R
BY JONATHAN L. KNAPP
FOUNDED IN 1980 AFTER THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLICBROADCASTING (CPB) BEGAN ACTIVELY SUPPORTING THE CREATION OF ETHNIC MEDIA, CAAM HAS A RICH HISTORY OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT. The organization has
frequently found an outlet for this through the Public Broadcast Service (PBS), where
it has presented hundreds of hours of programming, beginning with the anthology
series “Silk Screen,” which shed light on a variety of Asian American issues between
1982 and 1987. Today, CAAM is one of five minority public broadcasting consortia
designated by the CPB to provide programming to PBS.
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IN ITS 27TH YEAR, THE SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL ASIANAMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL (SFIAAFF) ATTRACTED OVER 25,000ATTENDEES, INCLUDING OVER 200 FILMMAKERS, ACTORS ANDINDUSTRY GUESTS.
The Festival presented over 100 films and videos over its eleven-day span at Castro
Theatre, Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, and other San Francisco venues as well as locations
in Berkeley and San Jose. More than half of the Festival’s screenings were sold-out and
the program featured six world premieres, one North American premiere and three U.S.
premieres of feature length films.
The Festival opened with Lee Yoon-ki’s MY DEAR ENEMY and closed with So Yong Kim’s
TREELESS MOUNTAIN, tracing an arc of new Korean/American cinema. In between,
highlights included a boisterous, sold-out Centerpiece screening of H.P. Mendoza’s
musical FRUIT FLY at the Castro Theatre, a retrospective of acclaimed Japanese director
Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who was on hand to present many of his films, and special on-stage con-
versations with Ang Lee, and WATCHMEN screenwriter Alex Tse.
At the Festival, CAAM also launched its new media sharing website, HAPAS.US, which
brings together the multiracial Asian American community online. A number of films
also explored the multiracial Asian American experience, including an archival screening
of Guy Green’s fascinating Hawaii-set, 1963 film DIAMOND HEAD.
27th SFIAAFF JURIED COMPETITIONS WINNERS AND AUDIENCE AWARDS:
N A R R AT I V E CO M P E T I T I O N1 BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE:
HALF-LIFEDirected by Jennifer Phang
2 SPECIAL JURY AWARD:CHILDREN OF INVENTIONDirected by Tze Chun
D O C U M E N TA RY CO M P E T I T I O N3 BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
THE MOSQUE IN MORGANTOWNDirected by Brittany Huckabee
4 SPECIAL JURY AWARD:DIRTY HANDS: THE ART AND CRIMES OF DAVID CHOEDirected by Harry Kim
CO M C A S T AU D I E N C E AWA R D S5 NARRATIVE FEATURE:
FRUIT FLYDirected by H.P. Mendoza
6 DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:PATSY MINK: AHEAD OF THE MAJORITYDirected by Kimberlee Bassford
Some of the guests who graced the Festival were: actors Joan Chen (24 CITY), Leonardo
Nam and Julia Nickson (HALF-LIFE), James Kyson Lee, Lynn Chen and Hiroshi Watanabe
(WHITE ON RICE), Kavi Ladnier and Barnali Das (KARMA CALLING); and filmmakers
Takahiko Iimura (subject of Festival Spotlight), Tze Chun (CHILDREN OF INVENTION),
Christopher Wong (WHATEVER IT TAKES), Senain Keshgi and Geeta Patel (PROJECT
KASHMIR), Jeff Adachi (YOU DON’T KNOW JACK: THE JACK SOO STORY) and Ed
Radtke (THE SPEED OF LIFE). o2 31
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 27TH SFIAAFF
WORDS FROM STUDENT DELEGATES OF THE 27TH SFIAAFF
“The great part about documentaries is
that the stories aren’t over when the films
are over. Hearing about where the people in
the films are now gives the screenings today
a vitality unique to the documentary style.”
“I’m super new to this film festival ordeal.
The only ways I’ve experienced movies are
in regular theaters, on a small screen with
a few friends, or as a topic of discussion
in a classroom.
KARMA CALLING
was the kind of
screening that
really makes the
festival setting win
my heart - the
audience was so
enthusiastic during
the movie, cheer-
ing the hardest
during the opening and closing credits. And
then the actor who played Peter stood up in
front of me and Lauren for the Q&A to join all
the other people who were part of the film at
the front of the room. Okay, considering I had
no idea that most of the people I just saw on
the screen were actually in the theater sitting
very close to us, I was kind of starstruck.”
— LAURA THATCHER, STUDENT
University of California, Davis
“I can’t even begin to express how amazing
this whole experience was and how much
I feel like I’ve grown in just this short time.
I’m so inspired to make films now; I can
barely contain it. Especially after seeing
THE SPEED OF LIFE, which I ended up seeing
twice and probably would have gone a third
time if it showed again. Something in it
resonated with me and I know it’s a film that
I’m going to carry with me for a long time.
I only hope my films can evoke the amount
of emotion that Ed Radtke was able to achieve
in that film. Meeting him also made it seem
so reasonable, like filmmaking is not some
magic goal that only a couple of people
can aspire to. If you are driven and passionate
and believe in your
work, you can have
it made.”
“To say I have been
looking forward to
the SFIAAFF would
be a grand under-
statement. I can
think of few things
more exciting than
to be able to view high-quality Asian
American cinema and have in-depth
discussions with others who feel just as
passionately as I do about the importance
of this medium.”
— LAUREN WINSOR STENMOE, STUDENT
Academy of Art University, San Francisco
“I really liked the energy of the Castro
Theatre, and remembering back to the
Comcast representative’s quick speech,
I realize that the audience tonight was really
a community that was fueled by film and
that this energy comes only from such
a strong community. The long lines for
tickets, the pictures, film crew, and finding
a seat, all of it was an experience. Also,
of course one of the best parts was
meeting all the other delegates and excitedly
chatting before the film!”
— TRACY WANG, STUDENT
University of California, Berkeley
5 64
LAURENLAURA TRACY
C A A M A N N U A L R E P O R T 0 8 | 0 9 1 1
AIMED TO ENGAGE STUDENTS WITH ASIAN AND ASIANAMERICAN CINEMA, SFIAAFF’S STUDENT DELEGATEPROGRAM STRIVES TO CULTIVATE THE NEXT GENERA-TION OF SCHOLARS, ARTISTS, ADMINISTRATORS AND ACTIVISTS INVESTED IN THE FIELD OF ASIANAMERICAN MEDIA.
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FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT
E X P E N S E S
S U P P O R T + R E V E N U E
41.1 %
11.7 %
8.1 %
6.5 %
13.2 %
10.8 %
Digital Media 257,984
Public Television 291,100
Media Fund 239,989
Festival 908,927
Special Productions 72,707
Film Distribution 143,756
Administration 178,825
Fundraising 119,584
Total 2,212,872
Government Awards 86,100
Foundation Grants 117,200
Corporation for Public Broadcasting 921,363
Corporate Support 124,137
In-kind Contributions 184,263
Contributions & Memberships 145,642
Film Distribution 114,526
Festival Ticket Sales 182,040
Other 16,702
Total 1,891,973
9.6 %
6.1 %
7.7 %
9.7 %
6.2 %
4.6 %
6.6 %
48.7 %
0.9 %
3.3 %
5.4 %
C A A M A N N U A L R E P O R T 0 8 | 0 9 1 3
30-SEPT-09 30-SEPT-08
Cash + Cash Equivalents 485,451 533,991
Accounts Receivable 438,759 940,133
Prepaid Expenses 13,605 14,886
Property + Equipment 28,755 25,943
Investments 377,717 377,717
Notes Receivable 418,084 418,084
Accounts Payable 41,186 116,341
Grants Payable 273,051 431,380
Other Liabilities 6,186 186
Unrestricted Net Assets 816,680 754,419
Temporarily Restricted Net Assets 625,268 1,008,428
Total Net Assets 1,441,948 1,762,847
CAAM fiscal year ending September 30, 2009.
Financial statements and Form 990s available upon request.
A S S E T C H A N G E S
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FOUNDATIONS & GOVERNMENT Corporation for Public BroadcastingGrants for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe Academy FoundationThe Fleishhacker FoundationThe Ford FoundationThe Japan FoundationThe Koret FoundationThe San Francisco FoundationThe Wallace Alexander Gerbode FoundationThe Wallace FoundationThe William & Flora Hewlett FoundationUnion Bank of California Foundation
CAAM COMMUNITY PARTNERS4Fifteen ClothingAcademyXAll About CuteAudreyDr. Kim Makoi, D.C., C.Ad.Encore ExpressEnterprise Rent-A-CarFitzgerald HotelHyphenIndie IndustriesJubiliKaya PressKearny Street WorkshopKirin Brewery of AmericaKoreAm JournalLe SoleilLolonis WineryLost Weekend VideoMaharani RestaurantNob Hill HotelNumi Organic TeaPoleng LoungeZaza Nail Spa
VISIONARY GOLDBill ImadaDavid and Linda Lei
ADVOCATEDenis BouvierRavi ChandraJohnnie D. GilesRoger Kuo
BENEFACTORDesmond D. ChinGary ChouKai FujitaStephen Gong and Susan AvilaJohn C. and Chara C. HaasChristopher Hollstein and Samantha EldredgeMichael and Tonia HsiehBernadette Kim and Len ChristensenA. MoyParmila RamchandaniJean TsienMona Lisa Yuchengco
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLEAnonymousLalit BalchandaniM. Lucey BowenDerek ChungYi-Lun DingDavid and Cheryl JacksonDai Sil Kim-GibsonAmy K. LeeJennie Lew and Cary FongThuy NguyenLeroy and Claudia QuanSumit RoyCalvin and Emma YeeLaura and Wallace Young
PATRONFrank ChanEunice CheeDoug Chin, in Memory of Janice SakamotoWillard M. ChinHeather DonnellGrace EngLeon HartwigAmy Lee and Steve HomTakuji and Harumi KasamatsuLawrence KimJyhchi KoStefani KomaruSylvia Komatsu and George StoneEdward Lee and Cindy LiuRussell and Sherlyn LeongDeann and Paul LiemPeter R. McGrath and Han Y. WangDr. Dennis M. Ogawa/Nippon Golden NetworkSteven Okazaki/Farallon FilmsAdolph RosekransArthur RothsteinDr. Marvin SommerVictoria S. TaketaDiane TokugawaHo Chie Tsai & TaiwaneseAmerican.orgBob and Yvonne UyekiAnna Whittington and Eddie WongBryan YagiErik Young
SUPPORTERAnonymousTony AnChristopher Au and Cindy LeeTerry BautistaMatthew BrictsonConstance ChanJames Q. ChanDarrin ChangTom and Dorothy Chin, in memory of JaniceSakamotoCharles Y. Choi, Ph.D.Celia ChungCrosby & KanedaAnna DangGlenn Davis and James TakagiTom Donald
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
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Maria FedelNetta F. FedorThomas FujisakaKay GamoSue Jean HalvorsenJayasri M. HartLiz Hoadley and Marsha GaleKathy ImDoug InouyeDon JoeSisi KappLewis KawaharaDr. Peter N. KiangYoko KnoxKen KoppBonnie KwongCalvin and Helen LangJalyn Tani LangStephen LawsonFrancis LeeJoyce LeeWaty MakmurPamela MatsuokaNadine MayPaolo MeleHarry MokGrace MuraoJim NawrockiNoel and Penny NellisMike Hoa NguyenTony Van NguyenOakland Film OfficeEdmund W. OwTheresa OwyeongJiro and Yasue OyamaCaren ParkChristina PehlArmando and Renee Tajima-PenaJean PfaelzerGlenn RamsdellNani RatnawatiSharon RoseRaymond and Maia SiuIndigo Som and Donna OzawaAnthony St. GeorgePeter L. SteinEarlene TaylorJanet TomWayne Wada
Morrie WarshawskiStephen B. Wilson, JrChristopher WongWynnie WongMargaret Yamamoto and Mark HopkinsDaniel YuPhil YuLaDonna Yumori-Kaku
FRIENDAnonymous (6)Calvin AbeMelissa AbramsMarissa Aroy and Niall McKayDoug AuVivian BejarinChas BelovMichael BerkowitzE.B.S. BockrathMaurizio BronzettiChris Bucoy BrownTecoah and Thomas BruceJonathan CarterMay-Lee ChaiClaire ChangMitzi ChangTom and Jeanette ChangPratap ChatterjeeEd and Janet ChenJau-Jiun ChenJames Chen and Wendy NguyenCorey ChengMichael ChengBrian CheuPreet and Surjit ChhokarS. Leo ChiangArthur ChinKevin ChinMichael ChinAndrey ChowDeborah ClearwatersMark DecenaMichael DeLongWilliam DereMichelle Dimapasoc and Michael AdelsheimLorraine DongIris EremLiza Marie S. Erpelo
Rosanne S. EstwanickMargaret FajardoSherman FanSteve FongCandice Fukumoto-DunhamBernard FungRoger Garcia and Lydia TanjiPhan Quoc Thai and Janet GardnerPaul GarlowYvonne GeeTomio GeronJohn F. GhizzoniAlex GinR.L. GumnitCari GushikenMichael Haimovitz and Paula ForsellesBrent HallDarrell Y. HamamotoRasheed and J.B. HanifRita HaoDr. David B. HashGrace HingJohn HoffmanYunah HongLawrence Hsu and Linda TengElva HuangJennifer HuangJolene HueyTommy HuieGregory C. HunterSatsuki InaChristopher IngRestu IsmailCynthia IwanagaClark JenMelissa JosueKeith KamisugiHiroshi KashiwagiDana KawanoJeanie KimAlbert LaiShu Lai and Angeline YangJesus LaraBetty LeeMarjorie LeeJim KeefeMark and Jacqueline LeslieSandra LiJohn Lin
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Lillian LinMatt LinSandy LinMichael LingMiriam and Belvin LouieFrancis Lu, M.D.Kim MakoiSheila MalkindJulie MallozziJoshua Maremont and Irene LoeMaimounah MasudiSusan McCabeCher MinAtsushi MuraseMona NagaiRobert Nakamoto and Colleen Tani NakamotoJason NouSusan ObataBetty OenEric OhwaKent A. OnoM H and H M OsbournYen PangSusan Parini and Stefan GruenwedelJames ParkDave ParksDeepak PateriyaDavid P. PerlinEdward A. RadtkeRamey RamziMichael ReillyJennifer SatoKaren SchillerKen SchneiderGail SilvaWilliam SmockJoseph SmookeSonJulie D. SooMichael SoonRobert StantonTess TaftRobynn TakayamaMabel M. TampincoChris TashimaMon ThaiChing ToJennifer TsanBenito VergaraJason WienerBenson Wong
Jason M. WongJune Woo WongPearl Wong & Chil KongPeter WongKaifu WuCary Yagemangayle k. yamadaRobert Yamauchi and Barbara ParkynJ.B. YeeJennifer Terng Yin
STUDENT/SENIORAnonymous (2)Argentina AndoniGlenn AquinoKatie BirchardLinda BlackabyBonita BradleyHanley ChanMichael ChaoDr. Art CharlesAlexander ChengDerek ChinJeffrey ChinAmelia ChuaDiana B. ChunJeff ClarkLynne ConnorJasleen DhillonAnthony EstradaEleanor M. FarrellAudrey FongMaxine FongMaryan and Bill GongMarvin J. HalpernKathryn HashimotoDebra Hatanaka and Edwin EndowEllen HelferdGeorge A. HeymontStephen HorowitzDieu HuynhAdrienne IwanagaMei JouAngela KauranenAsian Americans for Community InvolvementSheilan KhailanyJane KimSue KimDong Kingman, Jr.Leanne Koh
Le Roy LatigueCaroline LeHao Anh LeLisa LeeWenia LeeConnie LevyYangjun LiTy LimCharles LinSheening LinMonica LonigroVera Wing LuiJilma MarshallDaniel MartJing MuMaxine NeidichMatthew NelsonEmiko OmoriJimmy G. S. OngAdam PachterVincent PhamHongshu QianChristine QuanJoseph RameloHestia SanderMimi SasakiBill SatoEpifanio SilvaSilvermanFannie SiuTanya SleimanBrandon SugiyamaRoselyne SwigCalvin TajimaMy TangMichael ThomsonMary TranMichael TranTimothy TsaiUrmila VenkateshPeggy WangStephen WedgleyBenji WongTamiko and Peter WongChristopher WoonAnna WuCindy WuFrank Yee Jr.Ryan E. YipMike Zimmerman
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
E D I TO R S : Stephen Gong, Debbie Ng, and Frances PomperadaP R O D U C T I O N : Frances Pomperada
D E S I G N : Sharon Bäden, Bäden Design | BADEN [email protected]
I N S I D E B AC K COV E R I M AG E C R E D I T:Japantown Peace Plaza Screening of KAMIKAZE GIRLS
B AC K COV E R I M AG E C R E D I T:HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE
REPORT
ANNUAL2
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C E N T E R F O R A S I A N A M E R I C A N M E D I A
145 Ninth Street, Suite 350
San Francisco, CA 94103
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I N F O @ A S I A N A M E R I C A N M E D I A . O R G
W W W. A S I A N A M E R I C A N M E D I A . O R G
REPORT
In 2008-2009, CAAM
presented 22 hours of public television programming,
reaching over 10 million viewers nationwide.
distributed 789 titles through our Educational Distribution program,
reaching thousands of individuals, students and groups.
funded 12 projects:3 Indian, 3 Chinese, 2 Filipino, 1 Korean, 2 Pan-Asian and 1 international series.
exhibited over 100 films at the
27th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
over an eleven-day span in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose.
launched Hapas.us, a collaborative multimedia storytelling
project that enables multiracial Asian Americans to share their experiences
about race and identity.