Asian Pacific Virtual Showcase

Welcome to the Asian Pacific Virtual Showcase!
During Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, join us for the Asian Pacific Virtual Showcase (AVPS), which runs from May 1 - May 31, 2021 and aims to highlight Asian American & Pacific Islander artists of different communities and neighborhoods in the United States, Canada, and Oceania. Presented by Visual Communications and various partner organizations, we are pleased to bring you FREE films and conversations to keep us connected. Click here to see a schedule of films and events.

Conversations

HBO APA Visionaries 2020

LA Liminal

A STEP FORWARD
Filipino senior citizens in Westside Long Beach find community by forming a weekly Walking Club.
2017 | United States
A STEP FORWARD
CHALLENGING TRADITION IN KOREATOWN’S INTERGENERATIONAL RESTAURANTS
Two intergenerational restaurants explore questions of authenticity, tradition, and identity within the Los Angeles Koreatown neighborhood.
2019 | United States
CHALLENGING TRADITION IN KOREATOWN’S INTERGENERATIONAL RESTAURANTS
FIRST STREET NORTH
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles is 1 of 3 historical Japantowns in the US — this is a "made in Japan" story you should know.
2018 | United States
FIRST STREET NORTH
FUGETSU-DO
An intimate portrait of the 117-year-old Japanese sweet shop that has become a memory bank for the Little Tokyo community.
2020 | United States
FUGETSU-DO
LIQUOR STORE BABIES
The lives of two friends and their liquor store owning fathers intersect, as they take a candid look at how their lives and dreams are connected.
2018 | United States
LIQUOR STORE BABIES
NOODLE DELI
Every morning, using a recipe discovered centuries ago in China, an immigrant chef makes noodles in his San Gabriel Valley restaurant outside Los Angeles.
2015 | United States
NOODLE DELI
PHOENIX BAKERY
As Chinatown’s Phoenix Bakery in Los Angeles celebrates its 80th anniversary, three generations of the Chans explore their family legacy and contemplate the future.
2020 | United States
PHOENIX BAKERY
RAISING EYEBROWS
Two popular threading salons for South Asian customers and workers holds differing stories of fear and courage, as the fight against exploitation at one salon is used to highlight the partnership that sustains the other.
2010 | United States
RAISING EYEBROWS
THE FOB AND I
THE FOB AND I
YELLOW BROTHERHOOD
YELLOW BROTHERHOOD is a short personal documentary about a friendship and finding community through a self-help group turned basketball team that began in the 1960s.
2003 | United States
YELLOW BROTHERHOOD

Digital Histories 2020

A HERO’S HERO
Learn about an uncle and nephew who had shared convictions and extraordinary lives.
2020 | United States
A HERO’S HERO
DEAR SALLY,
A long distance pen-pal relationship unexpectedly evolves into something more.
2021 | United States
DEAR SALLY,
FRANCIS WONG: CHINATOWN REVOLUTIONARY
An activist saxophone player uses music to stand against oppression in hopes of a better tomorrow.
2020 | United States
FRANCIS WONG: CHINATOWN REVOLUTIONARY
JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL
There is only one war memorial that honors all Japanese Americans that have sacrificed their lives in service of their country. This is the story of how the memorial was established as an important part of the Japanese American community.
2020 | United States
JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL
KATANA
A 250 year old sword is brought to the US at the end of WWII. Explore the sword’s history and learn about its second generation Japanese American caretakers for the past 75 years.
2020 | United States
KATANA
MAKE IT SPARKLE!
Hundreds of volunteers annually descend upon Little Tokyo, Los Angeles to make it sparkle.
2019 | United States
MAKE IT SPARKLE!
MOTHER DAUGHTER JOURNEY
A mother and daughter journey to the northern-most part of the United States and encounter nature at its best.
2020 | United States
MOTHER DAUGHTER JOURNEY
WE WILL NOT FORGET YOU
Dale Inouye lived an extraordinary life until leukemia took him at age nine. The Dale M. Inouye Foundation keeps his memory alive.
2020 | United States
WE WILL NOT FORGET YOU

VC Classics

...I TOLD YOU SO
…I TOLD YOU SO weaves scenes of Japanese American poet and professor Lawson Inada’s life with his writings.
1974 | United States
...I TOLD YOU SO
CHINATOWN 2-STEP
Capturing the all-American fervor of parade competition, CHINATOWN 2-STEP profiles the Los Angeles Chinese Drum and Bugle Corps, an important fixture of the Chinese American community.
1975 | United States
CHINATOWN 2-STEP
CRUISIN' J-TOWN
CRUISIN’ J-TOWN celebrates the music and influences of contemporary Asian American culture on Dan Kuramoto, June Okida Kuramoto, and Johnny Mori — three musicians who make up the core of the jazz fusion band Hiroshima.
1974 | United States
CRUISIN' J-TOWN
KITES AND OTHER TALES
Kite maker Tom Joe seeks to preserve the craft of kite making as well as the traditional Asian folklore behind it.
1975 | United States
KITES AND OTHER TALES
NA PUA O LAKA
Sissy Ka’io, local kumu Hula (teacher of Hula), works to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture in Southern California through her focus on her male students.
1987 | United States
NA PUA O LAKA
NO VACANCY
Two Asian American middle-aged men face the depletion of low-cost housing, and must find ways to survive in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo and Chinatown.
1986 | United States
NO VACANCY
OMAI FA’ATASI: SAMOA MO SAMOA
OMAI FA’ATASI profiles the Samoan American youth development organization of L.A.’s South Bay communities, and unveils the history of Samoan migration to America.
1978 | United States
OMAI FA’ATASI: SAMOA MO SAMOA
TO BE ME, TONY QUON
Set in L.A.’s Chinatown neighborhood, TO BE ME, TONY QUON offers a vivid depiction of Tony’s world, culminating with the food, firecrackers and lion dances of Chinese New Year.
1973 | United States
TO BE ME, TONY QUON

#AsianAmCovidStories presented by the Asian American Documentary Network

100 MILES APART
During the coronavirus pandemic, two newly engaged Filipino American nurses work at COVID-19 sites and shelter-in-place one hundred miles away from each other.
2020 | United States
100 MILES APART
AN UNEXPECTED GOODBYE
A father dies suddenly from COVID-19, and his family is forced to create a new ritual when proper funerals are not allowed.
2020 | United States
AN UNEXPECTED GOODBYE
ASIAN AMERICAN STORIES IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS
As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the nation and anti-Asian sentiment was on the rise, Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc) commissioned 15 microdocs in response to the needed representation of our communities.
2020 | United States
ASIAN AMERICAN STORIES IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS
BACK TO WORK
A family experiences the realities of COVID-19 firsthand, together.
2020 | United States
BACK TO WORK
COOKING WITH CHRISTINE
Chef Christine Ha hosts an interactive, online cooking class to raise charity funds for COVID-19 relief.
2020 | United States
COOKING WITH CHRISTINE
HOME, DELIVERED
Under quarantine, South Asian seniors living in Queens, NYC find comfort with the help of a local organization.
2020 | United States
HOME, DELIVERED
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE’S COOLER COUSIN (BUT NOT FOR COVID)
Yes, hydroxychloroquine was first used to treat malaria, except ancient Chinese traditions were better at it.
2020 | United States
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE’S COOLER COUSIN (BUT NOT FOR COVID)
LEGISLATING FROM HOME
Minnesota State Representative Fue Lee serves his community from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020 | United States
LEGISLATING FROM HOME
POI DOG LESSONS
Disturbed by the racism against Asian Americans, actor Maki‘ilei Ishihara taps into her heritage to produce an animated video poem that celebrates cultural identity.
2020 | United States
POI DOG LESSONS
QUALITY OF CARE
Video chronicles of a young physical therapist at Elmhurst Hospital, known as the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Queens, NYC.
2020 | United States
QUALITY OF CARE
QUARAN-ZINE CONNECTIONS
Four friends, all Chinese internationals in the U.S., gather virtually to have a session of making quaran-zines as a means of sharing and connecting.
2020 | United States
QUARAN-ZINE CONNECTIONS
REOPENING
Two married undocumented Chinese immigrants come to terms with the closing and re-opening of their restaurant during COVID-19.
2020 | United States
REOPENING
SEWING IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS
In the hands of the Auntie Sewing Squad, hoarded film festival lanyards become a way to fight coronavirus.
2020 | United States
SEWING IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS
SHU MAI ONLINE
With gigs canceled by the coronavirus, Miss Shumai finds new ways to make a living.
2020 | United States
SHU MAI ONLINE
SPAMFIGHT!
In order to express her identity and fulfill her cravings, an Asian American woman cooks up some spam, despite her vegetarian boyfriend’s disgust.
2020 | United States
SPAMFIGHT!
TOGETHER, ALONE
A glimpse into the lives of frontline workers by documenting one doctor’s life in isolation at home.
2020 | United States
TOGETHER, ALONE

Next Exit, Cambodia Town presented by Cambodia Town Film Festival

CAMBODIA TOWN: NOT FOR SALE
As small ethnic-owned businesses in East Anaheim Plaza are threatened by plans of redevelopment, the Cambodia Town community has mobilized against this ongoing injustice.
2019 | United States
CAMBODIA TOWN: NOT FOR SALE
MANGO MONDAY
Members of Khmer Girls in Action's 2007 Summer Youth Media Workshop put pen and market to paper to produce a series of one-minute short stories about things that are important to them.
2007 | United States
MANGO MONDAY
PAULINA
Paulina, a 17 year old girl living in the Cambodian gambling community, struggles with her father and the realities of addiction.
2012 | United States
PAULINA
REMEMBRANCE AND RENEWAL: CELEBRATING CAMBODIAN AMERICAN STORIES
The inspirational stories of those who inherited the traumas of war and their experiences as Cambodian Americans.
2021 | United States
REMEMBRANCE AND RENEWAL: CELEBRATING CAMBODIAN AMERICAN STORIES

CAAMFest 2021: Bay Area in Motion presented by Center for Asian American Media

BREATHE (HINGA)
A performance ritual film and time capsule honoring the sacred grief, life force, and resiliency of the Bay Area Pilipinx community during COVID-19.
2021 | United States
BREATHE (HINGA)
CHINATOWN PRETTY
San Francisco's Chinatown Community Development Center partners with artists to showcase their Chinatown Pretty project honoring local seniors, their fashion choices, and their independent lives.
2020 | United States
CHINATOWN PRETTY
SYNCHRONIZED
An experimental documentary short that embraces 5 women of color as they collectively reflect about their experiences living and thriving in Oakland.
2020 | United States
SYNCHRONIZED
THE LEAF
THE LEAF is a personal, poetic, documentary film about Director Will J. Zang’s experience as both a filmmaker and a gay immigrant during this pandemic.
2021 | United States
THE LEAF

Daughters of the Ocean presented by Pacific Islanders in Communications

A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE
A young Hawaiian girl aspires to lead her school's all-male hula troupe, and an inspiring teacher uses traditional culture to empower her.
2014 | United States
A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE
ANOINTED
Acclaimed poet and activist, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, explores the nuclear testing legacy of the Marshall Islands through the legends and stories of Runit Island.
2018 | United States, Marshall Islands
ANOINTED
CROSSING SPACES
Three Micronesian women navigate the challenges of building new lives and pursuing higher education as immigrants to Hawai'i.
2018 | United States
CROSSING SPACES
E HAKU INOA: TO WEAVE A NAME
A young multiracial Kanaka Maoli woman sets out to discover the meaning of her lengthy, 63-letter Hawaiian name, given to her by her estranged schizophrenic mother.
2013 | United States
E HAKU INOA: TO WEAVE A NAME
MARIA
An ailing Polynesian matriarch must find the strength to lead her family one last time.
2016 | Aotearoa New Zealand
MARIA
O A‘U ‘O LE TAUPOU
A young Taupou (sacred maiden) must find the balance between Samoa traditions and her modern way of life.
2010 | American Samoa
O A‘U ‘O LE TAUPOU
TA HASSO I MANAINA
Members of the Kutturan Chamoru Foundation meet virtually to create an in-language chant.
2021 | United States
TA HASSO I MANAINA

Tides of the Pacific Northwest presented by Seattle Asian American Film Festival

AND THEN
AND THEN is a queer, soft, travel romance about 2 artists who serendipitously meet over and over again in the vibrant nightscape of Tokyo.
2020 | United States
AND THEN
CHINATOWN-INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT: BUSH GARDEN
The community around the iconic Bush Garden Restaurant in Seattle's Chinatown-International District rallies against displacement when the building is bought by developers.
2020 | United States
CHINATOWN-INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT: BUSH GARDEN
CHINATOWN-INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT: FOUR SEAS/DYNASTY ROOM
Four Seas: Dynasty Room in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District was a gathering place for people from all walks of life, until its closure in 2017.
2020 | United States
CHINATOWN-INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT: FOUR SEAS/DYNASTY ROOM
CIVIL
A black door-to-door salesman struggles to make his first sale when he spots a Confederate flag hanging on the wall of his potential client.
2018 | United States
CIVIL
QUEER TRANSNATIONAL LOVE IN THE TIME OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND GLOBALIZATION
Using found footage, the filmmaker analyzes and work through the trauma of ending a relationship.
2017 | United States
QUEER TRANSNATIONAL LOVE IN THE TIME OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND GLOBALIZATION
YAI NIN
Ninlawan is the matriarch of a Thai American family, who hustled for her fortune by founding a naem (pork sausage) factory in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
2020 | United States, Thailand
YAI NIN

Abolition, Not Assimilation: A Retrospective of Christine Choy presented by Third World Newsreel

BITTERSWEET SURVIVAL: SOUTHEAST ASIAN REFUGEES IN AMERICA
This documentary examines the re-settlement of South-East Asian refugees in the United States in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
30 min | 1982 | United States
BITTERSWEET SURVIVAL: SOUTHEAST ASIAN REFUGEES IN AMERICA
FROM SPIKES TO SPINDLES
A rare depiction of New York's Chinatown community, from the early laborers driving spikes into the transcontinental railroad to the garment workers of today.
46 min | 1976 | United States
FROM SPIKES TO SPINDLES
HOMES APART: KOREA
Beginning with one man's journey to reunite with his sister in North Korea, the personal, social and political dimensions of this divided nation are revealed.
55 min | 1991 | United States, Korea
HOMES APART: KOREA
TEACH OUR CHILDREN
This film focuses on the 1971 Attica prison rebellion, targeting the conditions that caused prisoners to take drastic steps toward securing their basic rights.
37 min | 1972 | United States
TEACH OUR CHILDREN