These works are available for viewing from Monday, May 4th at 7pm PT to Saturday, May 9th at 7pm PT. Livestreams are available to watch on the Visual Communications Youtube Channel and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Facebook page!
This program includes the following:
CALLS FROM THE FRONTLINES by Paola Mardo and Patrick Epino from Long Distance (Click here to listen to the podcast)
CENDRILLION by Paolo Mardo and Patrick Epino from Long Distance
HYPEBEASTS by Jess dela Merced
NOTHING ON US: PINAYS RISING by Ruby Ibarra and Evelyn Obamos
THE PATIENTS by Tess Paras
Co-presented with: Cinema Sala
Community Partners: Beatrock Music, FilAm ARTS, Long Distance
Livestreams are also available to watch on the Visual Communications Youtube Channel and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Facebook page!
Join us for a Q&A featuring these bada$$ Filipina American creators as they come together to discuss their works and perspectives on being the storytellers of the future: Tess Paras, Paola Mardo, Jessica dela Merced, Ruby Ibarra, and Evelyn Obamos.
Featuring:
Marie Jamora (Host)
Marie Jamora is a musician-director whose stories often explore the rhythms of youth through music. Recently named one of the “Five Visionary Asian American Female Filmmakers” in Kore Magazine's “New Hollywood” issue, her short film, FLIP THE RECORD, screened at over thirty festivals worldwide, winning the Grand Jury Awards for "Best Narrative Short" at Urbanworld and the St. Louis International Film Festival. It was also submitted for consideration at the 90th Academy Awards. Her acclaimed first feature, WHAT ISN'T THERE, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival and has been considered one of the Top 10 Filipino Films of the 2010s. She is the executive producer and director of FAMILY STYLE, an Asian food and pop culture show with Justin Lin's YOMYOMF and Warner Bros/Stage 13. Marie is the first Filipina director to be accepted into AFI's Directing Workshop for Women, where she wrote and directed HARANA, a proof of concept for her next feature film.
Tess Paras
Tess Paras is an actress, writer, and comedian based in Los Angeles. She has had notable TV credits on shows like JUST ADD MAGIC, CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, TAKE MY WIFE, GIRL MEETS WORLD, GRIMM, and more. Tess wrote, directed, and starred in the short film THE PATIENTS, which had a sold-out world premiere at the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. She produced political comedy for F-Comedy (Fusion’s Digital Comedy Studio), including the viral sketch “Trumping Makeup Tutorial” with over 6 million views. Her YouTube comedy sketches — “Typecast” and “What If Catcalls Were Cheeseburgers” — have also gone viral and were featured on Glamour, Refinery29, NBC Asian America, MTV News, Slate, and The Wrap. She is currently the Associate Director for the CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase after participating in the program as a performer and writer in 2014.
Paola Mardo
Paola Mardo is a podcast host, writer, and producer who knows a thing or two about Tiki bars. Based in Los Angeles by way of Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and the San Francisco Bay Area, she is a 1.5 generation Filipino American, driven to tell stories about community, culture, and how we find home and our place in the world. She is the host, writer, creator, and producer of Long Distance, a documentary podcast about stories in the Filipino diaspora and an inaugural member of the PRX Google Podcasts creator program featured in The New York Times Podcast Club’s 2019 Picks, Bello Collective’s Outstanding Podcasts of 2018, and Apple Podcasts New and Noteworthy. She also hosts, writes, and produces the companion short documentary video series Long Distance TV
Jess dela Merced
Jess dela Merced is a Filipina American writer/director from San Francisco. She is one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film and a director in the Disney ABC directing program. She is a graduate of NYU's grad film program, where she received the Spike Lee Fellowship. Her award winning thesis film HYPEBEASTS, written under the mentorship of Lee, aired on PBS. Her short film,WAIT 'TIL THE WOLVES MAKE NICE, premiered at SXSW and won the Grand Jury Prize in Detroit's Cinetopia International Film Festival. Her feature script CHICKENSHIT is a winner of the NYU Purple List and a San Francisco Film Society grant recipient. She is a participant of the Hamptons Screenwriters Lab and the Breaking Through the Lens initiative at Cannes. Her latest short PHONY, executive produced by Paul Feig, premiered at last year's SeriesFest.
Ruby Ibarra
Ruby Ibarra is a rapper and spoken word artist from the Bay Area, CA. She released her debut album, CIRCA91 at the end of 2017 and has since toured across the United States at universities, empowerment conferences, music venues, and spaces such as the National Mall in DC, The Getty Center, and the De Young Museum. Ruby has been featured on notable publications such as NPR, Huffington Post, South China Morning Post, Buzzfeed, XXL Magazine and was featured in a Grammys/MasterCard commercial and campaign with R&B singer SZA. Ruby’s music is available on all digital platforms and can be heard in several museum exhibits, films and television features.
Evelyn Obamos
Evelyn Obamos identifies as an island-born city girl who thrives at the intersection of lifelong learning, hustlin, and chill af vibes. She plays tennis for fun and sings karaoke for sport. What her resume won’t tell you is that she fits the bill of what some people controversially describe as living the American dream, and her mom still has no clue what her day job at Pinterest entails.
These works are available for viewing from Monday, May 4th at 7pm PT to Saturday, May 9th at 7pm PT. Livestreams are available to watch on the Visual Communications Youtube Channel and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Facebook page!
This program includes the following:
CALLS FROM THE FRONTLINES by Paola Mardo and Patrick Epino from Long Distance (Click here to listen to the podcast)
CENDRILLION by Paolo Mardo and Patrick Epino from Long Distance
HYPEBEASTS by Jess dela Merced
NOTHING ON US: PINAYS RISING by Ruby Ibarra and Evelyn Obamos
THE PATIENTS by Tess Paras
Co-presented with: Cinema Sala
Community Partners: Beatrock Music, FilAm ARTS, Long Distance
Livestreams are also available to watch on the Visual Communications Youtube Channel and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Facebook page!
Join us for a Q&A featuring these bada$$ Filipina American creators as they come together to discuss their works and perspectives on being the storytellers of the future: Tess Paras, Paola Mardo, Jessica dela Merced, Ruby Ibarra, and Evelyn Obamos.
Featuring:
Marie Jamora (Host)
Marie Jamora is a musician-director whose stories often explore the rhythms of youth through music. Recently named one of the “Five Visionary Asian American Female Filmmakers” in Kore Magazine's “New Hollywood” issue, her short film, FLIP THE RECORD, screened at over thirty festivals worldwide, winning the Grand Jury Awards for "Best Narrative Short" at Urbanworld and the St. Louis International Film Festival. It was also submitted for consideration at the 90th Academy Awards. Her acclaimed first feature, WHAT ISN'T THERE, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival and has been considered one of the Top 10 Filipino Films of the 2010s. She is the executive producer and director of FAMILY STYLE, an Asian food and pop culture show with Justin Lin's YOMYOMF and Warner Bros/Stage 13. Marie is the first Filipina director to be accepted into AFI's Directing Workshop for Women, where she wrote and directed HARANA, a proof of concept for her next feature film.
Tess Paras
Tess Paras is an actress, writer, and comedian based in Los Angeles. She has had notable TV credits on shows like JUST ADD MAGIC, CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, TAKE MY WIFE, GIRL MEETS WORLD, GRIMM, and more. Tess wrote, directed, and starred in the short film THE PATIENTS, which had a sold-out world premiere at the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. She produced political comedy for F-Comedy (Fusion’s Digital Comedy Studio), including the viral sketch “Trumping Makeup Tutorial” with over 6 million views. Her YouTube comedy sketches — “Typecast” and “What If Catcalls Were Cheeseburgers” — have also gone viral and were featured on Glamour, Refinery29, NBC Asian America, MTV News, Slate, and The Wrap. She is currently the Associate Director for the CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase after participating in the program as a performer and writer in 2014.
Paola Mardo
Paola Mardo is a podcast host, writer, and producer who knows a thing or two about Tiki bars. Based in Los Angeles by way of Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and the San Francisco Bay Area, she is a 1.5 generation Filipino American, driven to tell stories about community, culture, and how we find home and our place in the world. She is the host, writer, creator, and producer of Long Distance, a documentary podcast about stories in the Filipino diaspora and an inaugural member of the PRX Google Podcasts creator program featured in The New York Times Podcast Club’s 2019 Picks, Bello Collective’s Outstanding Podcasts of 2018, and Apple Podcasts New and Noteworthy. She also hosts, writes, and produces the companion short documentary video series Long Distance TV
Jess dela Merced
Jess dela Merced is a Filipina American writer/director from San Francisco. She is one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film and a director in the Disney ABC directing program. She is a graduate of NYU's grad film program, where she received the Spike Lee Fellowship. Her award winning thesis film HYPEBEASTS, written under the mentorship of Lee, aired on PBS. Her short film,WAIT 'TIL THE WOLVES MAKE NICE, premiered at SXSW and won the Grand Jury Prize in Detroit's Cinetopia International Film Festival. Her feature script CHICKENSHIT is a winner of the NYU Purple List and a San Francisco Film Society grant recipient. She is a participant of the Hamptons Screenwriters Lab and the Breaking Through the Lens initiative at Cannes. Her latest short PHONY, executive produced by Paul Feig, premiered at last year's SeriesFest.
Ruby Ibarra
Ruby Ibarra is a rapper and spoken word artist from the Bay Area, CA. She released her debut album, CIRCA91 at the end of 2017 and has since toured across the United States at universities, empowerment conferences, music venues, and spaces such as the National Mall in DC, The Getty Center, and the De Young Museum. Ruby has been featured on notable publications such as NPR, Huffington Post, South China Morning Post, Buzzfeed, XXL Magazine and was featured in a Grammys/MasterCard commercial and campaign with R&B singer SZA. Ruby’s music is available on all digital platforms and can be heard in several museum exhibits, films and television features.
Evelyn Obamos
Evelyn Obamos identifies as an island-born city girl who thrives at the intersection of lifelong learning, hustlin, and chill af vibes. She plays tennis for fun and sings karaoke for sport. What her resume won’t tell you is that she fits the bill of what some people controversially describe as living the American dream, and her mom still has no clue what her day job at Pinterest entails.