Give as a gift
“Everyday I’m reminded
that the reason I even have a voice
is because my story has never been just mine.
It has always belonged to the village
A family heirloom from my ancestors
who fought for their lives so that I can fight for ours.
This is how I know that more than anything
our stories have the power to change everything.
Why else would this country delight in our silence
and be content with leaving our history out of the narrative?”
-excerpt from the poem AAPIs Rising by Terisa Siagatonu
The works in this exhibition engage with the complexity of community and history while pushing boundaries that invite us to reimagine other realities. There is anticipation in these works, a gesture rooted in the joy that a liberatory future that’s expansive, decolonial, and gender-free is within reach. There are many of us dreaming and creating a world where social justice, queer identities, and other fundamental rights and social rights and opportunities exist more than not. Yet, despite a world so severe and unsparing, we can continue to look to our stories, songs, paintings, and poems to create maps and imagined spaces where no one asks permission to exist. Perhaps in these works, we can perfect the creation of counter systems that offer healing balms for those of us that need to leave behind a wearying past or present. Can we be reminded that it is possible to center well-being and that we can value and normalize healing scenarios in our daily lives? Beyond the ethnic cheerleading that tower over these observances, this exhibit asks its viewer to look through the lens of these Filipinx artists articulating a different world that might be around the corner.
In addition to the short films included in the collection, we invite you to watch the PBS American Masters film Maia Cruz Palileo: Becoming the Moon: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/maia-cruz-palileo-becoming-the-moon/15825/.
Guest Curator: Irene Soriano
Winner of the Outfest Fusion 2022 One Minute Movie Contest, Legacy is an immigrant's generational journey through poetry and pictures.
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Actress and filmmaker Giovannie Espiritu was nominated alongside Academy Award Nominees Alfre Woodard and Amy Irving for Best Supporting Actress at MethodFest for the Mynah Films feature film Fiona’s Script. Her primetime credits include a recurring role on ER (NBC), Bones (FOX), Gilmore Girls (ABC), and Trauma (NBC). She can currently be seen as the lead in the Amazon series, “Dyke Central,” which was featured in After Ellen, BuzzFeed, Bust Magazine and Curve Magazine as a top LGBTQ series to watch. As a filmmaker, she was featured in Elizabeth Banks’ WhoHaHa Media for her parody song, “An Introvert’s World,” and her storytelling has been featured in Ms. Magazine. A three-time Outfest Fusion Filmmaker, her short film, "Ultra-Feminist" was awarded Honorable Mention. Her film, "Ally3000" just won Best Screenplay at the Culture and Diversity Film Festival in Los Angeles, as well at Special Mention Female Director at the Five Continents International Film Festival. It also picked up award in the categories of Social Justice / Scriptwriting / Humor / Women Filmmakers. was recently acquired by TBA Studios.
She coaches kids/teens online nationwide through HollywoodActorsWorkshop.com and was just named as one of the top 40 Audition Coaches in Los Angeles by the Hollywood Winners Circle founded by Wendy Alane Wright, a top talent manager. Her students are represented by the top agencies in the Bay Area and Los Angeles and notable student alumni include William Lipton (Daytime Emmy Nominee, Cameron on General Hospital) and the Espina Sisters (Hosts of Dreamworks’ “Life Hacks for Kids on the Road”).
In her spare time, she rock climbs and advocates for Domestic Violence Awareness/Prevention and LGBTQ equality. She has served on the Board of Directors for C.O.R.A. (a Bay Area domestic violence hotline and agency) and been awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the Senate for her community service. Member Producer Guild of America, Alliance of Women Directors, recipient of the 2021 Most Influential Filipina in the Word: Innovator & Thought Leader.
Website: https://giovannieespiritu.com
- Runtime1 minutes
- DirectorGiovannie Espiritu
- ScreenwriterGiovannie Espiritu
- ProducerGiovannie Espiritu
- CastGiovannie Espiritu
- EditorGiovannie Espiritu
“Everyday I’m reminded
that the reason I even have a voice
is because my story has never been just mine.
It has always belonged to the village
A family heirloom from my ancestors
who fought for their lives so that I can fight for ours.
This is how I know that more than anything
our stories have the power to change everything.
Why else would this country delight in our silence
and be content with leaving our history out of the narrative?”
-excerpt from the poem AAPIs Rising by Terisa Siagatonu
The works in this exhibition engage with the complexity of community and history while pushing boundaries that invite us to reimagine other realities. There is anticipation in these works, a gesture rooted in the joy that a liberatory future that’s expansive, decolonial, and gender-free is within reach. There are many of us dreaming and creating a world where social justice, queer identities, and other fundamental rights and social rights and opportunities exist more than not. Yet, despite a world so severe and unsparing, we can continue to look to our stories, songs, paintings, and poems to create maps and imagined spaces where no one asks permission to exist. Perhaps in these works, we can perfect the creation of counter systems that offer healing balms for those of us that need to leave behind a wearying past or present. Can we be reminded that it is possible to center well-being and that we can value and normalize healing scenarios in our daily lives? Beyond the ethnic cheerleading that tower over these observances, this exhibit asks its viewer to look through the lens of these Filipinx artists articulating a different world that might be around the corner.
In addition to the short films included in the collection, we invite you to watch the PBS American Masters film Maia Cruz Palileo: Becoming the Moon: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/maia-cruz-palileo-becoming-the-moon/15825/.
Guest Curator: Irene Soriano
Winner of the Outfest Fusion 2022 One Minute Movie Contest, Legacy is an immigrant's generational journey through poetry and pictures.
----------------
Actress and filmmaker Giovannie Espiritu was nominated alongside Academy Award Nominees Alfre Woodard and Amy Irving for Best Supporting Actress at MethodFest for the Mynah Films feature film Fiona’s Script. Her primetime credits include a recurring role on ER (NBC), Bones (FOX), Gilmore Girls (ABC), and Trauma (NBC). She can currently be seen as the lead in the Amazon series, “Dyke Central,” which was featured in After Ellen, BuzzFeed, Bust Magazine and Curve Magazine as a top LGBTQ series to watch. As a filmmaker, she was featured in Elizabeth Banks’ WhoHaHa Media for her parody song, “An Introvert’s World,” and her storytelling has been featured in Ms. Magazine. A three-time Outfest Fusion Filmmaker, her short film, "Ultra-Feminist" was awarded Honorable Mention. Her film, "Ally3000" just won Best Screenplay at the Culture and Diversity Film Festival in Los Angeles, as well at Special Mention Female Director at the Five Continents International Film Festival. It also picked up award in the categories of Social Justice / Scriptwriting / Humor / Women Filmmakers. was recently acquired by TBA Studios.
She coaches kids/teens online nationwide through HollywoodActorsWorkshop.com and was just named as one of the top 40 Audition Coaches in Los Angeles by the Hollywood Winners Circle founded by Wendy Alane Wright, a top talent manager. Her students are represented by the top agencies in the Bay Area and Los Angeles and notable student alumni include William Lipton (Daytime Emmy Nominee, Cameron on General Hospital) and the Espina Sisters (Hosts of Dreamworks’ “Life Hacks for Kids on the Road”).
In her spare time, she rock climbs and advocates for Domestic Violence Awareness/Prevention and LGBTQ equality. She has served on the Board of Directors for C.O.R.A. (a Bay Area domestic violence hotline and agency) and been awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the Senate for her community service. Member Producer Guild of America, Alliance of Women Directors, recipient of the 2021 Most Influential Filipina in the Word: Innovator & Thought Leader.
Website: https://giovannieespiritu.com
- Runtime1 minutes
- DirectorGiovannie Espiritu
- ScreenwriterGiovannie Espiritu
- ProducerGiovannie Espiritu
- CastGiovannie Espiritu
- EditorGiovannie Espiritu