Tad Nakamura Continues His Father’s Legacy, Bringing Asian American Stories to Light
“I always grew up knowing that Asian Americans made films, and could make film, and there was a lot of them making films.”
Storytellers
Inspired by Asian American Women Before Her, Grace Lee Leads Next Generation in Making the Films They Want to See
Filmmaker Grace Lee has explored topics as varied as politics, food, zombies, and even other women who share her name. The thread that ties…
Ruby Ibarra Aspires to Inspire Through Her Roots-Ingrained Raps
“I would have done an album a disservice if I had this project talking about the Filipino American experience and not include elements of Filipino language.”
CJ Hunt Explores Race in America, and His Own Life
“I’m able to enter and ride that privilege for access (to) certain spaces. You know, so when characters in the film, talk about Blacks, it is clear that they don’t believe that the person they’re talking to is Black.”
Nothing Will Stop Justin Chon From Telling Asian American Stories
“What I care about is bringing empathy to us, so all my films have a very strong Asian element.”
Nadia Shihab On Intuition and the Power of Reframing Stories
“I learned a lot about the power of centering one’s voice and experience in a work. And also about how hard it can be to do so.”
Jason DaSilva Documents His Journey, Even Through His Hardest Times
“It’s going to be a real challenge, but you’re going to make it work. I’d like to tell my 25-year-old self that it’s going to be a bumpy ride, but you’re going to make it out.”
Bao Nguyen Shows the Potential of Story Through Films
“This was a time when there weren’t iPhones or anything that kept me entertained, so I would sketch all day on the back of these invoices. I would have piles and piles of papers and these pens. Come to think of it now, these were like storyboards. In a way, because my parents made me work at their small business, I had to daydream, and it fueled my imagination.”
Drama Del Rosario Takes a Personal Approach to Making His Personal Documentaries
“I grew up in the generation of vloggers and YouTubers and people navigating how to use editing software. That’s really how I got my start in hands-on filmmaking.”
Anuradha Rana Finds Community to Help Tell Stories, Personal and Political
“My work focuses on women, whether they are outsiders or those who are trying on the mantle of where they don’t usually fit”
Chef Nite Yun Reimagines Cambodian Cooking, Even During a Pandemic
“The food we ate growing up was so good. It’s more about sharing our culture and storytelling, versus, ‘I’ve got to survive.’”
Paula Madison’s Personal Crusade to Tell the History of Chinese in the Caribbean
“If we have the African diaspora teamed with the Asian diaspora, we would be unstoppable.”