Childlike Politics on Global Voices

Please Vote For Me airs Sunday night on Global Voices on the WORLD Channel. Set in the city of Wuhan in central China, the film follows three 8-year-old elementary school students as they campaign for the coveted position of class monitor.

Viewers interested in the film should definitely take a look at this clip from This American Life. Host Ira Glass excerpts the doc and reflects on how quickly these third-grade kids devise and employ the same tactics used by adult politicians. Politics is indeed a contact sport, enjoy!

Tags: Asian American, asian heritage, documentary, Global Voices, Independent Lens, wgbh, WORLD

Watch Journey of the Bonesetter’s Daughter, this Weekend on PBS

Follow the making of a contemporary opera in  Journey of the Bonesetter’s Daughter — airing Sunday, May 8 on PBS. The documentary is based on the best-selling novel by Amy Tan.

Journey of the Bonesetter’s Daughter, a film by Monica Lam, David Petersen, and Fawn Ring, follows the creation of the San Francisco Opera’s celebrated production of The Bonesetter’s Daughter, based on Amy Tan’s bestselling novel of the same name. An ambitious, cross-cultural tour de force that brings together artists from China and the U.S., the opera tells a deeply moving story about the difficult but unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters, inspired by Tan’s own family history.

A co-production of Outlier Films,  the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM),  KQED San Francisco, and ITVS — Journey of the Bonesetter’s Daughter airs on PBS on May 8 (check local listings). Watch the trailer after the jump >>
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Tags: amy tan, Asian American, CAAM, KQED, opera, San Francisco

Live Chat on FUTURESTATES

ITVS will host a live chat with filmmakers from the FUTURESTATES series on Wednesday, March 16 at 11AM PT / 2PM ET. The discussion will be moderated by Michella Rivera-Gravage, Director of Digital & Interactive Media for The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM).

Panelists will include filmmakers Nisha Ganatra (Beholder), Mia Trachinger (Exposure), and J.P. Chan (Digital Antiquities). Keep up with FUTURESTATES online and join us on BTB for the live discussion.

FUTURESTATES will screen tonight at the 29th annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. SFIAFF (running through March 20) is the largest showcase for new Asian and Asian American films in North America, annually presenting approximately 120 works in San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose.

Tags: Asian American, CAAM, filmmaker profile, FUTURESTATES, ITVS, live chat, online series, San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, SXSW

FUTURESTATES & ITVS on Display at SFIAAFF

The San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival runs from March 10 through March 20

The 29^th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) gets started today and will run through March 20. The festival is the largest showcase for new Asian and Asian American films in North America, annually presenting approximately 120 works in San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose.

Among the featured films this year are several shorts from the second season of our online series FUTURESTATES, which premieres next week at SXSW.

Michella Rivera-Gravage is SFIAAFF’s director of digital media and will be moderating a discussion with filmmakers from the FUTURESTATES series on Beyond the Box next Wednesday, March 16.

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Tags: Asian American, CAAM, FUTURESTATES, San Francisco, San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, SFIAAFF, SXSW

Ring in Chinese New Year with Last Train Home

There is no better to film to honor Chinese New Year than Lixin Fan’s Last Train Home, which is coming this season to P.O.V. Set against the backdrop of the world’s largest annual human migration, the documentary follows the Zhang family who travel home on Chinese New Year to reunite with their teenage daughter. Watch the trailer after the jump.

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Tags: Asian American, China, Chinese New Year, documentary

Happy Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month from ITVS

"A Village Called Versailles" airs on the PBS Series Independent Lens on May 25th

This month we’re honoring Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month at ITVS by celebrating some of the groundbreaking films by and about the API community coming up in our broadcast schedule.

With the tragic oil spill encroaching on the coast of Louisiana, the upcoming premiere of A Village Called Versailles, by S. Leo Chiang on Independent Lens on May 25 promises to be especially cogent and poignant as a story of a Vietnamese American community in New Orleans facing down a massive ecological and socioeconomic disaster in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Versailles is the most recent production in a long collaboration between ITVS and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), with whom we have co-produced a remarkable range of penetrating films in recent years.

Other ITVS and CAAM co-productions broadcasting this month include the Emmy-winning Sentenced Home (May 16 on Global Voices), Project Kashmir (May 18 on Independent Lens), and Independent Lens Audience Award-winner China Blue (May 23 on Global Voices).

Be sure to tune in for two other shows airing this month, too — Vietnam: The Next Generation and Teacher (which is already streaming in its entirety on the PBS.org video player).

Not sure which to watch? Take a peek inside: Clips and trailers for all of the titles airing this month are available now on the new ITVS.org video player.

Watch a preview of Project Kashmir airing next Tuesday, May 18 on Independent Lens (check local listings) >>

Tags: API, Asian American, heritage, Pacific Islander

Whatever It Takes Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS

“The Week’s Guide to What’s Worth Watching: In Whatever It Takes, Edward Tom gave up an executive post at Saks Fifth Avenue for a far-lower-paying job as principal of a small public high school in the South Bronx. Cameras follow him through his first year as he struggles to deal with its challenges, epitomized by a failing 14-year-old girl whose mother is a recovering crack addict.”
- The Week Magazine

What’s a child’s education worth? For one visionary, rookie principal, it’s priceless. At the Bronx Center for Science & Mathematics, an innovative public high school in NYC’s South Bronx, principal Edward Tom leads a dedicated group of teachers, students, and parents in their biggest gamble yet. Within a community infamous for hardship, can this brand new school live up to its promise and inspire new stories of achievement and excellence?

Check out a preview of tonight’s broadcast below:

Whatever It Takes premieres tonight, Tuesday, March 30 at 10:00 on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings). A co-production of CAAM.

Tags: African American, Asian American, education, New York City, schools, youth

CAAM Open Door Completion Fund: Deadline August 6

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.

Looking for funding and have a film that would be a great match? CAAM is currently accepting proposals for their Open Door Completion Fund (deadline: August 6).

Offered twice a year, this round of funding is for applicants with projects in the final post-production phase. To be eligible a full-length rough cut must be submitted with the proposal. Awards average $20,000 and CAAM funds should be the last monies needed to finish the project and deliver the broadcast master.

Visit CAAM for more information on funding and the selection process >>

Tags: Asian American, film resources

Watch PATSY MINK: Ahead of the Majority This Month on Public Television

In 1965, Patsy Mink became the first Asian American woman and woman of color in the United States Congress. PATSY MINK: Ahead of the Majority looks at Mink’s remarkable political journey, often lonely and tumultuous, as she fought for the most disenfranchised and forgotten in society.

PATSY MINK: Ahead of the Majority premieres this month on public television (check local listings).

This film received ITVS LINCS funding and will be distributed by PBS Plus.

Tags: Asian American, politics