Jan. 30-31: A-DOC: Asian American Documentary Network, Open Your Eyes & Think MF (OYEATMF) Highlight AAPI Documentary Awards Contenders Hao Wu, Ramona S. Diaz, Bao Nguyen, Richard Lui, Yung Chang, Ursula Liang, S. Leo Chiang, Diane Quon, Jiayan “Jenny” Shi, Carol Nguyen, Jeff Orlowski, Yi Chen, Elizabeth Lo, Annie Katsura Rollins, Joanna Vasquez Arong and More

The awards season is in full swing and this year, Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) documentary filmmakers represent a record number of 17 features and 5 short films that are now recognized as documentary awards contenders.  This weekend, A-DOC: Asian American Documentary Network – which works to increase the visibility and support of Asian Americans in the documentary field and the virtual cinema screening platform Open Your Eyes & Think MF (OYEATMF) are teaming up to highlight some of this year’s AAPI documentary awards contenders with interviews and fireside chats online through their respective You Tube channels. 

Starting at 10AM PST/1PM EST on Saturday January 30 and continuing through Monday, February 1, their respective online channels will feature virtual discussions/talkbacks with this year’s impressive group of AAPI filmmakers including Hao Wu, Ramona S. Diaz, Bao Nguyen, Richard Lui, Yung Chang, Ursula Liang, S. Leo Chiang, Diane Quon, Jiayan “Jenny” Shi, Carol Nguyen, Jeff Orlowski, Yi Chen, Elizabeth Lo, Annie Katsura Rollins, Joanna Vasquez Arong and more. 

Log in to their YouTube channels beginning at 10AM PT on January 30, 31 and February 1 for these conversations and celebrate the ASIAN AMERICAN DOC FILMMAKERS CONTENDERS 2021.

A-DOC            http://bit.ly/adoc-youtube
OYEATMF      https://bit.ly/39u0iua

2021 FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES

DIRECTED AND/OR PRODUCED BY AAPI FILMMAKERS

1. 76 DAYS
2. A THOUSAND CUTS
3. A WOMAN’S WORK: THE NFL’S CHEERLEADER PROBLEM
4. ASWANG
5. BE WATER
6. BELLY OF THE BEAST
7. CODED BIAS
8. THE DONUT KING
9. DOWN A DARK STAIRWELL
10. FINDING YINGYING
11. FIRST VOTE
12. KID FROM CONEY ISLAND
13. OUR TIME MACHINE
14. SKY BLOSSOM
15. THE SOCIAL DILEMMA
16. STRAY
17. THIS IS NOT A MOVIE

2021 SHORT DOCUMENTARIES

DIRECTED AND/OR PRODUCED BY AAPI FILMMAKERS

1. CALL CENTER BLUES
2. NO CRYING AT THE DINNER TABLE
3. PANDEMIC19
4. SING ME A LULLABY
5. TO CALM THE PIG INSIDE

Masters at Work: Producers Nina Yang Bongiovi and Oscar nominated Diane Quon on The Art of Producing

Sky Blossom: Yung Chang with Director Richard Lui and Producer Alex Lo

Finding Yingying: Claire Aguilar interviews Jiayan “Jenny” Chi, Diane Quon and Brent E. Huffman

Masters at Work: Ramona S. Diaz (A Thousand Cuts) and Jeff Orlowski (The Social Dilemma)

Be Water/No Crying at the Dinner Table: Bao Nguyen and Carol Nguyen in conversation with Viet Tank Nguyen

Masters at Work: S. Leo Chiang (Summit Our Time Machine) and Hao Wu (76 Days)

Pandemic 19: Annie Katsura Rollins and Yung Chang in conversation with Richard Lui

 

The New Breed: Alice Gu (The Donut King), Yi Chen (First Vote), Jenny Shi (Finding Yingying) with Nanfu Wang 

To Calm the Pig Inside: Joanna Vasquez Arong with Ramona S. Diaz

 

The New Breed: Ursula Liang (Down a Dark Stairwell) and Yu Gu (A Woman’s Work: the NFL’s Cheerleader Problem)

 

Click here to watch Sing Me A Lullaby.

Feb. 1

6PM PST/9PM EST 

Watch Party- Finding Yingying followed by Q & A with filmmakers and Janet Yang

ABOUT:  A-DOC:ASIAN AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY NETWORK
A-Doc is a national network that works to increase the visibility and support of Asian Americans in the documentary field.  Asian American documentary filmmakers who have come together as one, multi-generational force to advocate for our vital presence in the field.  A-DOC is committed to sharing ideas and resources, providing mutual support and mentorship, and advocating for equity and diversity in the production and distribution of non-fiction storytelling.

ABOUT: OPEN YOUR EYES AND THINK MF – OYEATMF
Established in 2020 by film publicists David Magdael and Vince Johnson, OPEN YOUR EYES AND THINK MF supports films and filmmakers that may not fit within the current distribution and exhibition system. The goal is to provide access to films that are challenging and changing the landscape of truth telling and story creation. These include BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and other content creators who are on the margins.  OYEATMF provides exhibition opportunities, resources, and the creation of meaningful discussions for and by filmmakers who are challenging us to think.

PRI.org: Ang Lee and George Takei signed the letter, but here’s who wrote it

Award-winning author and filmmaker Arthur Dong. Photo by Lia Chang

PRI.org: Ang Lee and George Takei signed the letter, but here’s who wrote it

“The heavily circulated letter was signed by 25 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, including director Ang Lee, actors Sandra Oh and George Takei. It was a protest of the tone-deaf Asian jokes at this year’s Oscars ceremony — but it wasn’t meant to be an open letter.

“It was a private message to our friends and our colleagues in the organization,” says Freida Lee Mock, the chair of the Academy’s Documentary Executive Committee, who penned the first draft.

But none of the signatories seem too bothered that it was leaked to the press, first reported by Variety and then rebounding around the Internet earlier this week. It wasn’t until the letter became public that CEO Dawn Hudson issued a swift apology. And it wasn’t until George Takei called the apology “patronizing” and “a bland, corporate response” that Hudson scheduled a future meeting with these 25 members to show them that the Academy leaders were serious about these issues.

This was the first time in recent history that a grassroots collaboration like this amongst Asian Americans has happened within the Academy. The organization is divided into branches based on craft — for actors, directors, executives, etc. — and for the most part, members work within their lanes. Long-time Academy members Mock and documentarian Arthur Dong have been involved in numerous campaigns for documentary films. They successfully lobbied for the documentary branch of the Academy and Mock was voted the first governor. Dong joined her in a leadership position soon after. In the ’90s, when there was an attempt to get rid of the Academy Award for Documentary Short, they helped rally people like Steven Spielberg to get the decision unanimously overturned.

But they’ve never had to band together by ethnicity, because before this year’s Oscars ceremony, there was no need.

Moments after Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs took the stage to speak about the importance of diversity at this year’s ceremony, Oscars host Chris Rock brought out three Asian American children to make a child labor joke. Later in the night, presenter Sasha Baron Cohen delighted in cracking an Asian penis joke.”

“It hit me in gut,” says Dong, now a film professor at Loyola Marymount University. He was watching the Oscars with his 11-year-old son. “I just thought, ‘This is our organization. We understand the process and how decisions are made, so how could this have happened?'”

Click here to read the full article.