Asian American entertainers Kollaborate for free virtual weekend of empowerment

By Louis Chan

ASAM NEWS

Asian Americans from the arts, entertainment and new media will gather this weekend virtually for a free conference meant to inspire and empower members of the community.
This year's speakers and performers include AJ Rafael (artist), Lynn Chen (director/actress I Will Make You Mine), Sherry Cola (Good Trouble) Iram Parveen Bilal (I’ll Meet You There, director), Andrew Ahn (Driveways, Director) Andrew Ahn (Driveways, director), Ashima Shiraish (American rock climber) and Jeff Staple (Stapel Design).

“Through this conference, we aim to create important conversations between industry leaders and aspiring creatives, artists and professionals that will not only help grow this community but also stimulate awareness and movements,” conference spokesperson Sung Choe said to AsAmNews. 

“During this pandemic, there are a lot of difficulties we, as a community, must face, and Kollaboration wants to do what it can in order to provide a place for empowerment.”

In this time of high unemployment and uncertainty, the conference will also offer information about career paths, industries and best practices to turn your dreams into reality, according to Choe.

The virtual conference will feature eight panels and guest performances that will be streaming on Facebook and YouTube live.

Attendance is free. You can register at empower.kollaboration.org.

CAAMFest adapts to social distance requirements by going online; watch for free

'I Will Make You Mine' opens the reimagined CAAMFest.

ASAM NEWS

The social distancing rules necessary to fight the spread of the coronavirus has forced the Center for Asian American Media to alter its usual film festival format.

CAAMFest will celebrate its 40th film festival by going virtual and rebranding to CAAMFest Online: Heritage at Home featuring over 20 digital events, ranging from online film screenings to interactive panels, watch parties, and house parties featuring live performances, all free of charge. The San Francisco Bay Area event will now be available online for the world to enjoy.

The film festival opens with Lynn Chen’s long-awaited completion of her Surrogate Valentine trilogy, I Will Make You Mine on May 13. The feature film is about three women wrestling over the same man while dealing with the baggage of past relationships and the difficulties of everyday life.

The festival closes May 22 with the 10th anniversary showing of Filipino American filmmaker H.P. Mendoza’s Fruit Fly. The musical comedy highlights what it means to be gay and Asian in the Hispanic neighborhood of San Francisco’s Mission District. The virtual audience will be encouraged to participate in the sing-a-long version of the film, which features 18 original songs by the director.

CAAMFest will also showcase a performance from the San Francisco-based musician Ruby Ibarra on May 19. The performance from the rapper and spoken word artist will be followed by a sit-down discussion.

The following day on May 20 there will be an interview with filmmaker Alice Wu whose film,  The Half of It premiered on Netflix and is available for streaming today (May 1).

In all, there will be more than 20 digital events. For information about how to register and a full schedule of performances and events, go to CAAMFest.com.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.