SF film festival offering drive-in experience and virtual presentations in celebrating Asian and AAPI films, artists

A scene from 'Try Harder!', a documentary about Lowell High School in San Francisco.

A documentary film about San Francisco's highly competitive Lowell High School and its predominantly Asian American students opens the CAAMFest celebration of Asian American films Thursday night.

The film festival, presented by the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) . kicks off with opening night presentations of Try Harder! at the makeshift Fort Mason Flix drive-in. 

Due to the OVID-19 restrictions and a cautionary concern about the health of film fans and filmmakers, the movie was shown in an outdoor drive-in format at Fort Mason.

 “The current COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis of unprecedented scope, one that presents unique challenges to the Asian American community,” says Stephen Gong, executive director of CAAM. “Now, more than ever, the power of storytelling is vital to the health and happiness of our diverse communities.” 

Try Harder!, the acclaimed documentary by local filmmaker Debbie Lum looks at the highly competitive atmosphere at San Francisco’s Lowell High School, where many students are Asian American. The heat is on for these students as they work hard at school while also experiencing the incredibly stressful process of applying to elite colleges and universities where only a few open spots exist for the flood of applications the campuses will receive. 

Try Harder! screens at the Fort Mason Flix drive-in at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 13, 2021.

Several spotlighted films will be exhibited at the makeshift drive-int as CAAM welcomes back fans after resorting to an all-virtual format last year. To enrich the experience, film festival organizers is bringing in food trucks featuring Asian cuisine for festival-goers.

Scene from "Lumpia With A Vengeance," will be shown on Day 2 of CAAMFest.

CAAMFest 2021  offers two films in the special drive-in program, “Celebration Of Filipino American Stories” -- The Fabulous Filipino Brothers and Lumpia With A Vengeance) -- on Friday, May 14, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. (Sold out.)

The drive-in portion of CAAMFest 2021 wraps up on Saturday, May 15, 2021, with the “Hong Kong Cinema Showcase” featuring films by Hong Kong movie makers at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.

CAAM continues the virtual format with a schedule of over 50 events, including screenings, panels, and live performances. 

One of Basco's earlier films, The Debut, is being made available as one of CAAMFest's virtual screenings. The feature, made in 2001, is perhaps the first movie featuring Filipino American lead characters.

CAAMFest 2021 has offerings for everyone from media makers to film lovers to those interested in Asian and Asian American representation, conveyed through unique voices highlighting the intersections of community - an apt marking of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month during this year when Asian Americans have been targeted for widespread violence.

Comedian and actress Margaret Cho will be present at the screening for 'Korean Ghost Story.'

 Many more virtual programs continue through Sunday, May 23, 2021, with CAAMFest 2021’s eclectic schedule of online screenings.

“The world may have paused due to the pandemic, but our filmmakers didn’t,” says Masashi Niwano, festival and exhibitions director at CAAM. “The vibrancy and energy of this year’s programming is unmatched with our filmmakers bravely telling their unique and vital stories." 

While some screenings are ticketed, CAAMFest also offers free events. Ticket options include $8 to $10 for individual virtual screenings, $12 to $15 for special screening events, $44 to $50 for the CAAMFest On Demand Pass, $44 to $50 per vehicle for single drive-in screenings, and $84 to $90 per vehicle for drive-in double features.

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For a complete list of the CAAMFest film offerings, panels, showcases and celebrations, click here.

To register for the live events and to receive access to the virtual films, click here.

CORRECTION, May 13, 11 a.m.: Earlier version of this post had the wrong film for Day 2. Thursday, May 14, 'Lumpia With A Vengeance' will play alongside 'The Fabulous Filipino Brothers.'

Order some take out Asian food today; #TakeOutHate campaign launched

SCREEN CAPTURE

Comedian Jenny Yang joins the #TakeOutHate campaign video.

Time to take a break from coronavirus-inspired dishes of spam/kim chee fried rice? Scrambled eggs too much trouble? Tired of tuna pasta?

Now's the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their Chinese restuarant and order chow mein, broccoli beef, spicy eggplant with pork, salt & pepper prawns, etc.
Order some take out food. Specifically, if you have a favorite Chinese go-to restaurant, order some food to be delivered or to pick up. 

A new campaign to help Asian restaurants during this time, actor Harry Shum Jr., comedian Jenny Yang and other celebrities have come together to launch the #TakeOutHate campaign. The initiative, launched by Asian seasonings and food company Ajinomoto on Thursday,  encourages the public to order from Asian restaurants and share photos of their meals on social media with the hashtag #TakeOutHate.

As COVID-19 spread, so did an increase in violence and hateful rhetoric against Asian Americans. This stigma also contributed to an unprecedented drop in sales and closures of Chinese restaurants at twice the rate of any other restaurant category. 

"As a company that champions fairness and better livelihoods for all, we are launching #TakeOutHate to support Asian-owned restaurants that are facing unfair adversity during this crisis," the company said in a statement.

In a recently released video, Shum and Yang, along with celebrity chef Gail Simmons and comedian Margaret Cho, urge viewers to fight anti-Asian discrimination by buying takeout from Asian businesses.

“Restaurants across the country are struggling, but Chinese restaurants? They’re closing at double the rate of others, as if we need to hear any more f***ed up stats right now,” they say in the video. “The Asian American community is being singled out. Asian restaurants are being defaced coast to coast.”
Once so prolific, almost every small hamlet in the US had its Chinese restaurant. But, because of the stay-at-home policies to prevent the further spread of Covid-19, almost 50% of Chinese restaurants have closed down.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, all Asian restaurants have been closing at an alarming rate. Hateful rhetoric and acts of discrimination, fueled by unfounded fear, is impacting Asian Americans and their businesses, leading to an unprecedented drop in sales and closures at twice the rate of any other restaurant category.

About 58% of independent Chinese restaurants nationwide had ceased operations as of April 15 -- far outpacing other cuisine categories at the time, according to data subscription service Womply. That alarming closure rate dropped to 26% as of May 16, according to Womply's latest data.

To participate, simply order delicious takeout from your favorite local Asian restaurant, and before you dig in, share a photo of your meal with #TakeOutHate to help spread the cause. While you’re at it, tag the restaurant’s location and your friends to encourage further support.

“Our identity is often equated with Chinese takeout or Asian food, you know?” Yang told In The Know. “To me, supporting restaurant workers, supporting Asian restaurants not only preserves the cuisine that we love so much, but it also shows a level of support for Asian American communities, Asian diaspora communities during a time where, frankly, anti-Asian racism has been amplified.”

Remember when 22 AAPI Hollywood celebrities joined in a GOTV PSA for the first time?

WITH THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS just days away, you might be interested in this oldie-but-goodie effort to motivate Asian American and Pacific Islander voters.

This Get-Out-The-Vote public service announcement (PSA), “Voice Your Vote,” first aired on television nationwide during the fall of 1996. The PSA was a historic merger between the APA community and the 22 APA Hollywood celebrities

Dean Cain, Rosalind Chao, Keiu Chinh, Margaret Cho, Stan Egi, Amy Hill, Shishir Kurup, Jason Scott Lee, Mako, Dustin Nguyen, Steve Park, Nia Peeples, Jenny Shimizu, Elizabeth Sung, Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa, Lauren Tom, Tamlyn Tomita, Denise Uyehara, Garrett Wang, Ming-Na Wen, B.D. Wong and Russell Wong. Oh, they looked so young!
The NAPAVRC was the first ever national effort to organize APAs all across the United States to register to vote and to go out to vote. Until the inception of the National Asian Pacific American Voter Registration Campaign, APA voter registration campaigns have been conducted at the local and state levels. Nineteen national APA organizations were members of this historic coalition. The PSA was created for the NAPAVRC by actor Tamlyn Tomita and Vida Benavides of Ace High Consulting, and produced by Jusak Yang Bernhard and Paul G. Bens, Jr. of I Can Make It Myself Productions. Funding for the PSA was provided by the AFL-CIO and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance.

The PSA was aimed at 18-35 year olds, the group least likely to vote. This November, most of the PSAs are targeting the Millennial generation, those born between 1981-1996 who are reached adulthood in the first two decades of the 21st century. They have the most at stake in this election but thus far, their voting record has been abysmal.

Twenty-four years later, AAPI voters still have a hard time getting to the polls even though immigration  and health care are a couple of the biggest issues of this election. Only 49% of the AAPI voters actually voted in the 2016 elections. 

Here's an example of a new PSA laced with stereotype-busting humor:

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Happy Birthday America from some of your AAPI sons and daughters

JULY 4th, Americans celebrated the nation's birthday.  Here are a few comments by AAPI celebrities and politicians:

10 Asian Americans to know for LGBT+ Month

By Sophia Whittemore
ASAM NEWS

June is LGBT+ Pride Month! To celebrate, we've featured 10 LGBT+ Asians and their amazing accomplishments in a variety of fields -- from politics to television. Check them out!



George Takei 

Best known as Hikaru Sulu from the TV series “Star Trek”, George Takei has played actor, director, author and activist over the years. The Japanese interment camp survivor has been happily married to Brad Altman since 2008.

Margaret Cho 

Openly bisexual, the Korean comedian often addresses intersectionality with her acts and has received acclaim for women, Asian Americans and the LGBT+ community

Sutan Amrull

Sutan Amrull, who won season three of RuPaul's Drag Race, is also an accomplished makeup artist with big name clients such as Dita Von Teese and Pamela Anderson. His interest in drag began while he was growing up in Indonesia, seeing trans sex workers in awe as they wooed potential clients on the street. "There was something in it that made people uncomfortable, but it was also very beautiful," he told Vice. "I like to make people feel uncomfortable and to do it with beauty, and so that’s where my fascination began."

Kim Coco Iwamoto 

Born in Hawaii, the Japanese American bureaucrat is the highest-ranked U.S. transgender official. She once held a seat on Hawaii’s Board of Education and is now running to be the Democratic candidate for Hawaii's Lieutenant Governor.

Jenny Shimizu

Japanese American model and actress Jenny Shimizu won the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival 2006 Lesbian Icon Award. She’s been on the cover of Vogue and is also famous for her relationship with Angelina Jolie, whom she met on the set of “Foxfire” in 1996, according to Heavy.

Alexander Wang

The Taiwanese American designer was supported by legendary Vogue editor Anna Wintour, after his launch in 2007 New York Fashion Week. Today, he's most well-known for his urban designs.

Bai Ling

Best known for her work on Lost and Entourage, Chinese American actress Bai Ling iopenly bisexual.

Holland, KPOP

Holland is considered K-pop’s first openly gay idol. He spoke in SBS Pop Asia about severe childhood bullying for being gay. He also performed in music video “Neverland” to showcase his relationship with his boyfriend -- an open effort to make other LGBT+ youthfeel accepted.

Maulik Pancholy

The actor best known for his roles on 30 Rock, Weeds and Phineas and Ferb came out as gay by introducing his partner, Ryan Corvaia, in 2013. They were married one year later.

Irshad Manji

Of Indian and Egyptian background, Manji is a lesbian human rights activist and reformist Muslim. According to the Huffington Post, she is a scholar at NYU and writer of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith and Allah, Liberty & Love 

Will Kumail Nanjiani's SNL gig break down stereotypes?

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Kumail Nanjiani hosted "Saturday Night Live."

KUMAIL NANJIANI made the most of his stint as guest host on Saturday Night Live, last night (Oct. 14) let's hope it opens the doors for other Asian American performers.

He wasn't afraid to make the primarily white viewership a bit uncomfortable touching on topics other comedians have not gone:

• He's Muslim;
• He's an immigrant;
• He married a white woman;
• The Koran on women drivers;
• Sikhs mistaken as Muslims

SNL has gotten so comfortable in the Trump era; it needs to shake things up, like having an Asian American hosting the venerable satiric show.

Nanjiani is the second Muslim and South Asian to host SNL after Aziz Ansari did the job earlier this year. In its 42-year old history, Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan are the only other two Asian Americans to do the show's  opening monologue and Samoan/American Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson did the job last May.

What?! SNL can't find any AAPI performers? Why hasn't Margaret Cho ever been called? Or, Ken Jeong? Or, Constance Wu? Or, Randall Park? All of the aforementioned entertainers have proven comedic acting resumes.

Is there a clause in the Comedy Central contracts that prevent's SNL from calling on Hasan Minhaj or Ronny Chieng?

Here's thinking out of the box: John Cho. Remember, he got his first big break starring as a stoner in the stereotype buster Harold & Kumar comedy franchise.

Since we' brought up Harold & Kumar, what about Cho's costar and fellow stoner Kal Penn, whose credentials include working in the White House.

Hailee Steinfeld and Vanessa Hudgens, both singers and actors, have proven themselves as more than capable hosts, doing the emcee chores for Billboard's Women in Music last year and the Billboard Music Awards this year respectively. Both have substantial fan bases  in that critical Millennial age bracket and they go beyond the just the Asian American community.

At any rate, let's hope that Nanjiani's and Ansari's successful stints opens some eyes at Saturday Night Live that AAPI performers can be funny, hip and express themselves beyond being "inscrutable."
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AAPI artists score at Grammy Awards

Bruno Mars brought down the house with his tribute to the late Prince at the Grammy Awards.

NO DOUBT, one of these years Joey Alexander, the 13-year old jazz prodigy from Indonesia will win a Grammy; just not this year.

For the second year in a row, he was nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Album of the Year and the young pianist once again last night lost out to an older musician. Of course, all the Grammy nominees were older than Joey.

Yo Yo Ma won a Grammy for Sing Me Home with his Silk Road Ensemble. Among the ensemble members were several Asian Americans including Indian American tabla player Sandeep Das.

Producer Jhett Tolentino won in the category of Best Musical Theater Album with his Color Purple team which features Cynthia Erivo and Jennifer Hudson.

UPDATED: Earlier versions of this post did not include the wins of Yo Yo Ma and Jhett Tolentino.

Comedian Margaret Cho also lost out in her bid to win Comedy Album of the Year but she kept herself busy by being on the one of the hosts of the Grammys pre-show, which hands out awards in 75 categories before the main show aired on CBS later Sunday. 

She told winners they should keep their acceptance speeches to 45 seconds and to kiss their loved ones in the audience later because time was so tight. She instructed winners on how to hold their Grammys after their names are called.

She also told nominees to stay in their seats if they don't win and referenced rapper Kanye West, who famously interrupted Taylor Swift's speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Cho says, "Kanye's not here, so that will be fine."

During the awards show that was aired live on the east and west coasts, Bruno Mars was given two spots to perform. He did one of the songs from his new album "24K Magic," which will be eligible for a Grammy next year, and brought down the house with his tribute to Prince with an Prince-like guitar solo.

Throughout the show there were a few spots where performers made references to the current political environment and the need for the musicians and singers to use their art to counter the growing tide of hate, fear and xenophobia that is dividing the country. 

The surviving members of A Tribe Called Quest -- Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammadand Jarobi White -- linked up with Best New Artist nominee Anderson .Paak for a three-song medley that included the classic track "Award Tour" from Tribe's 1993 LP Midnight Marauders as well as new tracks "Movin Backwards"

They were joined by Busta Rhymes -- who thanked "President Agent Orange" -- and Consequence then joined the crew for "We the People," the single from the Tribe's We Got It From Here that got the crowd out of their seats..

While performing "We the People," as Tip hit the chorus ("All you black folks, you must go" and refer to "Chinese and Filipinos"), people of several different ethnicities began walking down the aisles, making the group's position on Donald Trump's proposed travel ban even more explicitly clear than it had been already. If that wasn't enough to clarify their position, they added the ending shouting, "Resist! ... Resist! ... Resist!"

Margaret Cho's 'American Myth' up for a Grammy

REPRINTED FROM ASAM NEWS

COULD THIS BE THE YEAR Grammy voters honor comedian Margaret Cho with her first Grammy?

On Monday (Dec. 6) she received her fourth Grammy nomination for her album American Myth in the category of Best Comedy Album.

The album features her song "I Wanna to Kill My Rapist."

Cho had previously revealed she had been sexually abused by someone she considered her best friend.

In an interview with AsAmNews she said “It’s more about murdering the rapist in your mind, so you stop killing yourself. Sexual abuse leads to self abuse, so it’s not about revenge. It’s more about stopping the cycle of abuse. The video is lots of kids in this action fantasy world and they’re beautiful – aged 4-18 -- all incredible martial artists, archers, knife throwers! It’s a masterpiece,” she said.

RELATED: Joey Alexander gets another shot at a Grammy

“This is an album of anthems and showcases my first efforts as a composer,” she said. “It is my glamorous and glittering tribute to family, comedy, anger, fame, gayness, grief, fat pride, love and hate.”

Cho also announced she will once again provide her commentary as the co-host of Fashion Police on January 9 on E! at the Golden Globe awards.

“It’s going to be a blast to be on the red carpet reporting on all the fashions first hand as an undercover (sort of) officer for Fashion Police!”

Is America ready for a TV show with Asian leads?

Could ABC's new television show featuring an Asian American family be the series I've been waiting for since the 1950s? I'm hoping it is.

All props to Mindy Kaling for "The Mindy Project" but I suspect mainstream America never thought of her as Asian after her long run in "The Office." There are two ways to battle stereotypes: one is to play down the differences demonstrating that we're all the same with the same flaws, same wants, and same dreams and goals; the other way is to bust the stereotypes wide open.

The Mindy Project depicting a young woman looking for love, looking for respect and career success, clearly is using the former approach. From the looks of the trailer and other sneak peeks, FOB is going for the latter approach.

The sitcom is based on the childhood of chef and restaurateur Eddie Huang as he grew up in Orlando, Florida in the 1990s. "Little Eddie," (how can you not like that name?) is also a bling-wearing, swearing hip-hop fanatic, a far cry from the nerd stereotype most caucasian Americans have of Asian students. The lead character is the son of fellow blogger Jeff Yang and he writes:

"The show is like nothing you will have ever seen before on television. If it makes it to the air, it will blow minds, raise eyebrows and, to quote a line that my son says as Little Eddie, 'change the game.'" A game-changer, eh? That's a lot to put on one single show. But if you consider the scarcity of Asian roles on TV and the movies, much less, fully-rounded characters, its hard not to think in those terms.

I remember the first attempt - "All American Girl" starring Margaret Cho. That was a dismal failure when producers tried to turn Cho into an all-American girl. It didn't last a season and is one of the big regrets of the comedienne.

I faithfully watched it, even when it wasn't funny, out of loyalty and eagerness to see it succeed, as if I counted in the Nielsen ratings.
Since then, a few inroads have been made by Asian actors, but roles for Asian actors have been far and few between and never as the main roles.

I may seem to make too much of media portrayals of Asians but the media -- TV, movies, commercials and print --- is where most Americans gain their impressions of unfamiliar situations, countries and people -- even if it's crazy and fantastic. There are people out there who are preparing for a zombie apocalypse, for goodness sake!

But more importantly, the media is where stereotypes are born and reinforced. The quiet, studious image is one that I've fought against all my life. Not that that's a negative stereotype, but there is so much more to individuals that people overlook because of the first impression that's made. Many times, that first impression is made before they even meet you ... because of that damn stereotype playing on the silver screen or the boob tube: always the sidekick, not the hero; always the doctor's assistant, not the surgeon; always the submissive one, not the leader; the friend, but not the best friend; always the nerd, not the hiphop fanatic.

Its taken 20 years for a major network to attempt an Asian family comedy again. And I'll probably watch it out of loyalty and curiosity. For sure I'll be pulling for it. I just hope its funny and the audience is laughing "with" -- not "at" -- the characters.

The month of May is . . .

I'd be remiss not to mention that May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. Let's hope next year at this time we'll be talking about the second season of Fresh Off the Boat.

The cast of "Fresh Off the Boat." Will non-Asians be able to relate?