Special Events

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2007

You can schedule a free screening with Asian Media Access at your community, organization or corporate gathering / events.  You can select from the following collection and we will come in at your scheduled time to show it for you at your event.  If interested, please select your film(s) and contact Ange Hwang at 612-376-7715 or send an email to amamedia@amamedia.org.

A. The Best Asian Television Commercials (2006, 48 min)

The "The Best Asian Television Commercials" has a wealth of collection of the best and funniest Asian TV ads from all over Asia, ranged from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korean, Thailand, and Turkey, and from different industries such as insurance & banking institutions, beverages & drinks, cars, restaurants & food items, beauty products, airlines, newspapers, clothing, etc.   Many commercials use satire to make jokes about popular cultures, for example, using Japanese scary movie technique to sell deeply discounted merchandise that will "SHOCK" you.   With a "Appreciate Little Things Come in Life" slogan, the beer commercial featured people rejoicing on the street just for getting a parking spot, or getting the last crab leg, or even just because it is a Friday.  The best one goes to Turkey's bank commercial that used people to form various shapes and objects of expensive jewelry and gifts.  The creativity and the quality of the commercials will for sure to win many  Ahh's and Haa's from the audience.  (Format: DVD)

B. Daughters of Everest (2004, 56 min.)

DAUGHTERS OF EVEREST brings a unique flavor to the familiar story of the attempt to climb Mount Everest. In 2000, the first-ever expedition of Shaper women to climb Everest was organized. This captivating documentary gives a close-up account of the expedition.   To the Sherpa people, the ethnic group legendary for their unmatched skill in mountaineering, the mountain is a holy place. Mount Everest is "Chomolongma" - Mother Goddess of the Universe. Ironically, Sherpa women have long been discouraged from climbing the powerful and daunting Everest, relegated instead to more traditional roles as homemakers or into support roles in the prestigious climbing industry of Nepal.  The documentary follows the five diverse, charismatic women chosen for this historic expedition. Told from a woman’s perspective rarely seen on Everest or off, the film is a dramatic, inspiring Everest story and an absorbing portrait of the Sherpa community.  Awards include Best Film on Climbing, Banff Mountain Film Festival; Grand Festival Award, Berkeley International Film & Video Festival; Best Documentary, La Femme Film Festival; Best Documentary, Mount Shasta International Film Festival.  Recognition includes San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival; National Public Television Broadcast.  (Format: VHS)

C. Imelda (2003, 103 min.)

IMELDA explores the life and psychology of the First Lady who reigned besides president-turned-dictator Ferdinand Marcos from 1965-86, a pivotal period in national history that saw poverty, crime and rising insurgency spread throughout the Philippines. Through a seamless blend of archival footage, home movies, state-sponsored propaganda and personal testimonies, this fascinating film follows Imelda from her youth as a provincial orphan to her ascension to power and to her plunge into personal excess that accompanied her dramatic fall from grace.

Awards.  Video Source Award - International Documentary Association; Cinematography Award - Sundance Film Festival; Recognition - Grand Jury Prize Nominee, Sundance Film Festival; National PBS Broadcast, Independent Lens.  (Format: VHS)

D. Morning Sun (2003, 117 min.)

MORNING SUN attempts, in the space of two hours, to create an inner history of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (c.1964-1976). It provides a multi-perspective view of a tumultuous period as seen through the eyes – and reflected in the hearts and minds – of members of the high-school generation that was born around the time of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and that came of age in the 1960s.  

However, the documentary is not a comprehensive or chronological history of the Cultural Revolution; nor is it a study of elite politics or of student factionalism. The film essays rather a psychological history, attempting a cinematic account of experiences and emotions represented by the people, events and ardor of the period. The directors create an epic collage of interviews and archival footage detailing the emotional topography of the time and the period’s enduring legacy.  Awards - John E. O’Connor Film Award, American Historical Association; Recognition - Berlin Film Festival; Hong Kong Film Festival; Banff Television Festival; San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival; Seattle Film Festival; SilverDocs, AFV (Discovery Channel); Vancouver Film Festival; Film Forum, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Public Television Broadcast.  (Format: VHS)

E.  North Korea: Beyond the DMZ (2003, 56 min.)

The tiny Democratic People's Republic of Korea is continually demonized in America, but what is life really like there? The story of a young Korean-American woman visiting relatives in the DPRK and interviews with ordinary people and scholars illuminate how North Koreans view the fall of Soviet communism, natural disasters that have brought famine and power shortages, and their country's dangerously hostile relationship with the U.S.  (Format: VHS)

F. Wet Sand: Voices from L.A. (2004, 57 min.)

Filmmaker Dai Sil Kim-Gibson explores the aftermath of the 1992 LA Civil Unrest in her film WET SAND. Her groundbreaking 1993 documentary SA-I-GU stands as one of the crucial texts to offer a Korean American perspective on the events surrounding the Los Angeles riots – an invaluable discussion tool for promoting better understanding of the socio-political factors that played into one of the grimmest moments in United States race relations. With WET SAND, Kim-Gibson revisits Los Angeles to learn what changes have occurred since then, only to discover that living conditions have deteriorated and that few remedies have been administered to the communities most stricken. Through interviews with a multi-ethnic set of first-hand witnesses, this essential follow-up probes deeper into the racial and economic issues that not only shaped the climate of 1992 Los Angeles, but also continue to affect all Americans today.  Recognition - San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival; Southern California Premiere Screening, Visual Communications and the Pan African Film Festival; Boston Premiere, Hosted by the Asian American Policy Review; National Public Television Broadcast.  (Format: VHS)