TUAN TRAN VIDEO + HUMANIST FILMS SUPPORT PLIANT FOR THE DAVE THOMAS FOUNDATION FOR ADOPTION

We recently had the honor of working with Pliant for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, filming an interview of child welfare advocates David Ambroz and Maci Dean and a PSA for National Adoption Day. David is the author of the best-selling “A Place Called Home: A Memoir” about his own adoption experience. Our friends at Tuan Tran Video shot and edited the videos. We did the portraiture and behind-the-scenes photography. We were deeply moved by David and Maci’s powerful stories. Thank you to Michelle Reiner and Michael Draper of Pliant for this meaningful project.

To watch the PSA for National Adoption Day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgUCBmPEJvI

To learn more about the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption:
https://www.davethomasfoundation.org/

"CRAFT OF SPEED" IS INTERVIEWED BY THE AUTOMOTO FILM & ARTS FESTIVAL

Thank you to the AutoMoto Film & Arts Festival for interviewing us regarding our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary! It was a huge honor to talk with this fast-growing festival that specializes in car and motorcycle culture. We deeply appreciate the festival’s generous support of our film. Thank you to the entire team at AutoMoto, including Fred LoBianco, Davis Powers, Scott Parker, Jeremy Cable, Aaron Kahan, and Ben Kahan. Thank you as well to the Valley Relics Museum for hosting the interview.

To watch the interview:
https://youtu.be/w5_iiC5upWE

To learn more about the AutoMoto Film & Arts Festival:
https://www.amfilmfest.com/craft-of-speed

To learn more about Valley Relics Museum:
https://valleyrelicsmuseum.org/

“CRAFT OF SPEED” MOONEYES DOCUMENTARY TRAILER #1 DROPS ON LUNAR NEW YEAR

We’re excited to announce that our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary Trailer #1 will be dropping on Tuesday, 2/1/2022, the Lunar New Year. We’ll also be launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for post-production costs. Our feature documentary project has been an amazing journey. We started it in October 2019. Despite the extreme challenges of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, we’re about to finish filming and will transition to editing. Thank you to our fiscal sponsor, grantors, donors, and supporters. Our film wouldn’t be possible without your generous support.

To watch the trailer:
https://vimeo.com/653297485

To donate:
https://craftofspeed.wedid.it/campaigns/10132-craft-of-speed-mooneyes-documentary-fundraising-campaign-2022

IN MEMORIAM: ALLAN BERNARD KARP

There are very people who can teach magic. Al Karp was one of them. He was one of my photography teachers, who taught me the arcane art of black and white photography printing. Watching a print gradually appear in the developer was like magic. The dim red glow of the darkroom’s safelight added to this mysterious feeling. In the darkroom, everyone worked quietly, even reverently. However, outside the darkroom, Al would be cracking up everyone with his wicked humor. In between his jokes, he would evaluate my prints and give me his sage advice, teaching me not just about technique but more importantly about nuance.

As a filmmaking student, I wanted to learn more about motion picture film processing, but it was cost-prohibitive. Studying black and white photography printing, on the other hand, was less expensive, learning one frame at a time. This is how I met Al. After serving in the Air Force and working at Commercial Union Insurance Company, he pursued his passion and taught photography at Burbank Adult School for almost 25 years. He loved Pentax cameras and enjoyed large format photography. He used his earnings for his other passion—golf. Small in stature, he was outsize in his knowledge, warmth, and humor.

I recently learned that Al had passed away from illness before the pandemic. My own father, who’s also passed on, was a photographer in China. After he immigrated to the U.S., he worked for an aircraft x-ray lab, processing x-rays of aircraft parts. I always wanted to learn how to develop and print film from my father but never got the chance. I found a worthy substitute through Al, for whom I’m forever grateful. I’ll miss him but I’ll think of him along with my dad whenever I’m in the darkroom.

Ming Lai

To read Pasadena Star-News’ Obituary: 
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/pasadenastarnews/name/allan-karp-obituary?id=8251902 

“JOURNEY OF A PAPER SON” TO SCREEN AT THE SCREENSHOT: ASIA FILM FESTIVAL

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“Journey of a Paper Son” will be screening at the Screenshot: Asia Film Festival on Sunday, 10/10/2021 at 2:00 p.m., EDT. Afterward, there will be a Q&A with the director, Ming Lai. In the short film, an elderly Chinese man, who’s dying from cancer, shocks his family when he reveals that he’s a “paper son” (an illegal immigrant using fake documents) and asks them for a final wish to change back his name. “Journey of a Paper Son” was an official selection of a dozen national film festivals and won the “Best Short Film Gold Award” at the Chinese American Film Festival. According to their site, this festival is a joint project by the University of Pittsburgh’s Film and Media Studies Program and Asian Studies Center that “brings together students, faculty, and community members to create a shared awareness of Asian and Asian American experiences through contemporary film and media.” We’re very excited to participate in their first annual film festival and share our film with the university and Pittsburgh. We hope that through our film, we’re able to create dialogue about Chinese “paper sons” and illegal immigration and ultimately the human cost. Thank you to Lynn Kawaratani, Kirsten Strayer, the Screenshot: Asia Film Festival, and the University of Pittsburgh for this incredible honor.

Screening and Q&A with Director Ming Lai:
Sunday, 10/10/2021 at 2:00 p.m., EDT

Allegheny Rivertrail Park/Outdoor Pavillion (formerly known as Aspinwall)
285 River Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15215

To learn more about the screening:
https://screenshot.pitt.edu/programming/screenshotfestival

To learn more about “Journey of a Paper Son”:
https://www.humanistfilms.com/journeyofapaperson

To screen “Journey of a Paper Son” at your own university or organization:
https://search.alexanderstreet.com/preview/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cvideo_work%7C5111483

“VISIONS OF WARRIORS” TO SCREEN AT THE APHA PUBLIC HEALTH FILM FESTIVAL

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“Visions of Warriors” will be screening at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Public Health Film Festival as part of the APHA 2021 Annual Meeting and Expo in Denver, Colorado. Our feature documentary will be part of a session, entitled “Addressing Mental Health and Stigma through Personal Stories,” on Monday, 10/25/2021, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Afterward, there will be a Q&A with our friend and supporter, Raymond Sedillo, of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, Colorado Chapter (COPRA). We’ve always thought of veteran mental illness as a public health crisis, affecting not just veterans but also their families, friends, caregivers, and society as a whole. We’re deeply honored to be selected by this respected film festival that focuses on public health. According to their site, the APHA’s mission is to “improve the health of the public and achieve equity in health status,” and they are “the only organization that combines a nearly 150-year perspective, a broad-based member community and the ability to influence federal policy to improve the public’s health.” Thank you to Lisa German, Mario Dozal, and the APHA for this great honor. Special thanks to Roberto Garces and his family for their love and support. Our deepest gratitude to Raymond Sedillo/COPRA.

Screening and Q&A with Raymond Sedillo/Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, Colorado Chapter (COPRA):
Monday, 10/25/2021, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., MST
APHA Annual Meeting & Expo
APHA Public Health Film Festival
Session: Addressing Mental Health and Stigma through Personal Stories

Colorado Convention Center
700 14th Street
Denver, CO 80202

[UPDATE: For COVID safety reasons, this screening will now be online.]

To learn more about the film festival screening:
https://apha.confex.com/apha/2021/meetingapp.cgi/Session/63582

To learn more about the film festival:
https://www.apha.org/Events-and-Meetings/Annual/Schedule/Film-Festival

To learn more about the annual meeting and expo:
https://apha.org/Events-and-Meetings/Annual

To learn more about the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association:
https://www.psychrehabassociation.org/

“JOURNEY OF A PAPER SON” TO SCREEN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

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Our award-winning short film, “Journey of a Paper Son,” will be screening at the University of Texas at Austin/Center for Asian American Studies (CAAS) for one of their Asian American history classes on Thursday, 3/4/2021, from 2:00 p.m to 3:00 p.m. CST. Afterward, there will be a Q&A with the director, Ming Lai. In the film, an elderly Chinese man, who’s dying from cancer, shocks his family when he reveals that he’s a “paper son” (an illegal immigrant using fake documents) and asks them for a final wish to change back his name. “Journey of a Paper Son” was an official selection of a dozen national film festivals and won the “Best Short Film Gold Award” at the Chinese American Film Festival. According to their site, the CAAS “seeks to develop and highlight transnational and hemispheric perspectives and narratives in the American and the American South.” Recently partnering with ProQuest’s Alexander Street, we hope to support more university Asian American studies programs with their important work. Thank you to Mohit Mehta, Dr. Eric Tang, Tony Vo, Uri Kolodney, and the University of Texas at Austin and their Center for Asian American Studies for this huge honor.

Screening and Q&A with Ming Lai:
Thursday, 3/4/2021, from 2:00 p.m to 3:00 p.m. CST*
*This screening and Q&A are available only to University of Texas at Austin students.

To learn more about “Journey of a Paper Son”:
https://www.humanistfilms.com/journeyofapaperson

For educational sales of “Journey of a Paper Son”:
https://search.alexanderstreet.com/preview/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cvideo_work%7C5111483

To learn more about the University of Texas at Austin/Center for Asian American Studies:
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/aas/