“The Debut”
A new film by Gene Cajayon
“Disoriented"
Francisco Aliwalas’s feature film
“Rabbit in the Moon”
Emiko Omori’s internment camp documentary
“Rio Chino”
Greg Pak’s Chinese gunslinger Western, now in development.
“Strawberry Fields”
Rea Tajiri’s feature
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival
Run by the helpful people at Visual Communications, who produce a number of great programs—including fiscal sponsorship for APA films.
Asian American Int’l Film Festival, New York
Run by Asian Cinevision.
NAATA, the National Asian American Telecommunications Association.
These fine folks give media grants, distribute films & videos, and run the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival.
Foundation for Asian American Independent Media
Good guys who run the Chicago Asian American Showcase.
The Workshop’s Open Message Board
Your place to post notices, ask questions, muse, pontificate, and otherwise mouth off regarding Asian American film & filmmaking. Knock yourselves out!
Asian American Film
The latest scoop on Asian American film and filmmakers. News, reviews, articles, message boards… Will the fervor ever stop?
Asian American Media Arts Resource Page
Peter Feng’s great links page
Asian American Media Network
Lively Yahoo Club about Asian Americans in the media
FilmHelp.com
Low budget filmmaking articles and advice from Greg Pak.
The New York Film Academy
The New York Film Academy was designed for a new generation of filmmakers who share a common passion and want to learn by making their own films immediately in a hands-on intensive program.
A National Competition where teams will have 72 hours to write, edit, shoot, and produce a 6 minute short film.
Competition Date is set for June 17-20, 2005, details are available here: http://filmshootout.aafilmlab.com
The Top Winner:
A chance to create an MTV World Promo
Top 3 winners:
1 on 1 pitch sessions with MTV industry executives!
Other awards:
Selected Films may be broadcast nationally on the MTV World channels.
Get your work seen by high profile judges and industry professionals! They are looking for that diamond in the rough.
Most of All, Have Fun!
Get your teams ready!
Derek Ting, AAFilmLab President (2003-2005)
Friends, fellow filmmakers and actors, welcome to the Asian American Film Lab. Come here to relax and unwind and find out about the latest activities going on with the Asian American Film Lab. If you need a resource: Actor, director, producer, crew member, take a look at our database. Full Functionality is coming soon.
The Asian American Film Lab is an offshoot of the Asian American Film Collaborative-The workshop, of which I am still the President. For those who don’t know, the workshop is a organization where filmmakers and actors meet frequently to work on their craft. It was formed by talented and committed filmmakers in 1998: Stephen Bai, the first president, Greg Pak, Donna Tsufura, Rea Tajiri, Michael Kang, to to name a few. Many past members and leaders have gone on to do great work and be recognized in the industry.
Being President gave me the opportunity to be inventive and try new ideas to invoke our art. I noticed that organized activities are a great way to motivate filmmakers to tell their stories. For example, with a screenplay contest, writers are forced to meet a deadline and goal. The Film Shootout, currently our largest endeavor, pushes our community to make Asian American films. Now, while having these activities are encouraging, the organizing of these activities takes away from the workshop mission: Sharing work, doing work, honing skills. Thus, I realized that, the workshop could not effectively do both: Manage activities and work on their art.
Consequently, I founded the Asian American Film Lab along with an energetic team: Matte Chi, Mayur Khandewal, Justin Wan, Joyce Yung, Nelson Wang, and Tana Sarntinoranont and other hard working individuals to manage and facilitate activities that foster Asian American Filmmaking.
Together, we will help pursue the dream of getting Asian American Stories prominently told in main stream America. We will help expose Asian American filmmakers and actors to industry execs, promote their stories, and develop their talents. To do this, the AAFilmlab will endeavor to run thrilling competitions, seminars, and other related programs.
Further, it wil be a central place where these story tellers can find the necessary resources to complete their projects. Members will be able to find cast, crew, Directors, producers, DPs, equipment rental discounts, knowledge, and more(All of this is coming very soon to our website).
All are welcome to join the AAfilmlab. The more help, the better, Asian, Non-Asian, Green, Purple, Whatever. We are an organization bent on helping our community, as such, we need our community’s support.
My biggest wish is that we come together as a community and take initiative to get our stories told and our faces seen. May this organization be a vessel to conquer that challenge.
To this I say, again, welcome. Please enjoy.
