AAJA 2000
 

FILMMAKER’S JOURNAL, NEW YORK 2000

Hanging with Reporters and Filmmakers

August 25, Friday

CRASHING THE Journalists’ PARTY

After losing a grant award for the Jive Bomber film the night before, I arrive at NYC for the second screening of first love, the music video I did for Keiko Kashiwagi.† (The first screening happened a month earlier at New York’s Asian American International Film Fest, the oldest of its kind in the country.† Did so well there that I got invited for an encore.† Thank you, Corky Lee.)

This time the screening is at the Asian American Journalists' Association
(AAJA) National Convention, a prestigious annual event. You know all those
pretty Asian-American anchors you see on every TV news station across the
country? Well, this is where they all meet. I guess they decided to have a small film fest on the last day of the convention, held at the Marriot Marquis in Times Square.

But Iím here a day earlier, so I can crash their gala banquet and get some free grub.†

(Starving Indie Filmie Rule #1: To achieve indie filmmaking nirvana, get as much stuff for free.)

7 pm: After fighting a long bus ride, I get to the hotel where I bump into famed photog Corky Lee just as the banquet was starting.† Not only did he give me a free pass for dinner, but he even gave me his hotel room that AAJA gave him to work the convention.† Cool.†

10 PM: Food was good, met a couple of people (including a reporter from the L.A. Times) as they gave out a lotta student scholarships.† Even got to meet Connie Chung, who rarely comes to these type of things.† So you know this is an excellent photo op.

12 am: Met up with actress-slash-writer-slash-director friend for a late night meeting.† She just finished a couple of shorts and was with her DP when we met at some Russian deli in the East Village.† Talked of making movies (of course) and when this DP guy heard that Iím gonna do a period feature film about the WWII JA camps for cheap, he just scoffed.† ìCanít be done,î he said.† ìYou need at least a couple of million.î† Typically mentality of Hollywood folks (even though Iím in the East Coast).† Hey, if I can make a five minute period piece for under $500, why canít I pull this off?†

(Starving Indie Filmie Rule #2:† Donít let the turkeys get you down; use the ìcanítsî and ìno waysî as ammo to actually push you to go out there and do it.)

August 26, Saturday

THE JOURNALISTS FILM FESTIVAL

10:30 am† Woke up late in the hotel room and ran downstairs to catch the film festival in progress.† Lia Chang, an actress-slash-model-slash-photographer-slash-film-festival-coordinator was running the show.† Met her the night before at the banquet with her friend Christine Toy Johnson, who is also here today.† Christine looked familiar.† ìHavenít we met before?î I asked, then I caught myself when I realized it sounded too much like a pick-up line.†

Caught a part of Dai-Sil Kim-Gibsonís excellent doc, ìSilence Broken: Korean Comfort Woman,î and even bought the books from the film.† Dai-Sil signed copies for me.†

My film screened after Frank Abeís doc on the WWII Japanese American draft resisters from the internment camps, CONSCIENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION.† Great film about a little-known fact about our history.† Frank himself is a journalist, working at a TV station in Seattle. We talked about his first film.† ìIt took me 10 years to get this film made,î he said.† Now thatís what I call fuckiní dedication.

(Starving Indie Filmie Axiom to Rule #2:† Donít give up.)

I was never a fan of the Q & A; I'd rather let the film speak for itself. But I had to, along with 10 other filmmakers from the clever anthology piece AVENUE OF THE ASIAN AMERICAS. Thank God nobody asked me any questions.

FELLOW INDIE FILMMAKERS

9 PM: Staying with filmmakers Deborah Twiss and Todd Morris in Brooklyn.† Met them three years ago at a German film fest while I was screening HANG YOUR DOG IN THE WIND and they were screening A GUN FOR JENNIFER. GUN is a great midnight cult movie that unfortunately, like HANG YOUR DOG, hasnít gotten any domestic distribution (even though their film got picked up in Europe and was a big hit in France).†

Kept in touch since, as we both moved on to other projects; theyíre currently in post for their latest feature, this time shot in DV called MOLOTOV SAMBA.† The three of us went out for drinks and swapped war stories about shooting film on very low budgets (if any); we talked until the sun came up. Damn, I love New York!

August 27, Sunday

FELLOW ASIAN AMERICAN INDIE FILMMAKERS

Had brunch with Vivian Huang, the director of last month's NYC AA Film Fest, in the East Village (again). Chatting on the state of Asian American films and how we can improve them. "I'm tired of all these movies about identities; haven't they been done before?" The problem is yes, 20 years ago with films like CHAN IS MISSING or even HITO HATA. The problem here is that these young blossoming filmmakers or anyone else from the younger generation don't know about those films, because they never get frickin' shown. Why? Because there's no national distribution system. And Hollywood ain't gonna do it for us. We gotta take matters into our own hands.

Somehow, I weaseled MUCH ADOBO in the conversation with Vivian because I was trying to get a screening out here again, maybe at the Anthology Film Archives nearby. Todd had recommended they were indie-filmie friendly. Of course, Vivian knows the director of the NewFilmmaker series over there, since they both cosponsor it. "Hey, Viv, what are the chances of our film getting in...?"†

August 28, Monday

LAST DAY

Took off from JFK, but not before visiting a bunch of other people that I had promised.† Said good-bye to my hosts and went home to Hollywood. Back to reality.†

(Starving Indie Filmie Rule #3: Hook up with other starving filmmakers, especially outside your environment.† Validates your existence and pushes you to finish your next project.† Usual place to meet them: film festivals, if they even accept you ñ another tough prospect. Plus side: Strength in numbers.† Also, an excuse to take off from your PA day job and travel beyond the Starbucks around the corner.)

Next issue: STARVING INDIE FILMIESí GUIDE TO EATING CHEAP (IF NOT FOR FREE)