Going Between the Lines and Beyond the Pages of Your School Books
RECLAIM Y/OUR STORIES
Exiles and ex-pats unite as a community to present images of an Americana they left behind. One half live outside the US by choice while the other half has been forcibly returned. All are Americans. Each raised with the memories, mannerisms, and a distinct cultural identity of growing up Asian in America. This piece is both a short film and a PSA to remind the public of untold stories about Asian Americans ordered into exile. These are the narratives of Cambodian Americans impacted by US deportation policies.
Long Beach, CA is home to the largest population of Khmer people outside of Cambodia, and yet the story of thousands of Cambodian refugees forced to flee their homeland in post-Vietname War Southeast Asian and the subsequent rise of the Khmer Rouge regime is seldom taught in classrooms.
DISCUSS: "My Asian Americana" was one of ten finalists of the White House's "What's Your Story?" video contest, but the filmmakers were not invited to an event at the White House that screened all of the finalists. Why do you think the White House refused to screen the video?
MY ASIAN AMERICANA
directed by Anida Yoeu ALI
and Masahiro SUGANO (2012)
BROKEN PROMISES
directed by Christine Araquel
and Michele Gutierrez (2004)
During WWII, the United States drafted more than 250,000 soldiers from the Philippines, then a colony of the US, promising the same benefits as their American counterparts. After the war ended, Congress voted to rescind the benefits and recognition promised to these soldiers.
CONNECT: More than seven decades later, these veterans join with youth and community members to demand the justice and equity promised to them. Why do you think the youth have continued to embrace this issue? Do you think it's important for the veterans to gain legal recognition and equal benefits? How would this change the narrative?
PARTICIPATE: Would you like to help document the stories of the remaining veterans and their widows? Contact the organization at the end of the film and volunteer to be a community historian.
PILGRIMAGE
directed by Tadashi Nakamura (2009)
During WWII, the American government forcibly relocated thousands of Japanese Americans into to Internment Camps. PILGRIMAGE tells the inspiring story of how Manzanar, an abandoned WWII concentration camp has been transformed into a current-day symbol of restrospection and solidarity in the aftermath of 9/11.
EXPLORE: How does the treatment of Japanese Americans during WWII relate to today's America?
PARTICIPATE: Find out when the next pilgrimage to Manzanar will be. Join in the event and write a reflection or creative piece inspired by the experience.