growingupdiverse
Oct 11, 11:37 PM by vaff
Growing Up Diverse: Sunday Nov. 6th, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Defining oneself while growing up in two cultures is the common thread through this collection of shorts. MY BREAK UPS INTO A MILLION PIECES provides an intimate look at one young woman’s disillusionment with American life, while ARNOLD MORENO = PI traces the brief life of a young man finding his voice through activism. In WE DON’T LIVE IN IGLOOS: INUVIK YOUTH SPEAK OUT, young Aboriginals speak candidly about the realities of their daily existence and their hopes for the future. Finally in GETTING MARRIED, a young Indo-Canadian woman struggles with her choice of a life partner. The panel discussion to follow will engage panelists and members of the audience to relate their experiences of growing up diverse and to explore how the future of Diversity can be shaped by the youth of today.
Panel discussion to Follow
120 minutes
MY BREAK UPS INTO A MILLION PIECES
Director: Amir Motlagh | Producers: Lilledeshan Bose, Amir Motlagh | Writer: Lilledeshan Bose
Experimental Documentary | Beta | Colour | 2005 | 16 minutes | USA
With original music from Lilledeshan Bose and artwork from the Santa Ana underground, MY BREAK UPS INTO A MILLION PIECES follows a young woman’s migration from Manila to Los Angeles – a cinematic mediation on identity, personal relationships, and the myth of Americana.
Canadian Premiere | Director in Attendance
ARNOLD MORENO = Pi
Directors/Producers: Huy Chheng, Anjali Nath, Trinh Le Vu Long, Ryan Masaaki Yokota
Documentary | DVD | Colour | 2005 | 17 minutes | USA
A former gang member turned artist and community activist, Arnold Morena lived in the Filipino community of Echo Park, Los Angeles until his untimely death in 2000. ARNOLD MORENA = π highlights the impact of his life, the tragedy of his passing, and the problems in L.A.‘s public health care system.
Canadian Premiere | Director in Attendance
WE DON’T LIVE IN IGLOOS: INUVIK YOUTH SPEAK OUT
Director/Producer/Writer: Janet Ip
Documentary | Beta | Colour | 2005 | 19 minutes | Canada
Through candid personal stories and photographs taken especially for this documentary, four up- and-coming Aboriginal youth from Inuvik, Northwest Territories provide insight into the real issues and concerns of young people in Canada’s Northern communities.
World Premiere | Director in Attendance
Getting Married
Director/Writer: Rani Sandhu | Producer: Nilesh Patel
Narrative | Beta | Colour | 2005 | 18 minutes | Canada
Amrit is a young Indo-Canadian woman struggling against her mother’s desire to get her married before her 25th birthday. She agrees to meet a suitor, only to have her plan backfire. Is Amrit’s only choice between a white boyfriend and an Indian suitor? Or is there some other way out, where she can keep her independence and her sanity?
World Premiere | Director in Attendance
Panel Discussion to Follow
The Living Diversity Series
Diversity – definition (n): The quality of being made of many different elements, forms, kinds, or individuals
Diversity is the buzzword of our time. Public and private institutions are finally realizing that they don’t always reflect the diverse populations of Canada in their goals and their representations. How does diversity move from an idea to a living reality? What does it mean to live, work, and create in a diverse culture? Given this changing dynamic, we thought it would be a good idea to consider at greater length the concept and practice of diversity in Canada as it affects Asian-Canadians and the media. We explore these issues and debate their nuances in a series of two screenings followed by panel discussions with artists, activists, broadcasters, and audience members.
Part II: Growing Up Diverse
What is it like to live within and become a product of at least two disparate cultures? The struggle to define oneself spins out against a background of inter-generational, and inter-cultural tensions borne of conflicting socio-cultural values. Given the growing confluence of Asian youth culture and mainstream cultures, notions of identity and representation are also rapidly changing. How are Asian youth empowering themselves using their own culture? How does media representation affect this sense of our self within these cultures.
The Panelists
Rita Wong
RITA WONG is the author of a book of poems, monkeypuzzle, for which she received the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop Emerging Writer Award. She is currently teaching in Critical + Cultural Studies at the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design in Vancouver.
Janet Ip
JANET IP is a Vancouver filmmaker and family physician who directed and produced the documentary WE DON’T LIVE IN IGLOOS: INUVIK YOUTH SPEAK OUT while providing medical care in the Western Arctic. Her first documentary, RURAL HOPE: THROUGH THE EYES OF A FUTURE DOCTOR, was screened at the 2003 Reelworld Film Festival in Toronto and the 2002 Vancouver Asian Film Festival.
Melinda Lau
MELINDA LAU is your average Greater Vancouver suburbanite. She graduated from Simon Fraser University with a B.A. in Humanities and English, and a severe hangover. She has worked with highly-questionable individuals over the last three years to develop and operate Anime Evolution, an Asian popular entertainment convention largely attended by local youth. Melinda spent an enjoyable stint with the Laurier Institution, a national non-profit organization for the advancement and dissemination of knowledge of the implications of Canadian diversity, working on the launch of the diversity/Vancouver series, and is presently working at a respectable day job. She is the daughter of immigrants, and an unrepentant, if sometimes hyphenated, resident of Port Coquitlam.
Nilesh Patel
NILESH PATEL is a story-teller at heart who has blossomed in the film and television industry. He received acclaim for his mockumentary 7 TO 11, INDIAN which used humour to open a discussion about stereotypes of South Asians in Canada. Nilesh coordinated the National Film Board’s Reel Diversity documentary competition in 2004 and 2005 and worked with CBC Radio for the radio adaptation of Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance. Currently, Nilesh is an active producer with the Projections: Film for Street Youth program in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, along with being a full-time producer with Flourish Media Inc., a full service convergent media firm. He is also completing two short dramatic films for broadcast and his debut feature film BROCKET 99 ROCKIN’ THE COUNTRY.
Imtiaz Popat
(moderator)
IMTIAZ POPAT is a host on CO-OP Radio CFRO 102.7 FM where he hosts the Rational, Bulland Awaaz and Mirch Masala. He is also the General Coordinator of Salaam Vancouver, as well as an activist on immigrant and refugee issues.
Thanks to
Meghna Haldar
(VAFF 2005 Panel Coordinator)
MEGHNA HALDAR is an award-winning filmmaker and freelance writer. In her previous avatar, she taught filmmaking and worked at a film co-op, teaching workshops, arranging fancy film salons, and organizing quarterly film festivals. She is presently in development with the National Film Board on a feature documentary. Meghna participated in the WIDC Workshop 2005 at Banff and is a recipient of grants from the Canada Council, Telefilm, WIFVV, NFB, Texas Filmmakers Production Fund, TCA, Austin City Council, and the Skaaren Presidential Endowment. Meghna is on the board of DOXA, Vancouver’s documentary film festival.
This program is made possible by the generous support of the 
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