racism
Oct 11, 10:15 PM by vaff
Racism & Representation: Saturday Nov. 5th, 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
In the first part of the Living Diversity Series, we look at the myriad representations of racism through a collection of shorts. In the film SCREEN TEST, a Korean actress recounts her experience of working with a casting director with culturally insensitive expectations, while in the film DASTAAR: DEFENDING SIKH IDENTITY, the Sikh community bands together in the face of discrimination post 9/11. In WITH HONORS DENIED, a past wrong is finally addressed, while the film PAWNS OF THE KING explores the often “in your face” intra-cultural racism that exists. The screening of these films leads to our panel discussion in which activists, broadcasters and filmmakers wrestle with the ways and means by which diversity initiatives can help combat issues of racism and representation.
Panel discussion to follow
120 minutes
Screen Test
Director/Producer: Linda Lee | Writers: Linda Lee, Judy Lee
Documentary | DVD | Colour | 2005 | 7 minutes | Canada
A day-in-the-life of a Korean-Canadian actor exposes the exotization of actors of colour from a performer’s point of view.
Screenings/Awards: 2nd Prize – Access Asie Video Competition, Montreal
BC Premiere
Pawns of the King
Director/Writer: Ming Lai | Producers: Ming Lai, Michael Blair, Linda Lee
Narrative | DVD | Colour | 2005 | 17 minutes | USA
When his wife dies and his daughter invites him to live with her in the U.S, Kazuo (Sab Shimono ROBOT STORIES), a World War II navy veteran from Japan finds himself in enemy territory. He is forced to confront his fears when he meets Charles (Michael Yama, STAND AND DELIVER), a Japanese-American army veteran, and his friends Richard (Jim Ishida, ARMAGEDDON) and George (Ken Takemoto, SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS) in a local park. They challenge him to a game of chess, and the outcome changes his life forever.
Screenings/Awards: Best Short Narrative – Asian Film Festival of Dallas; Boston Asian American Film Festival; Los Angeles Short Film Festival; New York Asian American Int’l Film Festival; Palm Springs Int’l Festival of Film; San Diego Asian Film Festival.
Canadian Premiere
DASTAAR: DEFENDING SIKH IDENTITY
Director/Producer/Writer: Kevin Lee
Documentary | Beta | Colour | 2005 | 13 minutes | USA
After the September 11 attacks, Sikhs in New York City, including NYPD Traffic Officer Amric Singh Rathour and Metro Transit Authority subway conductor Kevin Harrington, were subjected to discrimination and violence as a result of ignorance and fear of an essential symbol of the Sikh faith – the dastaar, or turban. DASTAAR profiles the efforts of the Sikh community to counter racism through a combination of community activism, legal action, legislation, and education.
Screenings/Awards: Best Documentary – Dallas Asian Short Film Festival; Opening Film – Sikh American Film Festival of New York; AFI/Discovery Channel Silverdocs Film Festival; Chicago Asian American Showcase; Long Island Int’l Film Expo; New York Asian American Int’l Film Festival; VC Los Angeles Asian American Int’l Film Festival.
Canadian Premiere
With Honors Denied
Director: Mimi Gan | Producers/Writers: Mimi Gan, Jim Dever
Documentary | Beta | Colour | 2005 | 15 minutes | USA
Yukiko Kubo Shiogi was a young Japanese-American girl when she was interned during World War II. She lost her freedom and a cherished right of passage, but not her faith in her nation or herself. Narrated by George Takei (Hikaru Sulu from STAR TREK), WITH HONORS DENIED follows Yuki’s 60-year journey from prosecution to redemption and a dream fulfilled.
Screenings/Awards: Jury Award Best Documentary Short – Newport Beach Film Festival, Audience Award Best Documentary – Palm Springs IFSF, Audience Award – NW Asian American Film Festival, DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, Maui Film Festival, Portland Int’l Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, VC Los Angeles Asian American Int’l Film Festival
Canadian 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 I: Diversity Initiatives: Racism and Representation
Having diversity initiatives is like suddenly having an overly eager suitor appear and ready to serve us. Invariably, they have more questions for us than we’ve ever asked of ourselves. What is the role of these different initiatives? What do they mean to the filmmakers, broadcasters, stakeholders in the media? How can we create a complex, truthful portrait of this diversity? Whose stories are we telling? How are we doing so? Do these films capture what is authentic about the interaction between majority and minority communities? Are they even attempting to portray the often sticky issue of inter and intra-community racism?
The Panelists
Cal Garingan
CAL GARINGAN has just completed WHY THEE WED?, a National Film Board documentary on same-sex marriage featuring the couples who challenged the law in British Columbia. His award-winning shorts, THE ODYSSEY OF PENELOPE RHODES and OUT ON A HOLIDAY have screened in various festivals locally and around the world. In addition to holding a Master’s degree in Film and Television Production, Garingan also completed the Writing Program at the Vancouver Film School after receiving a full scholarship. Featured in The Los Angeles Times as a promising young talent, Garingan continues to develop short scripts, documentaries, and feature-length screenplays.
Prem Gill
PREM GILL is the Director of Multicultural Programming and Public Affairs for Citytv Vancouver. She directs all of Citytv’s multi-cultural production and oversees the stations public affairs, social policy and regulatory activities. Prem is also the host of Colourtv, Citytv’s weekly half-hour discussion program on current affairs, social issues and popular culture from a multi-cultural perspective.
Judy Lee
JUDY LEE was raised in a theatrical family (none of them were actually involved in the theatre – they were just dramatic and yelled a great deal) making her a natural actor. After an adolescence of youth theatre (which required her to sing embarrassing musical numbers and date sexually confused male actors), she moved onto many challenging single-line roles as wailing refugees, nameless office employees, and opium den tarts. After several years in L.A., she has returned to hopefully land a nameless prostitute role in a locally filmed cop show. She acted in SCREEN TEST, which was directed by her sister, Linda Lee.
Gurpreet Singh
GURPREET SINGH is a journalist based in Surrey, British Columbia. Currently, he is a broadcaster with Radio India, where he hosts two news-based call-in-shows. Vichar Manch and Ru-Baru. Born in Karnal, India, he immigrated to Canada in 2001. Before coming to Vancouver, he had worked with The Tribune as its staff reporter in Ferozepore (Punjab). Previously, he was a staff reporter with Indian Express from 1996 to 1999. He penned No Escape, a story about hate crimes. He has also authored Terrorism: The Punjab’s Recurring Nightmare, a book based on interviews with Sikh extremists.
Zool Suleman
(moderator)
ZOOL SULEMAN is an Immigration Lawyer who is also involved with a variety of migrant rights and civil liberties projects. He is the co-ordinator of www.stopracialprofiling.ca, a campaign to stop racial profiling in Canada. He was the Co-Founder and Editor of Rungh Magazine, a South Asian journal of culture, comment and criticism from 1991-1997. He is also the founder of MARU, a non-profit society that explores the issues of Migration, Art, Race and their unlimited intersections.
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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