Edition number 11! I curated this program of Asian American short films. All of them are making their Texas premieres. Details, film descriptions and ticket info over here. Tell all your Houston friends. I think August might be the hottest month in Houston. Best to go inside and watch some films.
I thought that my visit to the White House in the fall was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But lucky me, I was invited back! In May, I once again represented San Francisco WritersCorps at the White House, this time with four students in tow.
Our little group of students was part of a larger group of 77 young writers from all around the country who had been invited to participate in a poetry workshop featuring well-known writers. We got to see the first lady speak, ask questions of Billy Collins and Rita Dove, and hear Aimee Mann perform “Save Me” in the White House’s State Dining Room. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of POTUS this time, but alas, not to be.
Rather than go on about the details, I will just refer you to some reflections written by two of the students on the trip: Raeme, who got a chance to read her poem in the White House, and Anna, who was visiting DC for the first time. Also, here is a local TV news story about our trip, which is reported in rhyming couplets.
But wait, there’s more White House news! The following month, Hyphen was invited to the White House! On June 22, my Hyphen colleagues Irene (the executive director) and Chris (our new publisher) represented us at the president’s meet and greet with Asian American community leaders. Here is Irene’s “Hyphen Guide to a White House Visit” about the experience. Crazy to think that this little scrappy magazine I helped start nine years ago and struggled to keep alive is not only alive and well, but being recognized by the White House!
Back in December, I worked on a brief animation for the documentary “Stitched.” Here it is! I think it took us 15 hours to shoot these 17 seconds of animation. It was a long day, but a lot of fun. Many thanks to all the friends who pitched in to make tiny props and to the director of photography, Seng Chen. After the shoot, I re-purposed some of the people in the grand stands into greeting cards. Pine cone skier is hanging out on my mantle. (Photos of the production here).
“Stitched” has its world premiere at the International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati, OH this Friday, April 8. To see where else it’s playing, visit their site here.
“Bulldozer” comes home to San Francisco for the 7th annual San Francisco International Women’s Film Festival. It screens as part of an animation program on April 8, 2011 at the Roxie Theater. I’ve been unable to make it to other festivals in person, so this will be the first time I get to see “Bulldozer” up on the big screen! Click here for more info.
A few weekends ago, the team that made “Bulldozer” came together for a new stop motion animation project.
Over the summer “Bulldozer” screened in Houston at the Aurora Picture Show’s Extremely Shorts Film Festival and even took home third place in the audience choice awards. Second place went to the documentary “Short Stitched,” directed by Jenalia Moreno. That short was just a three-minute slice of a larger project. Now Jena and her team are working on the one-hour version of their documentary, “Stitched,” which follows three non-traditional quilters as they try to finish their entries in time for the Houston International Quilt Association Show. After seeing “Bulldozer” Jena asked me to contribute an animation to “Stitched,” which will premiere in spring 2011.
I don’t want to give away too much about the clip right now, but it involves transforming a pine cone.
Cross-posted at Hyphen.
Last week, I had the honor of going to the White House to pick up an award from Michelle Obama. No, it wasn’t for Hyphen. (Though I’d love to be invited back for Hyphen — hint, hint to any White House staffers reading this.) I was representing San Francisco WritersCorps, a program that places published writers in San Francisco communities to teach creative writing to youth.
WritersCorps was one of 15 organizations from across the country receiving the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards. (Here’s a story in the Washington Post about the awards.) One adult and one youth were allowed to represent each program at the awards ceremony. I traveled to Washington, D.C. with Nicole, a 17-year-old student who has participated in WritersCorps for three years.
This past Wednesday I went to the White House to accept an award on behalf of San Francisco WritersCorps, a program that mentors youth through creative writing with professional writers and artists. With me was a WritersCorps student, Nicole. Michelle Obama was warm and lovely (and tall!) as she presented us with the 2010 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. WritersCorps was one of 15 programs from across the country to win the award, which comes with a $10,000 grant. Learn more about the award here. I have more to say about our White House visit, but just wanted to post this photo first. Watch the ceremony and the First Lady’s speech below. (WritersCorps is on at around the 20:22 mark.)
“Bulldozer” screens next in the Houston area at the first ever Sugar Land ARTernative Festival. The festival takes place October 2 in the Sugar Land Town Square Plaza and is free and family friendly. Looks like a who’s who of Houston arts group will be participating, including Inprint, Suchu Dance, Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theater and many more. List of participating arts groups here. “Bulldozer” screens as part of a program put together by the Aurora Picture Show. Not sure of the exact screening time, but the festival runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Find out more about the festival here.
Photo by Kaiser Hwang
Last Thursday I was at work, not-so-glamourously eating lunch at my desk, when I got an email from a friend telling me that I had been nominated for 7×7 Magazine’s Hot 20 Under 40 Readers’ Choice contest. Whoo hooo! That made eating at my desk seem not so bad there for a minute. I was nominated for the volunteer work I do at Hyphen along with fellow Hyphen collaborator Lisa Lee. She is the publisher, I the founding editor. (If you don’t know what we’re doing exactly at Hyphen, then read this nice (though admittedly biased) explanation written by erin, the co-editor of the Hyphen blog.)
“Bulldozer” makes its East Coast premiere a few weeks from now at the Asian American International Film Festival in New York City. It screens on Friday, July 16, 9 p.m. as part of AAIFF Amplified, a program of music videos. Details for the screening don’t seem to be set yet as of this writing, so the link doesn’t link to much, but it will probably be at one of the three venues where the festival takes place.
UPDATE: Just noticed that the AAIFF Amplified page has a little more info now about what music videos are screening. There will also be live performances by Taiyo Na and Magnetic North after the screening. Location still TBD.
Melissa Hung 