Dr. Gina Oh, the head of the Voice Department of the Caulfield School of Dance, is a special guest speaker for SESSION 2 and SESSION 3 at the 20th Vancouver Asian Film Festival.
SESSION 1: Asians in Comics: Genesis for Future Screenplays
With the explosion of Comic-Con and all things geek being super cool and widely loved, VAFF has brought together a group of established and emerging comic book and graphic novel writers and illustrators to share their experiences on bringing an authentic Asian Canadian/American voice to their Asian characters.
SESSION 2: Asians in Music: In Search of Asian Rockstars in North America
At the moment, the most promising path for Asian Canadian/American singers and songwriters to “make it big” is to seek opportunities in Asia, such are the likes of K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, etc., but is this the only option for North America’s Asian and Hapa musical sensations and producers? Speakers include Jane Shin, former Soundcloud Sr. Manager, David Quan, Angry Mob Music, singer-songwriter Alfa Garcia, Producers SA Trackworks and Troy Samson, Dr. Gina Oh and MusicBC.
SESSION 3: Asians in Movies: Casting for Asian Leads and Standing up for Change
VAFF is proud to announce two of our AIM³ MUSIC speakers:
Vancouver born soprano, and doctorate of music, Gina Oh was honored as one of the most influential Korean Women Of The World of 2008 after her invitation to North Korea. Gina sits on the board for the Pacific Rim Initiative with Vancouver Opera co-producing a sell-out concert series showcasing and diversifying talent from the multi-cultures in Canada. She has been recognized for her good work by the Korean Consulate in Canada, Elite Canadian Politicians, the Canadian National Press and the Vancouver Music Communities. As a member of the Vancouver Opera OIS Ensemble, she débuted the world premiere of the role Obasan opera based on Joy Kogawa’s book, Naomi’s Road.
Gina spends her valuable time teaching at Caulfield School of Dance, at her Willingdon Studio, performing, and being a Mom.
Jane Shin is former Senior Artist Relations Manager at SoundCloud who has helped build SoundCloud’s reputation as an artist-friendly platform over the past five years. She led community engagement programs as SoundCloud’s first US Community Manager from 2011-2013. From 2014-2016, she joined the Music Content team to lead and advocate for independent artists within SoundCloud’s revenue-sharing program to help them monetize and grow their careers. You can learn more about her SoundCloud experience at https://goo.gl/xxTZzI\
Since the Oscars 2016, a.k.a. the 88th Academy Awards, there has been an outpour of indignation online over the lack of diversity in the casts of Hollywood movies and network television. In particular, Asian actors have lost ground with the increase of Caucasian actors being cast for the roles of Asian characters. This panel will bring these issues forward to a wide group of producers, actors, online media personalities, directors, filmmakers, and involved community members to identify the actions we can all take to contribute to this movement. VAFF seeks to continue the work of social commentaries such as the #StarringJohnCho campaign, while simultaneously educating Hollywood studios that the Asian Canadian/American population is enormous in economic potential.
FESTIVAL DETAILS
2016 Vancouver Asian Film Festival | November 3 – 6, 2016
Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas | 88 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC, Canada
For tickets and further information, please visit www.vaff.org.
ABOUT VAFF
The Vancouver Asian Film Festival Society (VAFF) is a not-for-profit organization that celebrates diversity in film. The longest-running Canadian film festival of its kind, VAFF was founded by independent filmmaker and writer Barbara K. Lee in 1995 and debuted in September 1997. VAFF is entirely organized and produced by a group of dedicated volunteers, and is made possible by generous financial support from corporate sponsors, public funders and private donors.
For 20 years, VAFF has championed increasing diversity and representation in mainstream media, in front of and behind, the camera. Vancouver is the ideal location for like-minded advocates to gather – we are home to a large, active Asian filmmaking and acting population, affectionately referred to as “Hollywood North”, and arguably the best gateway to Asia. VAFF fiercely supports campaigns such as #StarringJohnCho and #OscarsSoWhite, and will continue to help coordinate these passionate efforts into an actionable plan for substantial change.
Asian artists in film, television, music and online media across the US and Canada are gathering to start a movement. We will no longer play the “model minority” and be silent as Asian characters are erased in Hollywood films. It is time to stand up for diversity.
As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, on November 4 and 5, 2016, VAFF will host the AIM³ Summit – Asians in Movies | Media | Music – bringing together prominent Asian actors, writers, directors, producers, musicians and online media strategists and personalities from across Canada and the US to share their personal experiences. AIM³ will converge diversity-driven commentary with pointed roundtable discussions as a means to coordinate the community’s passionate efforts into a plan of action towards substantial changes in the industry.
BACKGROUND ARTICLES & READINGS
“Where Are the Asian-American Movie Stars?” – Hollywood Reporter (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/are-asian-american-movie-stars-890755)
“#STARRINGJOHNCHO” – (http://starringjohncho.com/)
“Meet the Fastest-Growing Multicultural Segment in the U.S.: Asian-Americans” – The Nielsen Company (http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/meet-the-fastest-growing-multicultural-segment-in-the-us-asian-am ericans.html)
“Why Won’t Hollywood Cast Asian Actors?” – New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/23/opinion/why-wont-hollywood-cast-asian-actors.html)
“Constance Wu And Ming-Na Wen Protest Hollywood’s Whitewashing Of “Ghost In The Shell”” – Buzzfeed (https://www.buzzfeed.com/susancheng/constance-wu-mingna-wen-urge-asian-americans-to-fight-back)
“ABC’s Ben Sherwood Says Network’s ‘All-Inclusive’ Programming Reflects Its Diverse Audience” – Adweek (http://www.adweek.com/news/television/abcs-ben-sherwood-says-networks-all-inclusive-programming-reflects-its-div erse-audience-170895)
“Asian Actors Are Still Only 1% of Hollywood’s Leading Roles” – Teen Vogue (http://www.teenvogue.com/story/asian-representation-in-hollywood)
“Why Is It Still Okay to Make Fun of Asians?” – The New Republic (https://newrepublic.com/article/131631/still-okay-make-fun-asians)
“Report: More Than Half of Hollywood Projects Don’t Feature Asians” – NBC News (http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/report-over-half-hollywood-projects-don-t-feature-asians-n523586)
“2016 Hollywood Diversity Report” – UCLA – Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies (http://www.bunchecenter.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-Hollywood-Diversity-Report-2-25-16.pdf)
“Constance Wu rips The Great Wall ‘whitewashing’: ‘Our heroes don’t look like Matt Damon” – Shanghaiist (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/08/01/constance_wu_matt_damon_whitewashing.php)
“A Mom Is “Correcting Yellowface” By Transforming Herself Into Whitewashed Asian Roles” – Buzzfeed Style (https://www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/mom-correcting-yellowface)
FOLLOW THE FESTIVAL AS IT UNFOLDS
Facebook – VAFFVancouver
Twitter – @VAFFVancouver | #VAFF20 | #AsiansInMovies
Instagram – VAFFVancouver
YouTube – VAFFVancouver
MEDIA CONTACT
Steve Kim | VAFF Media Relations
Phone: 604-315-2846
Email: media@vaff.org
Barbara Lee | VAFF Founder and President
Phone: 604-728-7739
Email: barbara.lee@vaff.org