Any doubts that the City of Angels is in the business of entertainment were dispelled as soon as I got off the train at Union Station, where a pop-up salsa dance session was in progress...
The band was pretty amazing, too...
...across the street, a campy mariachi singer was in full flower. One park over, Native Americans were mid-dance.
Needless to say, L.A.'s vast talent pool was reflected in the many actors, musicians, stand-up comedians and other performers on hand at the Mixed Remixed festival.
It was in this spirit, despite an overwhelming desire to hide in the bleachers, I joined one of the first events of the festival - the "Honest Improv" workshop, led by a genial actor, director and writer named Sean Michael Boozer
http://www.seanmichaelboozer.com/pb/wp_659a1670/wp_659a1670.html
In short order, he had a random crowd of strangers strutting around like peacocks and then schlumping like Sad Sacks. We were then offered a chance to scream-act lines such as "Let's pretend to shear a sheep!" It was only mildly humiliating but afterward I thought, everyone needs more time out for acting goofy once in a while.
Klutzy we were, but Boozer - a veteran of TV shows and commercials - was anything but, briefly dropping his Clark Kent demeanor to throw a convincing hissy fit. Being able to watch a real actor up close - someone who can move with fluid grace and summon complex emotions at the drop of a hat - is a wonder to behold.
Another highlight of the event was a self-taught artist named Kayla Briet. Just 19, she has performed at the White House. Niche-defying and positively riveting!
http://kaylabriet.com/
City Hall in Pasadena - a.k.a., the fictional seat of government in Parks and Recreation (!)
There were practical how-to's (panels on Tips about Biracial Hair, Publishing Your First Children's Book) and a lot of authors were on hand to talk about their mixed-race-themed books. Some notes:
- Studies show "everyone is a little mixed" genetically
- While using Asian and/or mixed-race characters in stories and in entertainment remains a novelty, and draws attention to the author's motivation, "no one asks John Grisham why his characters are white."
- It's still early days for "Hapa" or mixed-race fiction
- Using Asian or mixed-race characters is a useful way to create empathy among readers towards people of other races: "I know what it's like to be them," said one author. "They need to know what it's like to be me!"
Our film screened to an enthusiastic crowd on Saturday morning, with a Q&A afterward. One of the things I really enjoy about showing our film in different settings is that each group pulls a different skein out of the tapestry... given the fact that so many in the audience had African-American heritage, it was no surprise that a few questions concerned war brides who married black GIs - a theme we are planning to include in our next, full-hour film. When I referred the questioner to the work of Velina Hasu Houston, a war bride daughter who has immortalized the experience of minorities-within-a-minority
http://www.velinahasuhouston.com/, it was thrilling to discover that her son happened to be in the audience (!)
A wonderful surprise was being able to reconnect with Shamina Sato Crawford, who went to school with my daughter in Tokyo, and now lives in L.A.
The previous week, we showed in NY...
The week before, we were honored to be able to present F7GU8 back east, at the Asia Society in New York.
Megumi Nishikura, our producer, is at far left..
I felt a mild sense of trepidation about our first New York screening. How would the world's biggest Jewish city outside Israel process my mother's struggles with her Jewish in-laws? Fortunately, our audience was as engrossed as those anywhere else. A very animated scrum of viewers kept up the conversation so long, we were eventually kicked out so that the society could close their hall for the night!
Prof. Dias secured one of the biggest auditoriums on campus
A few weeks later, F7GU8 was back in Tokyo - at the elite Aoyama Gakuin University...as you can see, it was a rambunctious room, 300 college students who initially seemed more interested in their friends and their smartphones - but once the lights went down, the room went quiet. It was thrilling!
Many of these students had experience living and studying overseas - or were of mixed-race themselves - and unlike almost every other audience we've shown to, the focus was less on the moms than on us (!) Students wanted to know how we navigated dual cultures. It was sobering to learn that even in this ostensibly globalized and enlightened era, children are still grappling with some of the same issues we did... many thanks to Professor Joseph Dias for doggedly working to arrange this event.
Karen, and film festival chief Barbara Kado
Meanwhile, at Sacramento's historic Crest Theatre, F7GU8 played to its biggest audience ever - over 800 folks in attendance for the annual Sacramento Japanese Film Festival, one of a rare few such events dedicated solely to Japanese film. Karen and festival committee chair Barbara Kado took to the stage prior to the screening. Viewers offered their own thoughts about expanding the film, by including other womens' stories and the voices of war-bride sons.
We got a nice mention in the Sacramento Bee (if you haven't already, please click "view this email in your browser" in the black band at the top right of your screen):
Looking ahead:
- Kathryn has wrapped up a hectic, year-long dash around the country as part of her Vassar College-funded research into the lives of war bride families, and is now back at The Washington Post. Her multimedia series will be made public initially in The Post later this summer. When we have a firm date we will let you know!
- F7GU8 has applied for two grants, so far (!) as we seek to move forward on our second, expanded-length film... none of these is sufficient to cover the entire cost of this endeavor. But we will continue seeking ways of telling the war bride story in all the richness it deserves.
SET UP YOUR OWN PRIVATE SCREENING OF F7GU8!
Our film has sparked some incredible conversations among families, friends and colleagues - why not in your local coffee shop, rec center, or home? If you are interested in setting up a community screening, please contact our distributor, Roselly Torres Rojas,at TWN Distribution, distribution@twn.org. As a bonus, for all private screenings we will send you our carefully researched and lavishly illustrated pamphlet to help get the ball rolling!
For school and university and other private screenings/libraries in Japan:
Please contact our distributor, United People http://unitedpeople.jp/archives/1413
We are selling DVDs for the unlimited-use educational fee of ¥20,000. 『七転び八起き – アメリカへ渡った戦争花嫁物語』教育機関向けDVD
価格：20,000円(税別) 送料350円（日本国内発送に限る）
このDVDは、小中高校大学専門学校等の教育機関向けDVDです。教育目的の授業内の無料上映会に限り、同一学内の上映会開催や、学校図書館での貸し出しをして頂けます。
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詳細：
http://unitedpeople.jp/archives/1413
To purchase your own copy of F7GU8 for home use only, please go to: http://kunaki.com/Sales.asp?PID=PX00ZT2YE2
個人用購入のみの場合、次のリンクをクリックください：http://kunaki.com/Sales.asp?PID=PX00ZT2YE2
