Center for Asian American Media
Upcoming Broadcasts
Premiering on Independent Lens on January 1, 2008
NEW YEAR BABY by Socheata Poeuv
(a co-presentation with ITVS)
Born in a Thai refugee camp on Cambodian New Year, filmmaker Socheata Poeuv grew up in the United States never knowing that her family had survived the Khmer Rouge genocide. In “New Year Baby,” she embarks on a journey to Cambodia in search of the truth and why her family’s history had been buried in secrecy for so long.
January 2008
OUT OF THE POISON TREE by Beth Pielert
An American survivor of the Cambodian genocide hopes to unlock the mystery of her father’s disappearance in 1975. Thida Butt-Mam’s quest for the truth stirs up the fractured pieces of one family’s nightmare, unearths an unimaginable heartbreak, and ultimately shines light on a people’s broken silence.
CAAM distributes this film through our Educational Distribution department.
January 2008MIGHTY WARRIORS OF COMEDY by Sung H. Kim
(a co-presentation with KQED)
Hailed as one of the most devastatingly funny troupes of the past decade, the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors are an audacious Asian American sketch comedy troupe from San Francisco. This project provides not only a rousing introduction to the group, but also an entertaining examination of the social ramifications of why a troupe like the Warriors, no matter how funny, may never have the mainstream popularity they deserve. Utilizing a combination of personal interviews and live concert footage, the documentary traces the struggle that the fringe artist faces, and how that battle is complicated further by cultural identification.
CAAM distributes this film through our Educational Distribution department.
Premiering on Independent Lens in May 2008A DREAM IN DOUBT by Tami Yeager
(a co-presentation with ITVS)
America’s first post-9/11 hate crime murder punctuated a growing wave of violence in retaliation for the terror attacks. Told through the eyes of the victim’s brother, A DREAM IN DOUBT travels to Phoenix to tell a personal story of national tragedy, murder, community, and the American Dream.
Premiering on PBS in May 2008OH, SAIGON by Doan Hoang
(a co-presentation with ITVS)
A Vietnamese family attempts to resolve its divided past when three brothers, one capitalist, one communist, one anti-war, who fought against each other in the Vietnam War meet again after decades and confront their differences. Meanwhile, two first-generation Vietnamese American sisters try to reconcile a difficult past that altered the course of their lives.
Premiering on PBS four Thursdays at 10pm: March 27, April 3, 10 & 17, 2008UNNATURAL CAUSES by California Newsreel
(a National Minority Consortia collaboration)
http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/
UNNATURAL CAUSES for the first time on film, investigates the sources of our huge and alarming socio-economic and racial disparities in health. The four-hour series sifts through the evidence suggesting that there’s more to our health than bad habits, health care, or unlucky genes. The social environment in which we are born, live and work profoundly affects our well-being and longevity.
Beginning 2008 through the Presidential Elections
“The Diversity Beat” (a National Minority Consortia collaboration)
“The Diversity Beat: NMC 2008 Election Initiative,” a multi-platform initiative designed by the National Minority Consortia, will demonstrate how diversity can be incorporated into public broadcasting as a central premise of covering a national news event, while also signaling public broadcasting’s commitment to diversity in public affairs reporting. “The Diversity Beat” will bring to PBS and public radio election-related stories from different communities within the growing minority electorate. We have structured the initiative around cross-collaborations with broadcast and online news outlets, community partners, and young minority journalists.