Notes from Tim Hugh, Festival Director

Happy AAPI Heritage Month and welcome to The 26th Asian American Showcase!

This year being part of AAPI Heritage Month we looked for films that told our stories and unique history as Asian Americans. Our Opening Night film - BAD AXE is an award winning documentary about a Cambodian family's struggles to keep their restaurant open during the pandemic in rural “Trump country” Michigan. Films like WHO KILLED VINCENT CHIN? and BLURRING THE COLOR LINE looks back at where we were during the “Jim Crow” era of segregation and the start of the fall of the American automotive industry and how those eras led to alot is the misunderstands in racial bias that exists today.  NAM JUNE PAIK: MOON IS THE OLDEST TV highlights the life and work of the father of video art and he who coined the phrase “the electronic superhighway” long before the internet existed. WISDOM GONE WILD takes a look at dementia as the filmmaker acts as the caregiver of her mother whose stories and dreams weave tales of fact and fiction. Spending time in internment camp her mothers nine decades of stories (and song!) are tenderly and humorously reflected upon.

Besides AAPI Heritage month we also wanted to highlight something we know about in this year's edition of the showcase, and that is…CHICAGO! We live in Chicago, we love Chicago, we know Chicago. So…we have an amazing shorts program - ASIAN AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY SHORTS: CHICAGO! Showcasing stories about people, places and food, found, known, and loved in our great city.

And, also our Closing Night film - WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE is an award winning film directed by LINH TRAN who is local filmmaker and a MFA graduate of DEPAUL UNIVERSITY.

But Linh’s not alone, it will be a homecoming of sorts for Renee Tajima-Peña ( Who Killed Vincent Chin?) and Rea Tajiri (Wisdom Gone Wild) who both grew up on the northside of Chicago!

With some sad news, we lost our friend and colleague Jonathan Laxamana recently. He was a huge part of our small FAAIM family, active in the Chicagoland film and Filipino communities, a warm and wonderful person, and a great friend. For over 10 years he was a key to unlocking our programming and film selection with his knowledge, wisdom and understanding in not just film, but also our histories as Asian Americans and Chicagoans. We will be honoring him on Tuesday May 23rd 6:00pm with FILIPINO AMERICAN SHORTS: A TRIBUTE TO JONATHAN LAXAMANA - This shorts program was compiled to commemorate and honor the life of our fellow colleague Johnathan Laxamana, his work within the Filipino Community and the Chicago Filipino American Film Festival. These shorts showcase the rising talent of Filipino American filmmakers and the stories they tell through their unique lenses.

You will be loved and missed my friend.

Please come out and support our filmmakers, our partner the GENE SISKEL FILM CENTER and our local communities. It's been a tough few years, and most have been living via the “electronic superhighway” but it will be nice to see everyone in person again! 

Tim
Festival Director