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My Turn by Toni Tabora-Roberts

From The Asian Reporter, V19, #20 (May 26, 2009), page 6 & 7.

As Asian Heritage Month comes to a close, I’m reminded of the work I used to do that was closely tied to this designated special month of programming. I used to work at an organization currently known as the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM). CAAM is a very busy, multi-faceted organization that produces the largest Asian-American international film festival in the country, distributes educational films and videos, and funds and distributes Asian-American films for public television. Asian Heritage Month was always especially exciting because that’s when many of the films we supported screened around town and on televisions across the country. Similar to other heritage months — Women’s History, Black History, LGBT Pride — public television, radio, and other venues use the time as an opportunity to sprinkle their programming with a little more "color."

While I love and appreciate a wide variety of film — from action thrillers to short experimental and everything in between — documentary holds a special place in my heart. I had never taken or been exposed to formal Asian-American "studies," so working at CAAM became my Asian-American studies program. To me, the best documentaries reveal complex, layered stories about real people (unlike much of "reality TV," which tends to simplify and stereotype real people in order to create drama). Some of my favorite CAAM documentaries include Who Killed Vincent Chin? by Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña, Bui Doi: Life Like Dust by Ahrin Mishan and Nick Rothenberg, and Deann Borshay Liem’s First Person Plural.

These films represent a small spectrum of documentary. In a more traditional form, Who Killed Vincent Chin? dissects the story and legacy behind a tragic, yet watershed hate crime. Bui Doi uses a less traditional, artistic style to reveal the voices of young Vietnamese-American gang members. First Person Plural is the filmmaker’s own personal journey of trying to connect the dots of her identity as a Korean adoptee. These films present an Asian-American history you won’t find in any textbook.

More recently at the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival held in Eugene, Oregon, I marvelled at seeing some newer docs. Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority, which recently aired on Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), documents the life and legacy of the first Asian-American woman (and woman of color) in the U.S. Congress. Part-time Portlander Curtis Choy’s latest film, Manilatown is in the Heart, is now especially timely with the recent passing of its lovingly portrayed subject, longtime revered activist Al Robles.

Beyond Asian-American-centered work, I began exploring the broader world of documentary.

Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North is considered the first feature-length documentary. Though some of Flaherty’s practices are now deemed problematic (restaging of scenes, directing the subject in a particular way — a little like reality TV?), Nanook is still a groundbreaking work showing real Inuit people in their (if somewhat embellished) environment.

Fast, Cheap & Out of Control by Errol Morris is one of my favorite films of all time, weaving together the first-person stories of four eccentric characters with unusual professions — a lion trainer, a topiary sculptor, a mole rat specialist, and a robot scientist.

Another fave, Hands on a Hard Body, follows a competition in Texas in which contestants try to win a new truck by being the last person standing with their hand touching the body of the vehicle. Yes, it’s a hand-on-the-truck marathon. Who knew such things existed?

For me, this is the beauty of documentary. It’s a way to explore a world I might not be familiar with or something I have a preconceived notion about. By the end of a good documentary film, I usually manage to find some connection to the subjects and more empathy to their stories.

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and OPB are always great resources for docs, though I often wish they gave more time to diverse, independently produced work. Independent Lens and P.O.V. are two PBS programs that feature interesting, independent documentaries.

There are a couple of documentary film festivals in the next few weeks. These are great opportunities to view films on the big screen and possibly even see a filmmaker in person. The Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival, or QDoc, screens films at the Clinton Street Theater this weekend, May 28 through 31. The opening night film is by Korean- American filmmaker Yun Suh. City of Borders reveals the stories behind Shushan, the only gay bar and a stunning oasis of diversity and acceptance in conservative Jerusalem. The full QDoc lineup is available online at <www.queerdocfest.org>.

Also, the third Cinelayan Film Festival screens June 5 and 6 at Portland’s Fifth Avenue Cinema. The festival highlights independently made Filipino documentaries about environmental and social-justice issues in the Philippines. The festival features two documentaries: Riles (Life on the Tracks), about families who live along railroad tracks, and Minsan Lang Sila Bata (Children Only Once), following children laboring in slaughterhouses. Proceeds from Cinelayan benefit Green Empowerment and the independent Filipino documentary filmmakers. Tickets are available at <www.brownpapertickets.com> and more information is available by calling Stephanie at (503) 284-5774.

Other great resources for documentaries are local video stores or libraries or the CAAM website, <www.asianamericanmedia.org>, where DVDs can be purchased.