Presented by Creatively Speaking in collaboration with the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice and the Institute on Race and Political Economy at The New School. To see the other events in this series, visit the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month hub.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has increased indiscriminately amidst a system already notorious for its violence against communities of color. This short film series followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers centers the plight against communities of color on our AAPI brothers and sisters, connecting the dots between the silos of oppression and sequestered voices, constructed by white supremacy. This program intends to expand the narrative beyond silence.

Film titles include:

• I Am But I am Not by Daisy Truong – 6 mins

This short film is the pilot, introductory episode for a series that will explore the multifaceted, complex identities of Asian Americans. This episode touches on the intersection of the model minority myth and Black Lives Matter.

• #freemask by Feilin Yang (New School Alumni) – 7 mins

This short documentary by New School Alum Feilin Yang, produced in the early days of the Pandemic, exposes the challenges African Americans and Asian Americans are facing as a result of the false assumptions propagated about the COVID-19 virus.

• Parallel Adele by Adele Pham (New School Alumni) – 16 mins

Two half-Vietnamese documentary filmmakers, both named Adele, both New School alumni, weave a shared narrative of mixed Asian (hapa) experiences through interviews with seven other mixed race interviewees.

• In the Shadow of the Pines by Anne Koizumi – 8 mins

An animated short describing what life is like for a second-generation Asian-Canadian young woman with an immigrant father, and the challenges faced in their relationship.