Author: representmedia

Oaktown Stories – October 28

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Oakland’s communities tell our own stories through short personal films followed by community dialogues with guest speakers. This is the third in a series of three events in October 2023.

Sat, Oct 28, 1-3pm
East Bay Community Space
507 55th St, Oakland

For free tickets: https://re-presentmedia.ticketleap.com/oaktownstories2023-3/

“Synchronized” (Corinne Cueva) 
Inspired by Godfrey Reggio’s 1982 film Koyaanisqatsi, Synchronized was produced during the COVID-19 pandemic and features voices from BIPOC LGBTQ+ Oakland residents along with beautiful takes of Oakland’s changing urban landscape.
– With guest speaker Maria Clara Merçon and community partner Carmen Wong (Three Thirty Three Arts).

“Wake The Town” (Bryan Wiley) 
Wake The Town features the personal stories of former Oakland residents from the Black community and their complex relationship with rapid gentrification.
– With guest speaker La’Donna Mitchell.

“Coach Emily” (Pallavi Somusetty)
Emily Taylor is an Oakland-based queer Black rock climbing coach who supports young girls and non-binary kids of color as they grapple with discrimination in the outdoors.
– With guest speaker and community partner Emily Taylor (Brown Girls Climbing).

Oaktown Stories – October 21

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Oakland’s communities tell our own stories through short personal films followed by community dialogues with guest speakers. This is the second in a series of three events in October 2023.

Sat, Oct 21, 3-5pm
EastSide Cultural Center
2277 International Blvd, Oakland

For free tickets: https://re-presentmedia.ticketleap.com/oaktownstories2023-2/

“Bayanihan & Resilience” (Jocelyn Tabancay Duffy)
Penny Baldado, a queer Filipino immigrant and proud owner of Café Gabriela, makes it through the COVID-19 pandemic by giving back to Oakland.
– With guest speaker and community partner Penny Baldado (Café Gabriela).

“My Name is Lai” (Lucy Saephan) 
Lai, a Mien American elder, shares her memories as a refugee survivor of war in hopes to heal invisible wounds and not be forgotten.
– With guest speaker and community partner Jae Saechao (Cold Rice Collective).

“This Adventure Called California” (Jennifer Huang) 
Recently-divorced Arnoldo comes to the United States from Mexico to win back his family but meets only brutality and despair, until a chance encounter at a racquetball court changes the course of his life.
– With guest speaker Arnoldo Lopez and community partners Rafael Bautista (US Advisory Council on Human Trafficking), Nur Jannah Kaalim (Filipino Advocates for Justice), and Josué Revolorio (Multicultural Institute).

Oaktown Stories – October 14

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Oakland’s communities tell our own stories through short personal films followed by community dialogues with guest speakers. This is the first in a series of three events.

October 14, 1-3pm
West Oakland Public Library
1801 Adeline St, Oakland

For free tickets: https://re-presentmedia.ticketleap.com/oaktownstories2023-1/

“Why More Black Americans Should Try Capoeira” (Chinwe Oniah) 
For an Afro-Brazilian art form, it’s surprising to see so few Black practitioners of capoeira in the Bay Area.
With guest speaker and community partner Contra Mestra Andrea (FICA Oakland).

“When The Garden Comes” (Jay Gash)
When The Garden Comes follows a multi-generational North Oakland family across themes of home, garden, and legacy.
With guest speaker Creasie Jordan and community partner Joshua Alperin (Oakland Public Library).

“ALIVE IN BRONZE: Huey P. Newton (1942–1989)” (A.K. Sandhu)
ALIVE IN BRONZE follows Fredrika Newton and Dana King (an activist and an artist) working to honor the Black Panther Party’s vital place in American history through the creation of a monument of its co-founder Huey P. Newton.
With guest speaker and community partner Fredrika Newton (Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation).

What’s Up with Docs featuring Jennifer Crystal Chien – Keep on Keeping on

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DOK Industry Podcast - Keep on Keeping On

Our Director Jennifer Crystal Chien is featured in DOK Leipzig’s new podcast episode “Keep on Keeping On” from What’s Up with Docs. In this episode, host Toni Bell discusses with Jennifer the vital question of who is determining what is of interest and to whom?! They dive into the challenges faces by BIPOC filmmakers working in a dominant white supremacy culture and the need to generate new and more authentic representations and portrayals of BIPOC communities. Jennifer also talks about her commitment to advocacy and the field-building work at Re-Present Media.

Tune in now: What’s Up with Docs feat. Jennifer Crystal Chien – Keep on Keeping on

Curators of the episode: Toni Bell and Brianna Jovahn, MBA.

Jessica Jones selected as Sundance Contributing Editor Fellow

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Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Jessica Jones, for being selected as a Sundance Contributing Editor Fellow.

The yearlong fellowship spotlights emerging talents committed to the art and craft of editing nonfiction feature films. Contributing editor fellows receive a stipend, a dedicated mentor, and access to curated workshops and small gatherings through the fellowship year.

Getting Unstuck Webinar – June 15, 2023

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We co-presented the Getting Unstuck webinar with Show&Tell and Filmmakers Collaborative SF on June 15, 2023 at 1pm PT.

Identifying and overcoming common sticking points is essential to moving your film forward. Jennifer Crystal Chien, Director of Re-Present Media, and Kevin White, Executive Director of Filmmakers Collaborative SF, shared insights on how to build and maintain momentum to get your film funded, made, and out into the world. The webinar had over 300 attendees.

Jay Gash is Strategic Capacity Coordinator for QWOCMAP

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Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Jay Gash, is now the Strategic Capacity Coordinator for QWOCMAP. Jay’s film, When the Garden Comes, which she started producing in Re-Take Oakland, premiered at the 18th Annual Queer Women of Color Film Festival in 2022. Jay was also a participant in QWOCMAP’s 2014 Film & Freedom Academy and has been a Mentor to other QWOCMAP Filmmakers since 2017.

As Strategic Capacity Coordinator, Jay supports core artistic programs and events including the Film Freedom Academy Filmmaker Training Program (4-Day Workshop), annual International Queer Women of Color Film Festival, Boutique Distribution Program, and the Critical Juncture Program for LBTQIA+ people of color supported by the Dream Keeper Initiative and Human Rights Commission.

Ethical Filmmaking with Survivor Stories

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Yixuan Zeng wrote an article about Ethical Filmmaking with Survivor Stories published on Color Congress‘s Medium.

Yixuan shared about watching survivor stories as a survivor themself, Re-Present Media’s work to discuss ethical filmmaking practices for working with survivors in our Centering Survivor Stories series, and the importance of providing solace and solidarity to survivors through stories created with thoughtful and intentional practices.

We are working with Yixuan to create the documentation for our Centering Survivor Stories series, which will cover the high-level themes and lessons learned from the sessions so that it can be circulated widely beyond the immediate workshop participants, while also protecting the privacy of participating individuals and the details of their films.

Pallavi Somusetty awarded DocPitch 2023 Jury Award

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Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Pallavi Somusetty, for winning the $40,000 DocPitch 2023 Jury Award for her film, Coach Emily. Presented by DocLands Documentary Film Festival, DocPitch is an invitation for North American based filmmakers to submit their unfinished feature-length documentary projects currently in early to late stages of production. A jury selected five filmmaking teams to present a verbal pitch and a three-to-five minute trailer.

Coach Emily is a feature documentary that follows Emily Taylor, an Oakland-based Black and queer rock climbing coach, as she battles systemic racism in her professional and personal life. Through her Brown Girls Climbing program, Emily trains young girls of color, including her own daughter, as they resist discrimination in the climbing world and work to define themselves in the outdoors.

Silent Beauty screening at the Roxie – April 16

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Silent Beauty, directed by Jasmin Mara López, is screening at the Roxie in San Francisco on Sunday, April 16th at 1pm. The film will be followed by a Q&A with director Jasmin Mara López, moderated by Jennifer Crystal Chien. Following the screening, the Silent Beauty team will host a healing gathering open to survivors of childhood sexual abuse who identify as women.

When director Jasmin Mara López sees a photo of her niece with her grandfather, she is flooded by painful memories of her own childhood sexual abuse at his hands—and the following 24 years of her silence. In this cinematically striking and poetic documentary, López bravely films her story as a willful act to accept difficult truths while finding beauty in the process of healing. As she defies the cultural silence that pervades her family and confronts her abusive grandfather, who is a Baptist minister, a world of generational abuse unfolds, and she quickly discovers she is not alone. Through archival family footage and intimate moments with her family, López has created a film about confronting painful truths and the beauty one can feel when they reach the other side of grief.

For tickets: https://roxie.com/production/silent-beauty/

Following the screening, the Silent Beauty team will host a healing gathering open to survivors of childhood sexual abuse who identify as women. If you are a CSA survivor who identifies as a woman and would like to participate, please fill out this form.