Armed with a Camera Vol. 2026

I attended the May 1 shorts for the Los Angeles Pacific Film Festival: Armed with a Camera Vol. 2026. It was held at the Directors Guild of America and it was the first feature for each fellow in the program.

Ramen Western

I loved this. Melody Gao had over 10,000 painted stills for this short. A girl travels to America and learns about the Chinese Americans that helped build the Union Pacifc. As someone that was a huge fan of Hell on Wheels, seeing a modern young character in this animation give a huge shout out to a large demographic that helped make this country was heart warming. Also, Gao is the one in the photo above in the flawless printed suit. The suit was a conversation piece before the Q&A began.

Somewhere to Be

Libby Chun's film explored how someone processes. Two sisters have differing views on how life should be lived. She stated during the interview that she wrote it on her own experiences and preferring to stay in San Francisco instead of returning to South Korea. It was nice seeing much-enjoyed SF locations during her character's run through the city.

Tuimaseve: A High Chief Story

A documentary on a Californian that accepts a title in a cultural ceremony in Samoa. Benjamin Pola created his short using interviews of relatives and a found footage video his nephew made during the ceremony. It was an exploration of connecting two cultures and conceptualizing how both are complimentary to personal growth. It also documented a woman that inherited a title from her father and that was an interesting story I hadn't seen. Pola is a USC graduate that examines the 21st century diaspora in his work.

A Swim in the Desert

The most surreal film in the series. A combination of dealing with an eye issue at a doctor's appointment and being in a waterless river. Ending with a dance, Coffee Kang's film was a chill visual on finding a moment to breathe during a busy life.

Hugs and Kisses

This animation by Alexandria Orr dissected the relationship between a mother and daughter. It was the most raw of the collection and Orr was hilarious during the Q&A. She was the only one on the panel that shot from the hip and said the first thing that came to her mind on stage. She could do stand-up.

My Father was a Footballer

Matthew Kim directed his documentary on his relationship with his father. The juxtaposition between a famous soccer player who also was not around much during the first few years. It was an honest look at what's remembered and how different families formed. The funniest line is when his dad asks him, “you think I ever just sat with my dad and talked about our thoughts; no.” A perfect example of different generations navigating the modern era.

I enjoyed the shorts and loved seeing the AAPI at the festival. Alan Kondo founded the festival with his documentary, I Told You So (1979). A profile on poet Lawson Fusao Inada revisiting his Fresno home and remembering his father and his grandfather, who had survived Manzanar.

Over fifty years of films and documentaries that explore the Asian American experience with Pacific voices also joining the stories. I'd love to see this festival covered the way that SXSW is. I will have a dozen ads show up in my feed prior to an event like SXSW. For LAAPFF, I saw an ad in February, and then I saw another one the evening of April 30. I don't know if it's how my feed is skewed, but if I can get half a dozen ads on what to check out at SXSW, I can see a single reminder for this local festival. Points to ponder for future events. I'm pretty sure the single reminder was from Film Independent. This is a marketing thought, but it hasn't formed. It was a fun night.