This year, the annual VC FILM FEST, presented by Visual Communications, formerly known as Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, showcased a slate of high-caliber visual art ranging from film screenings to physical installations. From phenomenal directorial debuts like Sean Wang’s “DìDi” and Zoe Eisenberg’s contemplative “Chaperone” to tangible installations including a visual sound bath of Manzanar and even a live podcast discussing the connection between empathy and democracy, VC FILM FEST cast a wide net — reaping rewards with their diverse and forward-looking art.
Other festival programs included work from green filmmakers who were a part of the Armed With a Camera (AWC) Fellowship for Emerging Media Artists, and a Documentary Features section that told stories of democracy across seas and the hardship of achieving dreams here, in America. At a privately held press conference earlier this month, directors included in the AWC and Documentary Features lineup answered questions about their films, shedding light on what inspired them to create their projects.
AWC
The AWC Fellowship is a program that takes a group of young filmmakers dedicated to social and political change, “arms” them with a camera as well as the VC archives, (“one of the largest photographic and moving image archives on Asian Pacific experiences in America”,) and, from there, the cinematic world is their oyster. 2024’s cohort tackled narrative and documentary shorts, some experimental, some more linear — all addressing ideas of assimilation, immigration and belonging.
Throughout the AWC press…
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