Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

        photos of Quentin Lee and Koji Steven Sakai courtesy of thepeopleivesleptwith.com

Writer Koji Steven Sakai and director Quentin Lee worked together on the indie hit The People I’ve Slept With. The film, a sexy romp about a naughty girl who goes good after finding out she’s knocked up, opens in limited release in Los Angeles after sold-out festival showings and an engagement in New York. The pair has more films in the pipeline together. Next on the calendar however is the Asian American Independent Features Conference, part of the ID Film Fest that they founded together at the Japanese American National Museum. I caught up with the guys on the set of Koji’s entry for Justin Lin’s short film initiative, Interpretations.

Do you think there's a need for another conference?

QL: There hasn't been a regular conference for Asian Pacific American filmmakers, and I feel that it's sorely needed.

KS: I agree. There needs to be a place for API filmmakers to find a home. The Japanese American National Museum is dedicated to promoting understanding and appreciation of America's ethnic and cultural diversity. Our goal for this conference is to help people of diverse backgrounds tell stories related to the API experience. We have to remember that 30 years ago, festivals like this didn’t happen.

QL: And they still don’t happen. While there are numerous finance conferences for Asian filmmakers in Asia, there is none in America for APA filmmakers -- other than the Asian American Independent Feature Conference that I once put up for three years with the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in 1999. So we're back again in 2010 because the development of Asian American filmmakers and their features are crucial to the survival of Asian American cinema.

How is this conference going to be different?

KS: This festival is about developing a community amongst filmmakers. Being API in the film world can sometimes feel very lonely. So we want a place where people can feel comfortable sharing and learning from each other in a supportive environment that fosters development in their individual projects and as a filmmaker/artist.

Getting a whole bunch of people together is one thing -- what do you hope will come out of it?

QL: Hopefully one or more participating filmmakers will get inspired and empowered to step closer to making his/her first or next feature.

KS: Exactly. Both Quentin and I feel strongly that conferences like this are the kinds of places that can grow in unexpected ways. Hopefully, either through the panelists or through each other they will be able to find a way to take the next step and turn their project into a reality.

Are you going to produce anything from the conference?

KS: We aspire to inspire filmmakers to produce their own work.

How can filmmakers be a part of the conference?

QL: Check out www.aaifc.org and submit! It's free to submit and free to participate. A great thank you for the Japanese American National Museum for making it happen!

**MAPID is one of many co-presenters and sponsors of individual events that comprise ID Film Fest of which AAIFC is part of. The author is founder of MAPID.