SF Urban Film Fest and SOMA Pilipinas Cultural District present film shorts and a panel to spark discussion on how different grass-roots organizations, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, have used arts and culture to promote community preservation and self-determination. We will also explore the potential risks of this strategy including issues of the commodification of people’s culture and the attraction of speculative investment leading to displacement of communities.
Panelists
Raquel Redondiez
Executive Director, SOMA Pilipinas Cultural District
Grant Sunoo
Director of Planning, Little Tokyo Service Center
Scott Oshima
Sustainable Little Tokyo Program Director, Japanese American Cultural & Community Center
Josué Rojas
Executive Director, Acción Latina
Fay Darmawi (Moderator)
Founder and Executive Producer, SF Urban Film Fest
Special Guest: We are honored that Emory Douglas, Former Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party, will be in attendance with us this evening although he will not be on the panel.
Films
Defend Boyle Heights Action Against Gentrification
USA | 2016 | 2 mins. | Directed by Will Prada
In this short video, Defend Boyle Heights showcase their militant resistance to gentrification and art washing. By using militant tactics and organizing the community, Defend Boyle Heights has shut down 8 art galleries since 2016.
First Street North: Another Made In Japan You Don’t Really Know About
USA | English | 2019 | 13 mins. | Directed by Ken Honjo
A short documentary film about a young calligrapher Kuniharu Yoshida from Japan and his experiences in Little Tokyo, a long lasting Japanese American community in Downtown LA, slowing disappearing due to redevelopment.
Emory Douglas: The Art of the Black Panthers
USA | 2015 | 8 mins. | Directed by Andre Andreev, Dan Covert
Emory Douglas was the Revolutionary Artist and Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party. Through archival footage and conversations with Emory we share his story, alongside the rise and fall of the Panthers. He used his art as a weapon in the Black Panther Party’s struggle for civil rights and today Emory continues to give a voice to the voiceless. His art and what The Panthers fought for are still as relevant as ever.
First Street North
USA | 2024 | 6 mins. | Directed by Maya Santos
Little Tokyo – one of only three remaining Japantowns in the country and an over 130 year old Los Angeles neighborhood – has a long history of displacement and encroachment, but also of community visioning, planning, and organizing. One of the cornerstones of this visioning effort is the future development of First Street North, a City-owned parking lot that sits at the northern end of this historic neighborhood. As the City of Los Angeles moves forward with redevelopment, Little Tokyo is working to ensure that its vision for community-driven development is respected and implemented for this site and the district as a whole.
A Place on 6th and Mission
USA | 2016 | 12 mins. | Directed by R.J. Lozada
A short observational documentary on the Bayanihan Community Center–a longtime institution vital to the Filipino and Filipino- American community in San Francisco, and specifically the South of Market (SoMa).
Priced Out
USA | 2019 | 18 mins. | Directed by Dyan Ruiz, Joseph Smooke
PRICED OUT, a 6-part animated series produced by [people.power.media], is in response to the increasingly polarized debate about why nearly everyone is struggling to afford the price of housing. Communities and organizations fighting displacement have been asking for years for a simple story that will help turn the tide. Priced Out is engaging, comprehensive and will change how people understand solutions to housing affordability.
The Town I Live In
USA | 2017 | 11 mins. | Directed by Guadalupe Rosales, Matt Wolf
The artist Guadalupe Rosales wanted to resist the erasure of history, so she created a monumental archive of Los Angeles youth culture called Veteranas and Rucas on instagram. But when anti-gentrification activists in her Los Angeles neighborhood Boyle Heights begin protesting art galleries, Rosales gets caught in the middle of a heated conflict
Partners
