10/25/18 3rdi International South Asian Film Festival Spotlight

Come November, the 16th edition of 3rd i’s San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival begins in full swing from Nov 1st to 4th in San Francisco and Nov 17th in Palo Alto. This year’s line up features women centric and films by women from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Canada, Australia, and the USA.

This year’s films range from homelessness and domestic violence, to comic book and real-life superheroes. Documentaries abound featuring sex-positive advice columnists and probing filmmakers who battle the rising tide of fundamentalism in both India and Pakistan. This year, the festival also explore the theme of healing, and the importance of dialogue – sometimes even with the enemy. As always local filmmakers shine bright. Listen to APEX Express’ first of 2 parts of our 3rdi spotlight. Preeti Mangala Shekar sits down in conversation with two local film makers Rucha Chitnis and Harleen Singh, whose short films debut at this year’s festival. These two films screen on Friday, Nov 3rd at the New People Cinema, San Francisco.

For tickets and other films’ information, visit: http://www.thirdi.org

Watch the trailer of Rucha Chitnis’ film: In the Land of my Ancestors:

Watchthe trailer of  Harleen Singh’s film, Drawn Together:

1/4/18 Collage of Voices

From Late Night with Joe Cascasan.

Tonight, we kick off the new year with voices from APEX contributors and our larger community. Charged with the request to share audio clips that inspired them through the last year, we hear from APEX contributors Lindsay Oda, Geraldine Ah-Sue, Nonogirl, and the Power Lee Women (Miko, Jalena, and Ayame). We also have a contribution from APEX’s co-founder Renee Geesler. And our community contributed including Oliver Saria from Bindlestiff Studio and Rachel Lastimosa with SOMA Pilipinas.

The audio contributions include music, poetry, inspirational speeches and interviews that cover labor, colonization, sovereignty and immigration. We hope this inspires you into the new year.

10/12/17 Rohingya, Welga, and APAture

Tonight, we rebroadcast Salima Hamarani’s segment on the Rohingya refugee crisis and find inspiration in the arts.


Click here to download the audio

We visit Bindlestiff Studio to learn about Welga, their latest production that weaves labor rights, educational rights, and family into a coming of age story set in SOMA Pilipinas.

Welga playwright Conrad Panganiban and labor activst Daz Lamparas.

And we talk with artists participating in Kearny Street Workshop’s annual showcase of Asian Pacific American artists, APAture. Interviews include Focus Artist Award recipient, Kristina Wong; visual artist Selena Ching; featured literary artist Vanessa Hua, author of Deceit and Other Possibilities; and featured book artist Innosanto Nagara, author of the popular children’s book, A is for Activist.

Books illustrated by APAture featured artist Innosanto Nagara.

Community Calendar

Welga continues through October 21 at Bindlestiff Studio.

Kearny Street Workshop is also participating in at Lit Crawl at Five and Diamond in San Francisco featuring alumni from their three month summer program for writers of color.

Also on Saturday, El Rio hosts a punk and hip hop benefit for Migrante SoMa/TL- San Francisco, a grassroots community organization that advocates and organizes Filipino migrants and workers in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

APAture programs continue this week with the Book Arts Showcase featuring Innosanto Nagara on Sunday, October 15 at Arc Gallery and Studios in San Francisco. And save the date for the Performing Arts showcase on Saturday, October 21 at the Asian Art Museum featuring Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

 

9/7/17 U.S. Militarism and Intervention in the Asia Pacific

Tonight we will be talking about U.S. militarism and intervention in the Asia Pacific. Since Trump’s presidency, the U.S. has has escalated bombings, airstrikes and troop deployments abroad and intensified repression at home.  Trump’s slogan of America First has been a battle cry to maintain U.S. global hegemony in a crisis-laden multipolar world.

The U.S. has had a long presence in the Asia Pacific with many of its 900 military bases abroad base in the region.  Since the rise of China as a world power and an economic and military threat to the U.S., former President Obama declared the Asian Pivot strategy. Trump promises to fulfill the Asian Pivot with renewed threats against North Korea and the Philippines.

Our guests today are organizers from the Korean, Chomorro, and Filipino communities. will talk about the current threats, what people on the ground are doing to resist U.S. intervention, and what people here can do.

Die In Action at the Solidarity and Fightback Anti US-led War Conference

Joining us are:

• Mari Choi with HOBAK (Hella Organized Bay Area Koreans) provides some perspective on North Korea; U.S. military interests in the Korean peninsula; and what peace, reunification, and self-determination can look like. 
• Kerri Ann Borja is with Independent Guåhan. and will share with us the current threats to Guam and what people there are doing to resist.
• Irma Shauf- Bajar is the chairperson for GABRIELA USA.  GABRIELA is the largest alliance of Filipino women’s organizations in the Philippines and around the world fighting for national sovereignty and genuine democracy.  Irma is also a leader for the International Women’s Alliance which organized the Solidarity & Fight Back Conference in Toronto last month.
• Guest host is Raquel Redondiez, who has been an anti-war and international human rights advocate for the last 20 years.

We also hear from speakers at the Emergency DACA Rally on Tuesday.

ASPIRE activist speaking at the Emergency DACA Rally at the SF Federal Building

Community Calendar

• On Friday, Alameda County will host the controversial SWAT training, war games and weapons expo, Urban Shield. At the same time, communities around the world are gathering to resist police militarization! In Oakland, starting at 4 p.m., Stop Urban Shield Coalition offers trainings and resources on People’s Fire Safety, Earthquake Kits, and How to Be Cop-Free. The rally is at the Alameda County Board of Supervisor’s Office, 1221 Oak St.
• In DACA news, on Saturday, September 9th at 2 p.m. in Oscar Grant Plaza, Oakland, unDACAmented folks, families and allies are invited to participate in a rally and march to show love and support for #DACA. This peaceful demonstration will be centered around showing endless support and love for our community members who are under attack by this administration.
  

Allies to the Water Protectors #NODAPL

To download the audio, click here.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is a 1,172-mile conduit which will carry crude oil from North Dakota to southern Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux, a Native group whose source of drinking water will be crossed multiple times by the pipeline filed a lawsuit to block construction this summer. A spirit ride on the Standing Rock Reservation launched the protest against the pipeline in April. Since then, thousands of allies from other tribes and communities from across the country and internationally have arrived at Cannon Ball, North Dakota.

As the water protectors put their bodies on the line in direct action to pipeline construction, response from private security, Morton County Sheriffs, and other law enforcement agencies called in from other counties, escalated to use of dogs, tanks of pepper spray, and rubber bullets.

Before many people made it to the polls on Tuesday, allies of the water protectors blocked traffic at a major intersection in San Francisco. Banners read, “What they do to the water, they do to us,” which is just one of the messages allies brought back from Standing Rock.

Two women who journeyed to Standing Rock, joined me in studio: Pam Tau Lee, and Cece Carpio. Pam visited STanding Rock in late September, Cece in late October, and Barbara will be heading out there next week. Also joining us is Barbara Mumby who will be heading out to Standing Rock with her daughter next week.

There are many ways for you to engage with this struggle. As Pam mentioned, it’s getting cold out there and winter gear is needed. Also, word about an anonymous donor contributing funds to bail out the water protectors is simply not true and funds re still needed for the legal defense.

There’s also a phone calling, email letter writing campaign on November 14. Gather in community and hold letter-writing, emailing, and calling parties to urge the immediate END of DAPL.

For those who want to get involved more directly, there’s a national day of action on Tuesday, November 15. The Bay Area action starts at 6:30 a.m. at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza. This sunrise ceremony and mass nonviolent direct action is to stand together in the BAY AREA in solidarity with the peoples of Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota and against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The demands to the  US Army Corps of Engineers are to 1) Deny Permit to Bore Under the Missouri River, and 2) complete a Full Environmental Impact Statement. 

10/9/14 Delano Manongs and My Heroes Have Always Killed Colonizers

Larry Itliong, arriving at AWOC meeting in Central Valley ©1976 George Ballis/Take Stock / The Image Works

Download the audio by clicking here.

In honor of Filipino American History Month, we bring back an interview with Marissa Aroy, director of Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers. This short documentary celebrates the unsung Filipino American field workers who laid the foundation to the founding of the United Farm Workers union. For a donation to KPFA, YOU can have a copy of this documentary that reminds us of the unsung heroes of  1965the Delano Grape Strike.

Mari from the Center for Political Education joins us to talk about the much-anticipated event, My Heroes Have Always Killed Colonizers. Back by popular demand for a third time, this annual event held on Indigenous People’s Day uses storytelling, spoken word and performance to celebrate global warriors who defend the land, people and indigenous ways. This year’s featured hero is Frantz Fanon. Bring a light colored t-shirt and have this image silkscreened on.

Robynn Takayama and special guest Vincent Pan from Chinese for Affirmative Action  co-host the show.

Community Calendar
Upcoming screenings of Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers

Tuesday, October 14th, 2014 -Cupertino, CA
10:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. De Anza College will be screening the film along with a discussion by director Marissa Aroy.   Hinson Campus Center Conference Rooms A & B http://bit.ly/DM_DeAnza

Wednesday October 15th, 2014 -San Jose, CA

Santa Clara County Office of Human Relations and the FANHS Santa Clara Valley Chapter are among several groups screening the documentary.  Marissa Aroy, director, in attendance.

7:30 PM Issac Newton Auditorium, Santa Clara County Government Building, 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose, CA 95110

http://bit.ly/DMScreeningSJ

Thursday, October 16th, 2014-Cupertino, CA
Second screening by DeAnza College and talk with Johnny Itliong, son of Larry Itliong.
1:30 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. Hinson Campus Center Conference Rooms A & B.
http://bit.ly/DM_DeAnza

Thursday, October 16th, 2014-San Francisco, CA

Positively Filipino and The Philippine Consulate in San Francisco will screen the film.

A discussion with director Marissa Aroy will follow.

6:00 pm Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco

RSVP by emailing pfpublisher@yahoo.com by October 13, 2014

2/13/14 David Suzuki (Winter Fund Drive!)

Download the full show here.

If you haven’t given to APEX and KPFA yet – this is the weeks to do it!  We are in our 2nd of 3 weeks of Winter Fund Drive at KPFA.  Call in during the APEX hour for some awesome premiums:

Our feature premium is a recorded talk with scientist, author, and activist David Suzuki!  He was interviewed by indigenous organizer Clayton Thomas Muller in 2012 about the environment, Canada’s social movements, and the fight against the massive tar sands development on indigenous lands.  Listen in tonight for clips from that talk. And call in to pledge to get either a CD or DVD copy of it as a gift for your donation!

We’ll also be offering the KPFA Winter Speech Pack – a package of 10 amazing talks on CD – for a donation of $200.

Tune in. And SUPPORT APEX.

Call in number: 1-800-HEY-KPFA

8/29/13: Bumabalik: Reporting from the Philippines

[audio http://archives.kpfa.org/data/20130829-Thu1900.mp3]

To download this episode click here.

(Bumabalik translates into “returning.”)

On this installment of APEX Express:

APEX contributor R.J. Lozada is back from the Philippines!

Contributor R.J. Lozada amidst a crowd at the SONA ng Bayan (People’s SONA, or State of the Nation Address). Photo Courtesy of A. Beltran

Aerial shot of the crowd that joined the ‘Million People March.’ Photo courtesy of Architect Paulo Alcazaren.

Monday, August 26 drew nearly 100,000 Filipinos in peaceful protest against political corruption and pork barrel politics. R.J. brings us an interview with author Laurel Fantauzzo who participated in the peaceful rally.

Farmers and organizers from Hacienda Luisita protest the distribution of lands in front the House of Representatives in Manila. Photo courtesy of R.J. Lozada

Land is life. When Spain forcefully took and claimed land from the Philippines in 1521 they created a sociopolitical climate that would birth long-standing systems of oppression, manifesting in everything from political infrastructure to psychology to cuisine. Among the remnants and ghosts of colonization is Hacienda Luisita. The farmlands that belong to natives long before the Spanish were taken, and ended up in the hands of the family of the current President Benigno Aquino III, since the late 1950s. R.J. spent some time with farmers of Hacienda Luisita to learn what agrarian reform can really look like.

Flordia Sibayan, or “Pong,” is the chair of AMBALA, the farmworkers union at Hacienda Luisita. She and about 50 farmers and organizers camped out in front of the offices Department of Agricultural Reform. They’re protesting the lottery system, and other divide and conquer tactics to disrupt the movement for genuine agrarian reform. Photo courtesy of R.J. Lozada.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

• On Saturday, August 31st at 7:30PM at the Solespace in Oakland, RAMA presents this months installment of Go! Ohana, featuring musicians Ben Ahn, Cynthia Lin, hosted by Tim Huey, and Leila Ramanculova. http://www.facebook.com/events/185431461636494

• On Thursday, September 5th at 6:00PM, Undocu-Health: Healthcare and the Undocumented — this event at the Asian Resource Lobby in Oakland will feature a talk regarding the Affordable Care Act otherwise known as Obamacare, and the undocumented community. http://www.facebook.com/events/203747449792250

• On Friday, September 6 at 7:00PM, the “Ordinary Guy,” Afro-Filipino Joe Bataan, will be at the I-Hotel in San Francisco for a meet and greet! http://www.facebook.com/events/574934042570084/

5/30/13 Stories of Resistance and Resilience — APEN Laotian Leader Lipo Chanthanasak, Poet Kosal Khiev, Moana Nui and Hopie Spitshard’s New Album!

[audio http://archives.kpfa.org/data/20130530-Thu1900.mp3]

To download this episode, click here.

This week we’ll be covering stories of resistance and resilience. Tune in to hear inspiring stories from the Southeast Asian community — first, the story of Lipo Chanthanasak a laotian member leader of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network who was recently honored at the White House as a Champion of Change.  Then, we bring back on air the voice and story of poet and ex-prisoner Kosal Khiev.

Photo credit: APEN
Photo credit: Kosal Khiev

We’ll also get a sneak preview of this weekend’s big Moana Nui teach-in in Berkeley — a two-day event covering militarism, globalization and the “Pacific Pivot”, with 45 speakers coming from 20 different countries!

And we play some tracks from Hopie Spitshard’s latest album “Sugar Water” which drops next week!

 COMMUNITY CALENDAR

• Friday, May 31st, 7-11pm at SOMArts Cultural Center (934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103)
  Kearny Street Workshop presents KSW Runway: Celebrate Your Body. An alternative fashion and music show that pays homage to the creativity and plurality of the Bay Area. For one night only, SOMArts’ Bay Gallery will be transformed into a street fair, replete with battling models, live performances, a DJ, food stalls, vendors, prizes, and surprise guests.  APEX contributor Robynn Takayama will be co-hosting!

• June 1st & 2nd at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School (1781 Rose Street, Berkeley)
  Moana Nui: Peoples of the Pacific — Confronting Militarization, Resource Theft, Globalization and America’s “Pacific Pivot” The International Forum on Globalization (IFG), in collaboration with a broad range of Asian, indigenous and small-island peoples of the Pacific, and activists from countries throughout the Pacific Basin, will present a two-day series of public events in Berkeley with panels and events focused on responding to some of the greatest threats ever to face Pacific peoples.
• June 5th at 8pm at Brick & Mortar (1710 Mission St, SF)
  Hopie Spitshard’s “Sugar Water” Album Release Party

3/28/13 Labor Issues, Legacy of Partitioning, and Bambu!

Terry Valen with NAFCON and FCC

[audio http://archives.kpfa.org/data/20130328-Thu1900.mp3]

Click here to download audio.

Tonight we have Terry Valen, president of NAFCON (National Alliance for Filipino Concerns) and director of the Filipino Community Center in San Francisco to talk about the struggle of migrant Filipino oil workers in New Orleans and the results of a fact-finding mission that was done there in February.

Emcee Bambu

Also, Apex crew member Tara Dorabji brings us an exclusive interview with Pakistani author Bapsi Sidhwa, sharing with us the legacy of the 1947 partitioning of India.

And last but not least, L.A Filipino Hip Hop artist BAMBU joins us to reflect about his last decade in music and talk about his new work.

Community Calendar

Saturday March 30^th 6pm
LAND IS LIFE: Communities Resisting Dispossession and Colonization Commemorating Palestinian Land Day

Dance, Poetry, and Speakers from different communities resisting occupation worldwide
The Women’s Building
3543 18th Street
San Francisco, CA

Friday March 29 and Saturday March 30 in SF
Bindlestiff Studio presents the World Premiere of Jeffrey Lo’s
A KIND OF SAD LOVE STORY

Bindlestiff Studio 185 6^th Street
TICKETS: http://sadlovestory.brownpapertickets.com/

Saturday April 13, 3-6pm
Poetry Reading: Brynn Saito, Pireeni Sundaralingam, and Debbie Yee

Eastwind Books
2066 University Avenue, Berkeley

Friday, May 31
KSW Runway: Celebrate Your Body
This alternative fashion show/underground concert/expo showcasing local APA talent in fashion, music, and art and celebrates bodies of all shapes, sizes, ages, abilities, genders, colors, and ethnicities. The event is a fundraiser for Kearny Street Workshop.

SOMArts Cultural Center: 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco