AWC Spotlight | Jeff Man

“It was really tough for me when I first moved to LA not knowing anyone here and my parents knew that. To have them be there and see how far I came was really special.”

A Maryland-raised, Los Angeles-based filmmaker, Jeff Man attributes his success as an artist to the community and friends he made through VC and his 2012 AWC Fellowship. After writing and directing Santa Claus (2017), which received a Special Jury Mention at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, Jeff is excited to continue his career and direct his first feature-length film in 2023.

Read more below about how participating in AWC, LAAPFF, and being a Digital Histories instructor shaped Jeff into the person and artist he is today.

A scene from A FAMILY DAY, a short documentary directed by Jeff Man

Tell us how have you been, and what have you been up to since your AWC fellowship.

Oh man. So I was in the program 10 years ago and my first thought was, "Well a lot of things have happened since." But I look back and a majority of the stuff I think about is work related, which is sad. Outside of that, the things that I'm reminiscing about at this very moment are things that have happened to those I care about. A lot of weddings and babies. I'm an uncle now, which brings me a lot of joy. I think about the next time I'm going to get to see my niece and nephew every day. I'm going to make sure I spend more time with them and the people I care about most the next 10 years. Oh and I finally went to Europe (twice) since I was in AWC. That was great.

2012 AWC Fellows with UCLA Ethnocommunications filmmakers — Top: Timothy Tau, Jeff Man, Michael Shu, JoAnn Do Hockersmith, Jocelyn Saddi-Lenhardt, Veena Kampapur, and mentors Ann Kaneko & Milton Liu. Bottom: Kelly Li, Dieu Huynh, Micki Davis, Asiroh Cham, Kevin Lam. Photographed by Steven Lam.

What was your AWC Fellowship experience like?

AWC was a big deal for me. Up until that point I was pretty new to LA, looking to build my community and make friends. I also had never directed anything that played at a film festival before. Working at the LAAPFF in 2011 and getting honored with a spot in the AWC Fellowship the year after played a big part in helping me get to where I'm at today.

Most of the people that I am working with these days are friends that I met at VC and are former AWC fellows.

What were some memorable moments during AWC?

My most memorable experiences being in AWC were being on set with the other fellows helping out with their projects. I got to go to a Lakers game with my friend Veena Hampapur helping her shoot her documentary BASKETBALL, MERI JAAN. That was a lot of fun. I also helped Kelly Li on his set for CAFE ELEVE where I met people who are close friends of mine today. And then there was our screening at the DGA. That was really memorable because my family came from Maryland to attend and it was on Mother's Day. It was really tough for me when I first moved to LA not knowing anyone here and my parents knew that. To have them be there and see how far I came was really special.

As an AWC alum and a previous Digital Histories instructor, can you tell us what your experience was like with Digital Histories?

Digital Histories was a great experience to help others in that same way. I know that might sound like I'm doing it as some kind of obligation, but I genuinely enjoy doing it! Digital Histories is my favorite thing you [VC] all do. Even though most of the students now are folks I didn't teach, I still love going to the screening every year to see what they do.

I wouldn't be where I am today if people didn't give me an opportunity and take their time to help me.

What were some memorable moments as an instructor during Digital Histories?

Gena Hamamoto decided to do a group narrative short film the year we taught it and that was a lot of fun. We divided up the work so that everyone got to try out different roles on a film set. It was a class exercise but you guys seem to love showing it at the festival every year so I guess they did a pretty good job. And they made a sequel the next year!

Tell us about your forthcoming film.

I'm about to direct my first feature film in January. It's really exciting, but I'm also super nervous about it. Just to bring it full circle to the whole thing about people helping you and giving you an opportunity, this one feels like the biggest challenge so far. But it's nice to have people supporting you and believing in you by giving you this opportunity. On top of that, I'm making it with the people I want to have with me on this project. I hope I do right by all of them and make a good movie. Fingers crossed!

Anything you’d like to add?

No, I think that's it. I'm not sure if anyone made it this far into this. If they did, thank you for reading this far!

The interview was edited for space and clarity. Photo courtesy of Jeff Man and VC Archives.