VC Connect #10: The Way to One’s Heart

Welcome to VC CONNECT, an online destination through which just some of the hundreds of films and media productions created by Visual Communications can be found for your enjoyment. Featured films include some of our VC Classics, as well as films made in the Digital Histories production program for older adults and the Armed With a Camera Fellowship for Emerging Artists. Each week, we’ll roll out a new batch, specially themed for our audience’s diverse cinematic palate. Click here to watch the complete showcase.

Visual Communications is celebrating Go Little Tokyo’s 5th Annual Delicious Little Tokyo, which has gone virtual from June 26 - July 26, 2020. The virtual festival features interactive workshops, live chats with community leaders, giveaways, and themed weeks with live videos spotlighting Little Tokyo businesses streamed every weekend beginning Friday, June 26 through Sunday, July 26 across Go Little Tokyo’s Instagram and Facebook platforms. Click here to learn more!

The Way to One’s Heart

It’s all about food! Our Digital Histories and Armed With a Camera filmmakers know that food is a wonderful way to express one’s true feelings and cement a sense of “community.” Even if that special gift can be taken for granted at times, we still enjoy it while it lasts.

Thank you to the following sponsors for their ongoing support of the Armed With a Camera Fellowship: Sony Pictures Entertainment, SAGindie, West One Music Group, Final Draft, Los Angeles County Arts & Culture, Flash Cuts, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Writers Guild of America West.

Thank you to the following sponsors for their ongoing support of the Digital Histories program: Sony Pictures Entertainment, West One Music Group, Keiro, Union Bank, and Aratani Foundation.

COOK IT YOURSELF (2016) by N.J. Nakamura
If you love eating Japanese food, why not make it yourself? From start to finish, a cooking class at the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center makes a one-pot meal.

FAMILY RESTAURANT EXPERIENCES (2011) by Beverly Woo Shue
An overview of director Beverly Shue’s experience working in her family’s Chinese restaurant.

HOMEMADE CANTONESE ZONGZI (2007) by Jeannie Wong
An exploration of the soon lost art of making homemade Cantonese zongzi, usually eaten to celebrate the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival.

I HATE CHEESE (2003) by Daniel Hsia
The filmmaker documents his love/hate (but mostly hate) relationship with just about any and all types of cheese, and the longstanding suspicions of his friends and acquaintances that maybe — just maybe — he has issues that go deeper than lactose intolerance.

I LOVE SUSHI (2009) by Sadako Matsuura
Take an intimate look at food, family, and the benefits of a Japanese diet.

MOCHI: IT’S NOT JUST RICE CAKES (2014) by George Takaki
Mochitsuki, a traditional mochi-making ceremony, brings the community and generations together. Witness the bonding amongst volunteers, friends, and families at the Gardena Pioneer Project.

ON YOUR OWN (2005) by Anson Ho
A young man's journey to translate his late Grandpa's work leaves him interpreting more than just the words.

PAST THE FOOD (2007) by Mina T. Son
At 5’3” and having always been seen as "large for an Asian," Vu recounts his experience with compulsive binge eating, which ultimately led to his gastric bypass surgery. The excess weight is gone, but now he yearns to shed the feelings of being an outsider to finally gain acceptance from his ethnic community.

TOMATO & EGGS (2002) by Shawn Chou
A mother cooks food as an expression of love for her family. But her family doesn’t seem to see — or taste — the love.

WHAT’S FOR DINNER, DEAR? (2004) by John Nguyen
A young All-American couple in the 1950s attempt to live normal lives until they are introduced to a uniquely Asian product newly available for Western consumption.