AWC Spotlight | Brandon Soun

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AWC Spotlight | Brandon Soun

As a second-generation Cambodian American raised in Cambodia Town, Brandon attributed his passion for filmmaking to its ability to empower communities. When Brandon Soun made his short documentary Cambodia Town: Not for Sale in 2019, he did not expect it to become the first of a trilogy.

Read more about Brandon, his love and ties to the community, his learnings during the making of these short films and what the community can achieve when people come together.

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AWC Spotlight | Shaun Vivaris

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AWC Spotlight | Shaun Vivaris

Shaun Vivaris, a New York-raised and Los Angeles-based filmmaker, has found his community after his 2016–2017 Armed With a Camera Fellowship. A natural storyteller and formerly aspiring novelist who makes genre-bending fantasies that have screened at multiple international film festivals, Shaun strives in his works for authentic Asian American characters and stories beyond mere representation.

In light of the release of his first feature film Lisa Mania on August 23, we checked in with Shaun and discussed his career since his AWC Fellowship, the making of Lisa Mania, his creative process and how he found a community through VC.

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WE ARE LONG BEACH: OUR STORIES, OUR FUTURE

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WE ARE LONG BEACH: OUR STORIES, OUR FUTURE

Visual Communications is grateful to have partnered with United Cambodian Community of Long Beach (UCC) and Cambodia Town Thrives (CTT) to present We Are Long Beach: Our Stories, Our Future, a community arts event created to engage and uplift the Long Beach community of Cambodia Town. The event featured screenings of three documentary short films, including the Long Beach premiere of Conversations at the Register (2022), Cambodia Town Thrives (2022) and Cambodia Town: Not For Sale (2019), followed by discussions and activities guided by local community leaders.

We Are Long Beach: Our Stories, Our Future seeks to amplify local voices and movement, and encouraging solidarity around multicultural issues impacting the local community through sharing and discussing personal stories. We are honored and heart-warmed by the presence and stories of the attendees, and to witness connections being made through the films and issues impacting our communities.

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VC Announces 2022-2023 Armed With a Camera Fellows

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VC Announces 2022-2023 Armed With a Camera Fellows

Visual Communications seeks to cultivate a rising generation of artists committed to social and political changes and movements, while preserving the legacy and vision of our communities. We seek to support artists who are committed to empowering communities and challenging perspectives through their creative works.

For the 2022 - 2023 cycle, we looked for filmmakers of Pasifika descent, who wish to utilize film to amplify the cultures, experiences, and perspectives of the indigenous peoples of Hawaiʻi, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Guåhan (Guam), Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Sāmoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, and additional islands throughout the Pacific region.

To understand the intention behind this year’s cohort, please read this letter from our Executive Director.

We look forward to creating community with this year's Fellows.

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Visual Communications Proud to Receive Durfee's Lark Award for Rest and Replenishment

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Visual Communications Proud to Receive Durfee's Lark Award for Rest and Replenishment

The Durfee Foundation, which “invests in extraordinary people who are making a better LA,” announced the inaugural cohort of Lark Awards recipients. Durfee’s Lark Awards support the collective care and well-being of staff at small Los Angeles-based nonprofit organizations with deep ties to the community. Each organization will receive $30,000 to spend as they see fit to meet the needs of their staff for replenishment. There are 15 organizations in this inaugural 2022 cohort. They are:

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