Visual Communications

06/17/2026

VC is thrilled to partner with the Peninsula Center Library () again to present a collection of Digital Histories and Armed With a Camera films as part of their Community Voices: An AAPI Film Festival on 6/27 🎥⭐️

Join us for a one-of-a-kind film festival focused on highlighting a curated collection of short films directed by Asian American Pacific Islanders and designed to capture a story of the AAPI experience from the director's unique point of view.

FILM PROGRAM
🎥 Cambodia Town Thrives, Directed by Brandon Soun
🎥 Mother Daughter Journey, Directed by Fran Ito
🎥 Profits Enslave the World: A Song Across Generations, Directed by Joe Virata
🎥 Thank You Come Again, Directed by Nirav Bhakta
🎥 The Fourth March, Directed by Robert Shoji
🎥 Trails, Directed by Chris Nguyen

📅 Saturday, June 27, 2026 @ 1:00PM - 3:00PM (PST)
📍 Peninsula Center Library, Community Room (701 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates, CA, 90274)
💰 FREE and open to the public
🔗 Learn more at pvld.libnet.info/event/16327163

06/15/2026

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR 2026-2027 ARMED WITH A CAMERA FELLOWSHIP 📣

Since 2002, Armed with a Camera Fellowship for Emerging Media Artists (AWC) has developed and supported over 175 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) filmmakers. Cultivating a rising generation of artists committed to social and political changes and movements, these storytellers have empowered communities and challenged perspectives through their creative works.

For the 2026-2027 cohort, we are looking for SoCal-based AANHPI artists to utilize this year's theme, "MOVEMENT," as a point of inspiration. During this time of political and social turbulence, we invite future fellows to reflect on the past and present while considering what moves them, both body and mind, whether it is a journey, a gesture, a belief, or a memory.

Visual Communications will work with the Fellows for 12-15 months (Starting in Fall 2026). Their projects will World Premiere at the 43rd Edition of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. During the program, Fellows will be supported by mentors and advisors while creatively producing works to engage our communities. Each Fellow will receive a $2,500 personal stipend, in addition to a $2,500 project stipend to support the creation of their media works.

📅 The deadline to apply is Friday, July 31, 2026 @ 10PM (PST)
🔗 vcmedia.org/awc

Join our virtual Open House to learn more about the AWC program! Further details regarding an in-person AWC Open House will be released later this month, to be held in late July.
💻 6/30 @ 5PM - 7PM (PST)
🔗 RSVP at vcmedia.org/awc

06/11/2026

Today marks one year since the passing of VC's founder, Robert A. Nakamura – commonly known as “The Godfather of Asian American film" for his pioneering work in presenting the experiences of Asian Americans in film and mentoring generations of filmmakers 🤍

Bob paved the way for Asian American artists and filmmakers by creating spaces for AAPI communities to tell our stories authentically and unapologetically. He founded Visual Communications, the Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center at the Japanese American National Museum, and the Center for EthnoCommunications at UCLA, all which continue to thrive today.

Bob's legacy continues to live on today through his family and his work. Explore his filmography on our website.

🎥 MANZANAR (1971) recounted his boyhood memories in an American concentration camp during World War II, and was selected for major retrospectives on documentary at the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Film Forum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
🎥 HITO HATA: RAISE THE BANNER (1980) is considered to be one of the first Asian American feature films produced by and about Asian Americans. The 4K restoration of HITO HATA has screened at over 10 different venues and film festivals worldwide including the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Honolulu Museum of Art, and the Asian American International Film Festival.
🎥 WATARIDORI: BIRDS OF PASSAGE (1976) is a tribute to the "issei" (first generation Japanese Americans) and integrates the stories of three people who describe a collective history through their personal memories.

🔗 Watch the full Bob's Legacy Collection here: watch.eventive.org/vcarchives

06/10/2026

Visual Communications is thrilled to be a recipient of the Mellon Foundation () Public Knowledge grant program to support the from 2026-2029 ⭐️

The Public Knowledge grants support the work of the institutions and community groups that strengthen cultural records by preserving, recording, organizing, and making knowledge accessible to the public in libraries, archives, and other settings. Through this work, we can build a more informed, engaged, and fair society—and ensure that vital voices and stories endure.

We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Mellon Foundation 💜

06/09/2026

MANONG (1978), produced by Visual Communications, will be playing at the Maysles Documentary Center in NY on 6/9 🍎🗽

ABOUT MANONG
One of the first VC productions produced using industrial video technology, and signaled a transition away from celluloid-based film production for the organization. Director Linda Mabalot's narration, combined with archival images, stop-motion animation, water-color paintings, and poignant interviews with Filipino American older immigrants distinguishes MANONG as a pioneering introduction to an Asian Pacific American community whose narrative mirrors other immigrant groups who arrived to fill a void in America's labor and service sectors. MANONG articulates the process of immigration, exclusion, struggle, and finally acculturation into American society.

📅 Tuesday, June 9, 2026 @ 7:00PM (EST)
📍 Maysles Documentary Center (343 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY, 10027)
🎟

IN CINEMA – Maysles Documentary Center Tuesday, June 9th at 7PM LANDLESSNESS: A Film Program Presented as part of 1898: EMPIRE AND ITS AFTERMATH Curated by Aaron Hunt

06/05/2026

Last weekend, our 2026 Fellows screened their films in Houston at HAAPIFEST 2026 🎬 ✨ The Festival was filled with love, food, community, food, powerful stories, and even more food! Shoutout to our AANHPI cousin festival for sharing our stories and for your hospitality 💛

📣 continues in-person through 6/7 and online through 6/14 with an exciting lineup of narratives, documentaries, shorts programs, filmmaker Q&As, and special events!

06/04/2026

LAAPFF x AAIFF x PAAFF x BAAFF x iSAFF at 💫

Visual Communications was honored to take part in the "Behind the Curtain: The Art & Advocacy of Asian American Film Programming" panel at with our AANHPI cousin film festivals where we discussed the ins-and-outs of festival programming, the challenges of the current industry, and how festivals like our own are evolving to champion the next generation of AANHPI storytellers.

Always thrilled to be in conversation with fellows festival programmers and directors: Pulkit Datta (International South Asian Film Festival of Canada), Susan Chinsen (Boston Asian American Film Festival), Joseph Carranza (Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival), and Kayla Wong (Asian American International Film Festival) ⭐️

06/04/2026

Last month, RAMEN WESTERN 🍜 directed by 2026 Fellow Meloddy Gao had its Bay Area Premiere at as part of the "Frame By Frame" Animation Shorts Program!

Congratulations Meloddy and thank you for having us Center for Asian American Media 💫

06/03/2026

Last month, RAMEN WESTERN 🍜 directed by 2026 Fellow Meloddy Gao had its Bay Area Premiere at as part of the "Frame By Frame" Animation Shorts Program!

Congratulations , , and thank you for having us ✨️

06/03/2026

Visual Communications is honored and grateful to be one of the recipients of the 2026 LA Chinatown Firecracker Fund () to support our general operations! 🧧✨

Every year, the has brought communities together in celebration of Lunar New Year while investing back into the organizations, schools, and programs that make our neighborhoods stronger. This support helps us continue our mission to uplift AANHPI and BIPOC storytellers, preserve our histories through the , and create spaces for artists and communities to share their voices ❤️