There and back again... how we love the Fall, the grand finale of the seasons with its mosaic of colors inviting us to pause, to reflect, to shed, to recall. 

Since our inaugural launch in 2020, we’ve navigated the ebb and flow of living at times in an apocalyptic fever dream: communities retreating in isolation from a global pandemic; racial injustices spreading like the wildfires in CA, Oregon, Australia; immersed in loss and grief and rage amidst anti-Asian hate crimes; emerging in solidarity in streets and the people’s parks; traveled to reunite with loved ones; agree/differ/accept because joy and fear share the same emotional plane. In San Francisco, we relished in our return to theaters to celebrate our beloved film festivals (CAAMFest, SFFilm, SF Urban, Frameline) and witness 6 cultural organizations unite to form the Chinatown Media Arts Collaborative and together they purchased a building in the heart of Chinatown dedicating that space to local arts, media, and cultural programming. It was good medicine to be in the streets with our community in a neighborhood wide block party (Neon Was Never Brighter), a deeply needed moment of joy that showcased what collective transformation of trauma and recovery could look and feel like. 

Within these five new shorts you will find films that highlight themes we have been exploring for the past year: art, artists, artifacts. We examine the value of artifacts from multiple entry points within our community. From tactile and intimate- fashion as personal armor (Becoming Polka Dot); wearable pieces of art (The World of Victor Tung); photographs for the people (Frank Jang); to architecturally endangered communal spaces (Saving Far East Cafe), the last standing Chinese Banquet Hall in SF Chinatown; and we conclude the season at Clarion Performing Arts Center, a magical little box-car theater on Waverly Place, with youth from Chinatown taking center stage and the theater workshops designed by and for them. 

Art and cultural programming invites us to envision and expand on what a possible sustainable future looks like for our beloved community. We hope that however you encounter these stories, our intention is that they remain with you, opening portals to your personal artifacts to awaken your sense of place and belonging, in beloved Chinatown and beyond.