IAC Film Festival

Event marks 50th anniversary celebration of Institute of American Cultures and Ethnic Studies Centers

Friday, February 1, 2019
11:30 AM - 10:00 PM
UCLA James West Alumni Center
Register to get your ticket

PROGRAM

12:00 p.m. Welcome

12 p.m. Chicano Studies Research Center

“Requiem-29” (1971) Riveting footage of the August 29, 1970, National Chicano Moratorium civil rights and anti-war protest in Los Angeles which attracted 50,000 Chicanos and led to a riot, inhumane treatment by police, and the death of Los Angeles Times journalist Ruben Salazar.
Speaker: Producer Moctesuma Esparza ’71 and MFA ‘73

“Chicana” (1979) Considered the first major feminist Chicana documentary, depicting the contributions of women as workers, mothers, activists, educators, leaders, and other roles, despite their generally oppressed status in Latino culture.
Speaker: Director/Writer/Producer Sylvia Morales '72, MFA '79

1:45 p.m. Asian American Studies Center

“Cruisin’ J-Town” (1974) This documentary by Duane Kubo follows the formation of the popular jazz fusion band, Hiroshima, in the late 70s. Includes a lively cross-cultural jam session between the band and the Chicano performing arts group, El Teatro Campesino.
Speaker: Director Duane Kubo '75

“My Name is Asiroh” (2013) A young girl named Asiroh is bullied in school about her unusual name and wants to change it.
Speaker: Writer/Director Asiroh Cham '04, MA '12

3 p.m. Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies

“Bless Their Little Hearts”(1983) Part of the vibrant New Wave of independent African-American filmmakers to emerge in the 1970s and 1980s including director Billy Woodberry, Charles Burnett (“Killer of Sheep”), Haile Gerima (“Sankofa”) and Julie Dash (“Daughters of the Dust”), this is the dramatic story of a family in Watts. The film, selected for the National Film Registry, was directed by Billy Woodberry '82.
Speakers: Dominic Taylor and Ellen C. Scott, faculty in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

4:45 p.m. American Indian Studies Center

“On and Off the Rez with Charlie Hill” (1999) This inspiring and thought-provoking documentary by Sandra Osawa uses humor to challenge racism about Native people in America while profiling renowned American Indian comedian Charlie Hill’s life and rise in comedy. Stars Charlie Hill, Will Rogers, Steve Allen, Dick Gregory, Floyd Westerman and others.
Speakers: Mishuana Goeman and Nancy Marie Mithlo, faculty in the UCLA American Indian Studies and Gender Studies

6 p.m. Reception

7 p.m. Feature Presentation

“Selena” (1997), the true story of Selena Quintanilla-Perez, a Texas-born Tejano singer who rose from cult status to create top albums on the Latin music charts.Directed by Gregory Nava '71, MFA '76, the film stars singer/actress Jennifer Lopez in her breakout role for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination, as well as Edward James Olmos and Jon Seda.
Speaker: Producer Moctesuma Esparza ’71 and MFA ‘73

6 p.m. Closing

The UCLA Institute of American Cultures (IAC) is the coordinating body to four ethnic studies research centers- American Indian Studies Center, Asian American Studies Center, Bunche Center for African American Studies, and Chicano Studies Research Center. Together, the IAC and centers produce knowledge of emerging social and cultural realities in America through innovative research, events, fellowships, scholarship, grants, and civic engagement, strengthening ethnic communities through decades of advancing research for social justice. The centers are the only ethnic studies organized research units among the 10 University of California campuses. In 2019, the IAC and the centers will mark their historic 50th anniversary during UCLA's centennial year.

For more information, please visit https://www.iac.ucla.edu/ or contact Sophia Fischer, sfischer@conet.ucla.edu, (310) 825-6515.

###