Tribeca

I didn't even know we had submitted until I found out we were finalists. Go figure.

My filmmaking team (director - Van Pham, Producer - Kase Chong, co-producer - Teresa Hsu, and co-producer Henry Priest) and I (for "Beyond the Mat") were recently accepted into the Tribeca Film Festival All Access program, which is designed to give filmmaker's of color an opportunity to take meetings with a myriad of executives, production companies, financiers, agents and managers - who might be interested in co-producing or financing the project and just meeting with us as filmmakers they may like to work with.

So with that's said here's the press release and a link to "indie wire" which just posted about the program participants.

http://www.indiewire.com/ots/2007/03/tribeca_07_32_p.html

In other news my comic book stories will be published later this year in the now retitled Popgun Anthology from Image Comics. My artist on one of the stories recently dropped out so now I'm on the hunt for someone to pick up the reigns.

I'm still writing the Bhangra film and almost done with a first draft, the rough draft was handed in about three weeks ago.

I'm still developing around 12 projects as a co-producer (some of which I will write) with my partner Kase Chong and producer Teresa Hsu on another, respectively.

Other than that things are running rather smoothly as the clock ticks away until this guy gets on his first flight to New York.


--- from indiewire---

For its fourth year, the Tribeca Film Institute's Tribeca All Access program will showcase 32 projects by people of color. TAA matches African American, Latino, Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander filmmakers with potential investors in a series of one-on-one meetings and other events during the annual Tribeca Film Festival (April 25 - May 6, 2007). Two filmmakers and one screenwriter in the TAA Program are competing for the Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Award which include cash prizes.

"Tribeca All Access is now a recognized incubator for U.S.-based writing and directing talent," said Tribeca's Jane Rosenthal, in a statement. "We are very proud to present this platform to celebrate a multiplicity of filmmaking voices."

NARRATIVE

Amreeka
A Palestinian woman and her son arrive in the suburbs of Chicago to escape a life of oppression, only to face the fallout from America's war on Iraq.
Writer/Director - Cherien Dabis
Producer - Christina Piovesan

Artificial Dissemination
Two teenagers with the same sperm donor father and a rare form of dyslexia begin a journey, after receiving a mysterious message from someone claiming to have a cure.
Directors - Tze Chun, Sheila Dvorak
Screenwriter - Sheila Dvorak

Beyond the Mat
Two wrestlers put their friendship on the line for the sport they love, setting one of them on a journey to self-discovery that brings him one step closer to manhood.
Director - Van M. Pham
Screenwriter - Erik Martinez
Producer - Kase Chong

The Castle
A couple moves into their new Manhattan apartment only to be haunted by its hidden past, which they soon discover is linked to their future.
Writer/Director - Buboo Kakati

Celamy
A moving tale of friendship between a young girl and her imaginary friend, as told from the point-of-view of the imaginary friend.
Writer/Directors - Joe Turner Lin, Julie Anne Meerschwam

Cougars on Three
One woman battles her own selfishness and her father--the temperamental coach of her pro football team--to win her teammates' support and a spot on the field.
Screenwriter - Tanisha White

The Flicker's Dance
Confined to his house because of his illness, a boy refuses to give up his love of the outdoors and unexpectedly changes the lives of those around him.
Writer/Director - Priyanka Kumar
Cast: Joe Mantegna, William Mapother, Ione Skye

Four
As the rest of America celebrates Fourth of July, two couples discover the limits of desire and the possibilities of transcendence. Based on the play by Christopher Shinn.
Writer/Director - Joshua Sanchez
Producer - Gill Holland

Fruit of the Tree
The inspiring true story of Dr. James Cameron, who survived a lynching and turned his anger into a force for forgiveness, remembrance and healing.
Screenwriters - Aaron Greer, Fran Kaplan
Producers - Fran Kaplan, Tony Ferraro, Brad Pruitt

Hannah Henri
A neurotic lesbian committed to playing the field has a change of heart when she meets Hannah Henri, a woman who embodies everything she ever wanted.
Writer/Director - Akiva Penaloza

Hyung's Overture
The eldest son of a Korean immigrant family gives up his career to manage the family's convenience store, so that his brother may fulfill his potential as a
world-class violinist.
Screenwriter - Young Il Kim
Producers - Teddy Zee and Jonathan Kim

Last Road Home
When a dying man flees his suburban home to live out his final days in paradise, his estranged son is charged with the task of bringing him home before time runs out.
Screenwriter - Roberto Marinas

Money Matters
A troubled inner city teen struggles to come to terms with her mother's difficult past while carving out an identity of her own.
Writer/Director - Ryan Richmond
Producer - Sam Pollard

The Papaya Factory
Fourteen-year-old Lucy Alvarez faces an unexpected challenge when a class rival decides to go head-to-head with her Quinceanera party, by throwing an all-out Sweet Sixteen party.
Writer/Director - Anna Margarita Albelo
Producer - Jamin O'Brien

Rain for Kabul
The lives of a celebrated journalist working on a story of detainee prison abuse and an American aid worker in Kabul collide when one of them goes missing.
Screenwriter - Soo Hugh

Relocation
A young gay man navigates cultural conflicts when his family visits the city from the reservation for his college graduation.
Writer/Director - Bennie Klain

The Sisterhood of Night
When a twelve-year-old girl exposes a secret society of junior high school girls a small New Jersey town is plunged into controversy.
Director - Caryn Waechter
Screenwriter - Marilyn Fu

Speedy
The unauthorized biography of a corpse: based on a true story of a dead man who became famous after having been kept in a closet for sixty years.
Writer/Director - Natacha Feola

Supermacho
A geeky drummer struggles to hold his band together after a new job arresting shoplifters awakens his inner machismo.
Writer/Director - Aldo Velasco
Producer - Jasmine Jaisinghani

The Vitruvian Man
When a worldwide blackout causes panic and chaos, a young couple finds themselves deeply entrenched in the heart of the mystery that triggered the situation.
Writer/Director - Rooth Tang
Producer - Emily Wang

Waste
A widowed NYC sanitation worker must negotiate his relationship with his son after he becomes a key figure in a Sanitation strike.
Director - Ben Rehki
Screenwriters - John Campo, Ben Rekhi

DOCUMENTARY

Adopted: The New American Family
An intimate look at the evolving notion of "family" in America, through the stories of two families coping with the complexities of trans-racial adoption.
Director/Producer - Barb Lee
Producers - Molly Fowler, Nancy Parsons

Bronx Burning
A look at the tragic events and misguided policies that led to the destruction of a borough, and the residents who chose to stay and re-claim their neighborhoods.
Director - Edwin Pagan
Producer - Bienvenida Matias

Eventual Salvation
After almost 40 years of civil ward and turmoil, an 80-year-old grandmother returns to Monrovia, Liberia to rebuild her life and community.
Director/Producer - Dee Rees
Producer - Nekisa Cooper

Fanaticos
An up-close-and-personal look at the die-hard fans behind Chivas USA, the Los Angeles-based offshoot of the wildly popular professional Mexican soccer team.
Director/Producer - Mylene Moreno

The Foolishness of God: Desmond Tutu and Forgiveness
An in depth examination of Desmond Tutu's life and work with a focus on his controversial message of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Director - Karen Hayes
Producer - Darin Kuhlmann

Living in Silence: Toraichi Kono
The untold story of the man who was personal valet and confidant to Charlie Chaplin, before facing charges of espionage on the eve of World War II.
Director - Philip Chung
Producers - Clyde Kusatsu, Timothy Lounibuos, Nancy Yuen

The Making of 'The Boys in the Band'
An in-depth look at the creation of the ground breaking play and film that dramatized the complex experience of being a gay man in the 1950s, long before the Stonewall riots and gay pride parades.
Director/Producer - Crayton Robey
Executive Producer - John Hadity

Monica & David
Two adults with Down Syndrome embark on a new life as a married couple amidst much love and some trepidation from their friends and family.
Director/Producer - Ali Codina
Producer - Paola Gutierrez-Ortiz

Parachute Kids
A personal perspective on this controversial immigration practice where Taiwanese teenagers are sent to American to pursue a coveted education.
Producer/Director - S. Leo Chang

Samba
For a group of young dancers and drummers, preparing for the carnaval is the only escape from the violence and crime that dominate the gritty streets of the favelas.
Director - Jessica Sanders
Executive Producer - Lawrence Bender

Ultimate Christian Wrestling
A group of disenchanted former pro-wrestlers find a new way to combine their passion with ministry.
Directors/Producers - Jae-Ho Chang, Tara Autovino