Fund This: Koreatown Dreaming - A Photo Book

Chronicling the photos and stories of immigrant small business owners of Los Angeles' Koreatown.

Koreatown Dreaming, by photographer/filmmaker Emanuel Hahn, chronicles the photos and stories of Korean immigrant small business owners who helped build Los Angeles' Koreatown into the iconic neighborhood that it is today. According to the book's Kickstarter, the project was borne out of a sense of urgency around documenting the stories of Koreatown, in a time of rapid change and uncertainty. The book features 40 establishments across retail, services, community spaces and restaurants, with photography, poetry, and essays by Katherine Yungmee Kim, Lisa Kwon, Cathy Park and Dumbfoundead.

More here: Koreatown Dreaming - A Photo Book

Jane Lui is making her long-awaited fourth album

Help this mad genius make her first album in nine years.



All right, everybody. Our good friend singer/songwriter Jane Lui is raising funds for her new album Surrija -- her first in nine years -- and she needs your help. She's got new songs, a new sound, a great team of collaborators, and some good old fashioned Spanish inspiration to make what she believes is her best record to date.

"I took a much needed break after my last record and honestly didn't know if I had another album in me," Jane shares. "When I felt the songs again, I hopped on a plane to Barcelona, locked myself in a room for three weeks, and material came rushing through. During these Barcelona sessions, I deliberately wrote away from my normal tendencies to hatch an evolution."

Here's some more info from Jane:

Raise your fist for another season of 'Radical Cram School'

"Sesame Street for the resistance"



Our pal, performance artist and provocateur Kristina Wong, is in the throes of raising money for season two of Radical Cram School, her kid-centric, unscripted web series that empowers Asian American kids and all kids of color to embrace their identities, fight for social justice, and be the revolution. Think that's a bit too much for kids to handle? Just watch season one. Under Kristina's tutelage, these kids are going to save us all.

A Film About Your Favorite Baby-Sitters Club Character

'The Claudia Kishi Club' explores the legacy of Claudia Kishi.



Here's a fun film project that could use your support. The Claudia Kishi Club, by documentary filmmaker Sue Ding, is a love letter to Claudia Kishi, the iconic Japanese American character from the Baby-Sitters Club book series, who inspired a generation of Asian American women and creators of color.

For many Asian Americans who grew up in the 80s and 90s, Claudia was the first time they saw themselves represented in popular culture. A main character in Ann M. Martin's best-selling series, she was one of the only Asian Americans in popular media when the books debuted in 1986. The Claudi Kishi Club explores the character's legacy as a rare Asian American protagonist, a meaningful role model, and of course, a style icon.

The film will feature interview with fans including YA authors C.B. Lee and Sarah Kuhn; comic artist Yumi Sakugawa; and me, Phil Yu, the founder of this website. They also interview producer Naia Cucukov of Walden Media, who is currently adapting The Baby-Sitters Club for a new live-action TV series.

Here's some more information about the film:

When You Gotta Avenge Your Master, But You've Got Day Jobs

Bao Tran's indie feature 'The Paper Tigers' is an underdog story about three out-of-shape kung fu fighters.



This one's for the underdogs. The Paper Tigers is an upcoming martial arts action movie about three out-of-shape kung fu fighters who have to avenge their master... except they've got day jobs and kids to feed. The debut feature from writer/director Bao Tran, this cool-looking indie project is currently raising production funds.

A dead-beat dad, an insurance scammer, and an MMA coach find themselves in the middle of a gang war when they must avenge their kung fu master's death. But first... they need to call in sick at their 9-to-5 jobs. This is a story about family, both born into and adopted, and what you owe to keep those families together.

"Imagine Bruce Lee in his 40s, out of shape and divorced, estranged from his kids, trying to figure out his place in the world," Tran says. "Then imagine that same Bruce Lee's comeback. Family, career, and life might have consumed us, but there will always be a part of us that is dying to do a few spin kicks in the backyard. This movie is dedicated to those who are one kick away from pulling their hamstrings... one lap away from a smoke break."

Here's Bao and producer Al'n Duong with the more information about the film::

May You Find Summer Romance Aboard 'Love Boat: Taiwan'

Valerie Soe is making a documentary about the legendary Taiwanese cultural program, aka "Love Boat."



Here's a film project that could use your help... It's the final fundraising stretch for Love Boat: Taiwan, a documentary that looks at the allure of the Taiwan Love Boat, one of the longest running summer programs in the world, where young Taiwanese Americans get closer to their history, their culture and each other.

In the late 1960s, Taiwan's government established the Study Tour to Taiwan as an outreach program to college-aged Taiwanese Americans and Chinese Americans, to increase their awareness and support for Taiwan. Since then, young people from all over the world have attended this program.

Although it was advertised as a cultural enrichment program -- Mandarin language, martial arts, brush painting, etc. -- the Study Tour's popularity came from another source: its (somewhat notorious) reputation as an excellent place to find romance. Thus earning its more widely known nickname: Taiwan Love Boat.

Director Valerie Soe, who attended the Taiwan Love Boat as a college student in the 1980s, has been working on a documentary chronicling this important part of our community's history.

Fund This: The Princess Who Saved Her Friends

The children's book sequel from Greg Pak, Joanathan Coulton and Takeshi Miyazawa.



The Princess Who Saved Her Friends is the latest children's book written by comics writer Greg Pak and internet superstar musician Jonathan Coulton, and illustrated by artist Takeshi Miyazawa. The sequel to 2015's The Princess Who Saved Herself, the book is currently winding down a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Featuring the same creative team, the original book was a story of determination, bravery, and understanding, starring a scrappy kid who stuck up for herself but was always able to open the circle and find reconciliation with the monsters and witch she came into conflict with.

But what happens next, when our heroine discovers that the witch befriended might not be such a good friend after all? The Princess Who Saved Her Friends tackles the kind of tricky personal conflict that kids -- and adults -- grapple with every day in the real world.

Watch this video for more information:

Fund This: 'I Will Make You Mine'

Lynn Chen makes her directorial debut with the sequel to 'Surrogate Valentine' and 'Daylight Savings.'



Here's a film project that could use your crowdfunded generosity.

I was pretty excited to hear about I Will Make You Mine. Not only is it the final installment of a trilogy -- the sequel to the fan favorite indie features Surrogate Valentine and Daylight Savings -- it marks the directorial debut of my good friend Lynn Chen, who also wrote, produces and stars in the film.

2011's Surrogate Valentine and 2012's Daylight Savings, written and directed by Dave Boyle, followed the life, love and friendships of indie musician Goh Nakamura, who played a version of himself. Six years later, I Will Make You Mine shares the perspective of three women who are romantically linked to Goh, as they maneuver in to their 40s and face major life changes.

"I never set out to become a writer, director, or producer," Lynn says. "But somehow this film, about growing older and re-examining our past relationships, called out to me. And I could not have told this particular story at any other time in my life."

August is Hot Asian Man Awareness Month

Celebrate by backing the Haikus For Hotties 2018 Calendar.



Attention, please! This is a Very Important Announcement about Hot Asian Men. Did you know that August is Hot Asian Man Awareness Month? It has been declared. Not by coincidence, the annual Haikus For Hotties Calendar is back! From the makers of Haikus With Hotties and Haikus On Hotties, the 2018 calendar features twelve months of Hot Asian Men, carefully curated by our friend Ada Tseng, esteemed Professor of Hotness.

This year, they're inviting fans to participate in the fun. Every three days, during the calendar's Kickstarter campaign, they'll unveil a new photo of a 2018 calendar hottie and invite you to submit a hotness-inspired haiku. They'll publish their favorite one and give each haiku winner a free calendar.

The theme for the 2018 edition will be "Cover Men," with each photo transformed to look like the cover of a magazine -- a nod to the fact that we still rarely see Asian men rocking the covers of Hollywood magazines. It's a fun way to highlight a multitude and variety of Asian men doing cool things in the media.

Check out this behind-the-scenes video of the photo shoot with the official Haikus With Hotties ambassadors Yoshi and Peter Sudarso, and the very first female calendar hottie, Anna Akana. (The image is a parody of this Vanity Fair cover with Tom Ford, Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson.)

Help director Evan Jackson Leong finish his passion project

'Snakehead' tells the story of Sister Tse, one of the notorious human smugglers in FBI history.



Here's a feature film project that could use your help.... Our friend, writer/director Evan Jackson Leong has been hard at work on his passion project Snakehead, an indie crime drama exploring the underworld of international human smuggling, starring Shuya Chang, Sung Kang and Jade Wu. Inspired by true events and based in New York City's Chinatown, Snakehead follows Sister Tse, a Chinese immigrant who rises to become one of the most sought after human smugglers in FBI history.

Here's a very cool-looking teaser trailer:

Finally, a webseries about that 'Nonprofit' hustle

"...insightful, hilarious, and occasionally heartbreaking glimpse into activism, social justice, and nonprofit life."



Here's a fun-looking project that could use your crowd-funding support. Created by Luann Algoso, Nonprofit is a webseries that follows Gabby, "a spunky, idealistic Filipina organizer as she navigates relationships, friendship, family, and the realities of activism in and out of nonprofit." It's a story about finding love, searching for fulfillment in work, and navigating our life purpose.

If you recognize the ups and downs of the nonprofit hustle, this series is for you.

25-year-old Gabby Antonio just started as a community organizer at APIISA (Asian Pacific Islanders in Solidarity Alliance) a social justice nonprofit in Portland. The pilot follows Gabby as she stumbles through the planning of her first major community event, while also dealing with an incompetent boss, white savior canvassers, and all while managing her panic attacks through use of her favorite hot pink vibrator.

Here's a preview:

Feature film imagines the internment of Muslim Americans

What if America interned Muslim and Arab Americans like they did to Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor?



What if what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II happened again today to Muslim and Arab Americans? The feature film Executive Order 13800, written and directed by Mustafa Zeno, imagines such a scenario under President Donald Trump. It's happened before. Amidst the current political climate and actual discussion of a so-called Muslim "registry," it's looking more and more like it could happen again.

Executive Order 13800 is a drama following a Muslim American family after the U.S. experiences a 9/11-type terrorist attack. Following this national tragedy, President Trump issues Executive Order 13800, requiring all Muslim Americans to pack up their things and report to government site. Over the course of two weeks, the family's world turns upside down as they lose their civil rights and face an uncertain future.

The film is currently raising production funds through Indiegogo.

How I Became a Pretend Expert on Hot Asian American Men

Guest Post by Ada Tseng



A few years ago, I convinced my editors at Audrey Magazine that it'd be funny to ask actor/model Godfrey Gao to exchange mediocre poetry with me about his hotness.

(Hey, hey. Eyes down here, OK? I know you're trying to figure out who that is in the photo above, and where you've seen his muscles before, but stay with me. There will be more pictures of that guy at the end of this post, I promise.)

Back to poetry. I had just been told that my upcoming interview with Godfrey would be conducted through email, and, as a serious journalist, I knew it'd be hard to experience the full extent of his hotness through email. So I was trying to think of a creative way to do the interview in which the answers I received from him through the written word would potentially be better than the verbal responses I'd get from him in person. Haiku seemed to be the most accessible form of poetry for two non-poets. I figured I could also get away with asking him ridiculous questions about his swooning fangirls, beauty regimen, and tips for modeling Louis Vuitton man purses -- inquiries that would be much less charming without the syllable constraints of 5-7-5.

He probably had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he answered in haiku, and the series Haikus With Hotties was born. For each issue after that, I just kept convincing other people that this was a good idea. Folks like Freddie Wong, Dante Basco, Randall Park, and Christopher Dinh. On one hand, these are creatives working in the entertainment industry who have been directly affected by mainstream Hollywood's lack of imagination when it comes to stereotypical portrayals of Asian American men. But on the other hand, they're also just funny people who very quickly made me realize that the fact that they don't take themselves too seriously is actually the hottest quality of all.

At the time, I didn't have a grand vision of what #HaikusWithHotties would become. But last summer, we successfully launched a Kickstarter to turn the series into a 2016 calendar, including a video where I introduced myself as a "Professor of Hotness" presenting my ground-breaking research. And we hopefully gave our supporters a reason to smile at the first of every month, when it was time to turn the calendar page and unveil their next hottie.

Help DAN aka DAN finish his next album

Dan Matthews is working on the follow-up to 'Stuntman.'



Our friend Dan Matthews, who makes music as DANakaDAN, has been busy working on his second album, tentatively scheduled for release later this year, and is raising funds via Kickstarter to make it happen.

The new album is described as a mix of hip hop, alternative rock and electronic and will focus on themes that push notions of identity, race, adoption and self. Dan, a Korean American adoptee, says it's a progression from his last album Stuntman, a personal record inspired by his journey of re-connecting with this birth family.

If you're not familiar with Dan's music, here are a bunch of my favorite tracks from Stuntman:

Fund This: 'The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up'

Help Artists at Play present the world premiere of Carla Ching's play.



This year, the Los Angeles-based Asian American theatre collective Artists at Play will present its sixth mainstage show, the world premiere production of Carla Ching's The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up, directed by Jeremy Lelliott. I mean, come on, the title alone has got you intrigued, right?

The play follows Diana and Max who meet at 10 years old -- "the day their parents start fucking." Over the next 18 years, their parents break up, get back together, marry and divorce. And they see each other through it all, trying not to make the same mistakes their parents did. It's a play about "trying not to fall in love with your best friend so you end up hating them."

The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up will have a 4-week run at Hollywood's Lounge Theater in August/September 2016. Artists at Play is currently trying to raise funds for the production through Indiegogo.

Here's a video with some more details:

Want to see some 'Pretty Dudes'?

Comedy webseries explores masculinity, race, colorism, sexuality, friendships and the rules of attraction.



Pretty Dudes is an upcoming original comedy series that explores the dynamics between a millennial multiethnic group of friends in Los Angeles. Created by Chance Calloway, the series uses humor and truth to explore masculinity, race, colorism, sexuality, friendships, and the ever-changing rules of attraction.

The 12-episode series is currently raising production funds through Seed & Spark.

The project centers on six friends who consider themselves to be "pretty" and claim that the label has ruined their romantic lives. As one of them goes through a breakup, the friends band together -- through a high stakes bet -- to find him the perfect love, discovering the truth about their own relationship struggles in the process.

Here's some more information about the project:

20 Weeks: A Romantic Drama About Love, Science and Prenatal Genetic Testing

Leena Pendharkar's film follows a couple faced with some tough decisions after their 20 week scan.



Here's an upcoming indie feature film project that would use your crowdfunding support... 20 Weeks is a romantic drama about love, science and how prenatal and genetic testing impact every day people.

Based on writer/director Leena Pendharkar's own experiences, the film centers on a couple who must decide on how to move forward when their baby is diagnosed with a serious health condition in utero. The cast includes Anna Margaret Hollyman, Amir Arison, Sujata Day and Michelle Krusiec.

20 Weeks is currently raising production funds through Indiegogo. Here's a video with more details:

Native Hawaiian culture meets street art in 'Mele Murals'

Help fund the latest documentary from Tad Nakamura.



Here's a great film project that would use your support... There are just a few hours left to pitch in to Mele Murals, the latest documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Tad Nakamura. Mele Murals is a story that navigates the complexities of Native Hawaiian cultural identity through urban street art.

Set against the resurgence of Hawaiian language and culture of the past twenty years, Mele Murals follows two former illegal graffiti writers turned community artists -- Estria Miyashiro (aka Estria) and John Hina (aka Prime) -- and their quest to connect people and place through mural making. The film shows how public art rooted in underground graffiti unexpectedly but powerfully fuses with Native Hawaiian traditions and contemporary life to impact local youth, the rural community of Waimea, and most of all the artists.

Here's the trailer:

Before Tinder, there was the Taiwan Love Boat

Valerie Soe is making a documentary about the legendary Taiwanese cultural program, aka "Love Boat."



They're making a film about the legendary Love Boat. And I'm not talking about the TV show.

In the late 1960s, the Taiwanese government established the Study tour to Taiwan as an outreach program to Chinese American and Taiwanese American youth. While it was touted as a cultural enrichment program, it became notorious among Chinese American and Taiwanese American college students as an excellent place to hook up and find romance. Hence, its more commonly referred nickname: "Love Boat."

Since its inception, the Love Boat has served three purposes: 1) As a political tool for the Taiwanese government. 2) As a way for Chinese and Taiwanese American parents to insure the preservation of their bloodlines. 3) And as a place for young Chinese and Taiwanese Americans to find romance.

No actual boat involved.

Help SJ & Ginny make their TV pilot 'Urban Teach Now'

An achievement-obsessed recent grad joins a non-profit teaching program as a last resort.



New York-based comedy/writing duo SJ & Ginny, aka SJ Son and Ginny Leise, make films and webseries about destroying dicks, babysitting and sad-fucking. They've been described as "Feminist Comedians Who Use Rage and Tears As Their Weapons."

Their latest project is a TV comedy pilot called Urban Teach Now, about an an achievement-obsessed recent grad who joins a non-profit teaching program in New Orleans after being rejected from her dream job on Wall Street. They're currently raising production funds for it through Kickstarter.

Here's a video with some more information about the project: