They Call Us Bruce - Episode 49: They Call Us Jose Antonio Vargas

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. Each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

On this episode, we welcome journalist, activist and author Jose Antonio Vargas, "the most famous undocumented immigrant in America." We talk about his new memoir Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, intersectional identity, and the Good, Bad and WTF of being "American."

Jose Antonio Vargas lands a book deal

Pulitzer Prize winner's memoir will be titled 'Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen.'



From the Los Angeles Times: Jose Antonio Vargas, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and activist who in 2011 revealed that he unknowingly entered the U.S. with false documents as a child, will publish his debut memoir with HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books.

Vargas' book will be titled Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen.

More here: Exclusive: Jose Antonio Vargas, journalist and 'undocumented citizen,' lands book deal

Jose Antonio Vargas gets "uncomfortable" in the MTV documentary 'White People'

So many White People Tears.



Caucasian people shifting nervously in their seats. Frank discussions about racial privilege. White People Tears. So many White People Tears. This is what we are promised in the trailer for the new documentary White People from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas, premiering July 22 on MTV.

In White People, Vargas travels around the country to team up with five young people and explore what it really means to be young and white in America -- and why it matters. They'll delve into issues of white privilege, affirmative action and racial identity -- things that are not always easy to talk about. (Especially when you don't regularly have to think about them.) As you can see in the trailer, it's going to get uncomfortable.

Jose Antonio Vargas detained at Texas airport

Undocumented journalist and immigration activist taken into custody by Border Patrol



Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, filmmaker and immigrant rights activist Jose Antonio Vargas -- arguably the most visible undocumented immigrant in the country -- was detained at a Texas airport this morning.

Reporter Jose Vargas, symbol of immigration debate, detained at airport

Vargas, who started the campaign Define American and has been outspoken about being undocumented, was detained in McAllen, Texas while trying to go through airport security. He was in McAllen to cover the children migrant crisis and show solidarity for the youth who have been recently crossing the border from Central America.

Only after arriving in McAllen, where the security procedures are much stricter, did he realize how challenging it might be to return home. As an undocumented immigrant, Vargas does not have a U.S. government-issued ID, and expressed uncertainty about getting through the numerous Customs and Border Protection checkpoints.

This morning, Vargas tweeted that he was about to go through airport security:

Jose Antonio Vargas' 'Documented' premieres Sunday on CNN

Documentary chronicles award-winning journalist's experience as a undocumented immigrant



In June 2011, Pulitzer Prize-winning Filipino America journalist Jose Antonio Vargas publicly revealed his status as undocumented immigrant in a New York Times Magazine essay, "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant" -- which thrust him into the national conversation on immigration reform.

Jose's documentary Documented chronicles his experience as an undocumented immigrant and an activist for immigration reform. If you missed its short theatrical run in New York and Los Angeles, Documented makes its national television broadcast premiere CNN on Sunday, June 29 at 9:00pm and 11:00pm ET, and will air again on Saturday, July 5. Make plans, set your DVRs.

Here's the trailer:

Jose Antonio Vargas' 'Documented' to get theatrical release

Immigration documentary to open in New York and Los Angeles before CNN broadcast



Mark your calendars. The feature documentary Documented, written, directed and produced by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, will be released in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles this spring before its national television broadcast on CNN.

Immigration Doc 'Documented' Will Get Theatrical Release Prior to CNN Airing

The film, which chronicles Jose's experience as an undocumented immigrant and an activist for immigration reform, will be released theatrically and digitally, opening at the Village East Cinema in New York on May 2 and the Landmark Regent in Los Angeles on May 9. It will then air on CNN on June 29.

Watch the trailer:

Fred Korematsu Day Celebration, January 26

"Stand Up For What Is Right"



If you're in the Bay Area, the Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education invites you to the fourth annual Korematsu Day Celebration. This year's event, "Stand Up For What Is Right!," will feature Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, activist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas and Congressman Mike Honda. It's happening Sunday, January 26 at the Morris Daily Auditorium at San Jose State University.

Here are some more details:

CNN acquires Jose Antonio Vargas' documentary Documented

Film follows former Washington Post journalist's life as an undocumented immigrant



CNN Films has acquired the U.S. broadcast rights for Documented, the feature-length documentary by Jose Antonio Vargas, about his experiences as an undocumented immigrant, activist and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist: CNN Films Acquires Jose Antonio Vargas' 'Documented'

Documented will be broadcast nationally in the spring of 2014 as a CNN Films broadcast, following its international premiere this month at the 2013 International Documentary Film Festival and its theatrical distribution in the U.S. It screened last week as the closing night film of the San Diego Asian Film Festival.

Here's the trailer for Undocumented:

14th San Diego Asian Film Festival, November 7-16

Presented by Pacific Arts Movement



Hey San Diego film lovers! It's on. Pacific Arts Movement presents 14th San Diego Asian Film Festival, running November 7-16 and boasting a ten-day lineup of over 140 films from 15 countries. This is one of my favorite events of the year, and if you peruse the jam-packed schedule of screenings, parties and other special events, you'll see why. There's something for everybody.

The festivities kick off this Thursday, November 7 at the Birch North Park Theatre with SDAFF's Opening Night presentation of the romantic comedy Finding Mr. Right, one of China's biggest box office hits. Director Xue Xiaolu is scheduled to attend from Beijing for the Q & A.

Here's the festival trailer to get you pumped: