filmmaker (6)

One Day in San Francisco

Profile Spotlight: Justin Chin

Posted by Winnie Wong on April 26, 2014 at 12:11am

I've known Justin for about 4 years now and I'm not alone in claiming him as a mentor. This man is a craftsman - encapsulating an unparalleled work ethic, unsurmountable precision, and a deep respect for the field. I'm honored to bring him on as our latest Ambassador. You can check out more of his work here.

Who are you and what is your profession?
Justin Chin, cinematographer, filmmaker, artist

Can you tell us a little about your background and upbringing?
Born in Brooklyn, NY and at an early age my parents divorced. My mother traveled across the country to Oakland, with 3 kids in tow, in order to start a new life and home.

What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
We where always raised as creative kids. I was doing pottery, making puppets, and taking black and white photographs with my twin reflex camera and developing them in a dark room, pretty much before I was 10. Cameras have always been a part of my life. Perhaps it was inevitable that growing up with the era Sesame Street, Star Wars and the very first "computer games" on teletypes machines that I would become a visual storyteller. 

Who or what do you most admire?
I admire compassionate people.

What do you love about SF (Bay Area)?
The bay area is a diverse world onto itself. Technology and experimental films thrived here. You're less than an hour away from forests and the Pacific in all directions. It's that mix that creates and inspires people to be both craftsmen (technical and the arts) and engage in deep internal exploration.

What do you fear most for SF (Bay Area)?
Cities evolve and change - that's inevitable. The fear I have would be that we would lose the diverse and artistic elements in the future.

What do you hope for the SF Bay Area in the next 20 years?
My hope is that the SF Bay Area maintains the diversity and opportunity that has made it such an amazing place to this day.
 
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One Day in San Francisco

Profile Spotlight: Eugene Huang

Posted by Winnie Wong on April 25, 2014 at 9:06am

I met Eugene when I first had a meeting with members of a magazine called Hyphen. Hyphen is churning out thoughtful, entertaining, risque, and brilliant work geared towards creating awareness of social issues, fostering a sense of community, and offering a platform for progressive Asian Americans to discuss what's on their minds today - AND it's run by a group of activists, organizers, journalists, multi-disciplinary artists, educators, and just people you'd want to hang out and have a beer with.

Eugene plans to film stories about the sharing economy. He is also planning to do ride alongs tomorrow with different drivers of cabs, Lyft, Sidecar, etc. He's hoping to also collaborate with other participants from Hyphen and CAAM, who will be covering topics like the future of Asian Americans in cities like SF, doing a walk through with District Supervisor Jane Kim for a SOMA beautification project, interviewing residents of Manilatown's International Hotel, exploring an art program and exhibit in Chinatown, filming a bike party and riding to a Bike Film Fest with the SF Bicycle Coalition, attending a comedy night at the Chinese Historical Society of America, and much more. Very excited to welcome Eugene and the rest of the Hyphen and CAAM team to One Day in SF.

Who are you and what is your profession?

I’m a freelance director, producer, cinematographer, animator and illustrator. I love visual storytelling. I work with organizations and individuals that include Fortune 500 firms, non-profits, startups, magazines and artists.

Can you tell us a little about your background and upbringing?

I’m a Bay Area native. Born in San Jose to Taiwanese immigrant parents, and raised in Cupertino, in the heart of the Silicon Valley. I earned my degree in economics from UCLA and did a three-year stint in the consulting world. After that I decided to take a leap and pursue my passion for filmmaking. I have been working professionally as a filmmaker, animator and illustrator since 2012.      

What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

Watching movies as a kid and being moved by what happened on screen. I think it’s the most powerful medium that exists today.

Who or what do you most admire?

I admire anyone who has passion and loves what they do for a living; they eat it, drink it, sleep it. It doesn’t matter if they’re a barista, an engineer, a teacher, or a banker, being around people with passion is inspiring.

What do you love about SF?

I love that it’s a city of hustlers. It’s competitive in the sense that bad ideas and laziness don’t survive here. This city draws hard working, talented and creative people of all persuasions, backgrounds, and industries.

What do you fear most for SF?

I fear San Francisco will become a city where money rules all, where ideas will be judged based on their economic value instead of their social values.

What do you hope for SF in the next 20 years?

I hope in 20 years SF will still be evolving, and it’ll be a city that never stagnates.  

 

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One Day in San Francisco

Profile Spotlight: Nina Parks

Posted by Winnie Wong on April 21, 2014 at 10:32am
The more I get to know Nina Parks, the more I realize she is one rebel with a cause. I met Nina (whose birth name is Leah Weitz) through Jason Wyman (at TILT) when he told me about a local movement called Taking a Stand SF. Jason had been collaborating with Nina for an event taking place in the heart of the Mission a few weeks ago. I met her there, in person, and the wheels started turning. I noticed what a wide range of people were there as a direct result of her passion for communities, unabashed honesty, and unapologetic fierceness. I also noticed that she'd been working on a beautiful black & white photo series - essentially portraits of SF residents holding a sign declaring "I'm Taking a Stand for SF." It's this kind of "I'm just going to go out and do it" attitude that turned my head and convinced me that she would make a powerful local ambassador. Let me introduce you to my latest girl crush: Nina Parks
Who are you and what is your profession?
I'm a struggling entrepreneur and thriving artist. I'm in between jobs right now. I was blessed to work in my (15 years old self's) dream job as an after school educator and case manager for the past 5 years. My job became difficult for me to do when I came up against a system that has a history of criminalizing brown and black youth and community politics. I realized that I had a lot more to learn about life and myself before I could be effective in that kind of working environment. So, here I am pursuing a passion for learning how to tell stories, in the infant stages of a career in filmmaking. 

Can you tell us a little about your background and upbringing?
I'm a middle class, Filipino-Jewish American kid from a divorced family with a passion for photography, movies, and loud music. Art has always been a natural coping and reflective medium for me and I believe deeply that art is the truest expression of the human spirit.

I grew up in a martial arts studio and in SF's public school system until my parents pulled me out because I was stealing from Walgreens, tagging on buses, and running away from home. In my own defense, my home life wasn't pretty at the time and I fell in love with the freedom of being outside in the world. In hind sight, I was irresponsible with that freedom. 

I was then sent to school in Pacifica and was asked to leave in 10th grade after I refused to take a standardized test. Instead I wrote a short essay on the Scantron which stated that I didn't believe that filling in bubbles and answering questions posed by institutions (that aren't regionally relevant) was the most productive way to gauge the aptitude of students or effectiveness of education. I also advocated for teachers to gain more support and resources. In the months prior to being asked to leave, I organized with a youth organization called 3rd Eye Movement. We organized against investment in the prison industry (in the form of CA Proposition 21) and advocating for investment in educational resources. 

My school and parents felt like they didn't know what else to do with me, so I was sent to a Scientology boarding school in New Mexico. When I finished the program, I came back to the public school system to discover that none of the academic work I did at the boarding school transferred. Going back to high school was no longer an option in my mind and I decided to take the California High School Proficiency Exam to begin an Injustice Studies program at San Francisco City College and later at San Jose State and San Jose City College. 

During my time at SFCC, I lost several friends - one to murder and the other, my best friend from boarding school, to cocaine. All of which just created a deeper desire to study healing practices and criminal justice. At the age of 24, I got my job working at the Excelsior Community Center down the street from my house. After a few years there, I got burnt out by the politics. I began focusing on taking photos and shooting short videos of my friends who are hip hop artists in the Bay. In 2012 I began to seek out mentorship in documentary filmmaking and found Debra Koffler, a producer and one of the camera women for A Tribe Called Quest: Beats Rhymes and Life. She was hiring a manager for her youth documentary film program, Conscious Youth Media Crew. It was the perfect opportunity and I seized it. I began working 30 hours a week for that program and 15 hours organizing youth summits designed to encourage law enforcement and youth communication in hopes that it would bridge a gap. I began to see the value in the community being confident in capturing their own stories. Since then, I have been determined to learn how to create digital media.

What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
My passion for filmmaking began with my father. He used to ask my brother and me questions and record (on video) our answers when we were kids. My pride for the community and the need to process through experiences of youth is what really brought me to filmmaking.  

Who or what do you most admire?
I admire those who are open minded and willing to speak up for what they believe in, as well as those who are willing to work in order to create the world they hope to live in. I also admire compassion and the gumption to work through tough periods in order to get something done.

What do you love about SF?
Aside from our vista points and beautiful water front views, I love the people of SF. They are proud, dedicated, creative, open minded, green, and socially conscious. We have so much flavor, class, culture, and a deep sense of freedom of self here in SF. I love the hustle that the city creates. It's, of course, slower than places like NYC or LA, but it's also because we take the time to enjoy our atmosphere.  

 What do you fear most for SF?
I fear we will lose the culture that people fought so hard to build here in SF. The heart of the city seems to be under attack, a target of assassination by new money. SF feels extremely divided right now. 

What do you hope for SF in the next 20 years?
                                                                                    
In 20 years, I'd like SF to find an equilibrium. There has to be a way to build communities that invest in its people vs investment in acquiring material status. I don't know how that would be achieved, but one can hope, right?                                                                                                                                                                                 
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One Day in San Francisco

If you missed last week's Meetup, here's a snippet...

Posted by Winnie Wong on April 17, 2014 at 5:33pm

Sending a very special thank you to Adrianne Chu who captured this footage last Thursday and Hailey Yang who edited this in a flash (took 3 hrs of footage and cut it down to 1:43)! Nice work ladies!

Adrianne and Hailey are local freelancers and available for hire on projects where you might need a solid shooter and/or editor. Feel free to contact them. They are members of One Day in SF and their profiles can be found under the Community tab.

One Day In SF from Hailey Yang on Vimeo.

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One Day in San Francisco

Profile Spotlight: Rebekah Fergusson

Posted by Winnie Wong on April 16, 2014 at 11:59am

I remember meeting Rebekah in person one rainy afternoon maybe 2 years ago. Prior to our Divisadero coffee date, I had attended a Backyard Films screening in Bernal Heights on a rare balmy summer night and was in awe of the shorts that were curated to be screened that night. I remember leaving the screening thinking, Wow, there IS a film community here and it impressed me how un-LA the crowd seemed (sorry LA).

At the time, I was newly freelancing, fresh out of grad school, and trying to navigate through the city's film and video scene. For anyone who lives here, you know that a lot of startups, tech ideas and companies, and industrial projects help to pay the bills but you're always working on at least 5 other "passion projects" that don't pay a dime. Oh, Bay Area.

Rebekah is a co-founder of a local Facebook group and forum called Bay Area Filmmakers Happy Hour. She shares the title with fellow Ambassador Vanessa Carr and a talented cinematographer Carlo Silvio. The three can attribute their group's success to the fact that while the film community in the Bay can feel divided, there are a lot of individuals who want to connect, share ideas, resources, and even paid gigs. Imagine that. I know I have profoundly benefitted from having joined this group and I've met some really incredible people at their screenings.

Rebekah also directed Pelada, a documentary about the global game of pick up soccer which did very well at several film festivals including South by Southwest. She also went behind the camera for The Case Against 8, which recently announced winning the Directing Award for US Documentary at Sundance this year.

We are very happy to have Rebekah on board to film for One Day in SF on April 26th. Feel free to stop by and say hello to her here or in person at the next Backyard Films happening this Sunday, April 20th. For more info and to RSVP- go here. 

A Sunday in San Francisco from Rebekah Fergusson on Vimeo.

Who are you and what is your profession?
My name is Rebekah Fergusson, and my title always seems to be changing.  I'm a documentary filmmaker, but I'm also a freelance producer, a DP, and sometimes an editor.  I think the essence of what I do for a living has to do with story, ideas, and the logistics of making those a reality on film.

Can you tell us a little about your background and upbringing?
I lived in North Carolina until I was 23, when I moved out to CA to make my first documentary.  A lot of my time growing up was spent on a soccer field.  I played soccer from five years old through college and after.  

What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
A soccer teammate of mine at Duke was taking documentary film classes and turned her camera onto our team.  I suddenly realized that the stories that I noticed behind the scenes could be teased out and captured through documentary.  The first stories I did had something to do with sports.  Sports were a lens, a language through which I could capture stories and characters I thought were compelling.

Who or what do you most admire?
Anyone making a living as an artist.  

What do you love about SF?
That you can dress the way you want, do what you want, be what you want, and nobody cares, or if they do, they are usually genuinely interested.

What do you fear most for SF?
That the open, exploring, curious, creative vibe of the city will get lost in the din of business and competition...and that there will be more people in suits.

What do you hope for SF in the next 20 years?
That we find our own path to being a city that is both a business and creative center. That we start taking care of the people on the bottom as much as those at the top. And, I hope that filmmakers and artists will still crave to come to SF to find themselves and their inspiration.

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One Day in San Francisco

Vanessa Carr: Profile Spotlights

Posted by Winnie Wong on April 7, 2014 at 12:31pm

As one of the first Ambassadors we brought on for One Day in SF, Vanessa will be working on capturing stories about housing, displacement, and the gentrification and change of neighborhoods and communities on April 26th. Please welcome and get to know a little about Vanessa Carr. 

The City of No Illusions from Vanessa Carr on Vimeo.

Who are you and what is your profession?
I'm a documentary cinematographer and have lived in San Francisco for almost a decade.

Can you tell us a little about your background and upbringing?
I grew up in a suburb of Boston where people are obsessed with revolutionary war re-enactments. My mom was a feminist and an activist and she's informed a lot of my worldview today. 

What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
I've been in love with documentary films since I was about 12 but never imagined filmmaking could be a viable career path. (I'm still not sure it is.) Instead, I worked in law firms and non profits, took journalism classes at City College, and eventually enrolled at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, intending to pursue magazine writing. While I was there, I fell in love with being behind the camera and have been working as a full-time shooter since.

Who or what do you most admire?
I admire people who stay committed to creativity and social impact in the face of many challenges.

What do you love about SF?
I love the incredibly strong sense of community I have found here, including a pretty robust documentary community. I also love that I can bike some of the most beautiful coastline in America 12 months out of the year.

What do you fear most for SF?
I fear that San Francisco will be a place where only rich people can afford to live. I have trouble seeing my own future here.

What do you hope for SF in the next 20 years?
I hope that San Francisco will find a way for people of many backgrounds and income levels to be able to afford and build a good life, and that it will stay weird.

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