Mixed Asian Media Presents First Annual Mixed Asian Media Fest!

Mixed Asian Media (MAM), formerly known as Hapa Mag, have announced their inaugural festival to celebrate mixed Asian and Pacific Islanders and their creative art forms — including film, theatre, art, dance, and many more! Partnering with Leviathan Lab and CRUX XR, the virtual celebration will take place on the platform Bizzabo.

Mixed Asian Media is a collective created by multiracial, mixed Asian/Pacific Islanders and seek to build a community through conversations of what it means to be of mixed descent and find the intersectionality of it in our ever-evolving society.

“Representation is so important. I grew up never seeing anyone that looked like me on the stage and screen. Meanwhile, as a child actor, I was constantly told by the gatekeepers of Hollywood and theatre that I didn’t fit in and wasn’t enough of one heritage or the other to be a viable product. Gross, I know. This is why Mixed Asian Media Fest is so important,” states Alex Chester, Editor-in-Chief of Mixed Asian Media and Director of MAMF, in a press statement. “Our festival will feature a variety of mixed APIs within their respective art forms. We are the first to create something like this, and I hope the festival brings our ever-growing community together.”

For the festival, at least one person of mixed Asian or Pacific Islander descent must be part of the creative team, producorial team, and/or cast. Films, theatrical performances, and new media pieces are eligible if created, published, and/or distributed from 2017-2021 (the life span of Hapa Mag).

The festival will kick off on September 15, 2021 and conclude on September 19th, 2021.

MAMF will start September 15, with panels/Q&A’s featuring: “Crowdfunding” presented by Seed & Spark, “MAM Labs Talkback” co-presented by Blended Future Project, a screening of The Next Unicorn episodes 1 & 2, followed by a Q&A with director/writer/actor Elizabeth Chang, “Behind the Camera: Storytelling in Film & Television Panel” with Leah Nanako Winkler (New Amsterdam S2, Love Life S2, Kentucky, Two Mile Hollow, God Said This,) Zosimo Maximo (Groove Me Media,) Hernando Cortes Watson (Hollywood, A Reunion,) and Maris Lidaka (Blended Future Project,) “In Front of the Camera: Starring in Film & Television Panel” with Jolene Purdy (Wanda Vision, White Lotus, OITNB) Troy Iwata (Dash & Lilly, What Lies Below, New Amsterdam, Summoning Slyvia) and Laurine Price (Phoenix, The Young and the Restless, Switched,) and a Q&A with writer Christina Strain (Finding O’hana, The Magicians, Shadow and Bone).

Headlining evening programming will be cast members and creative of Disney + Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. Episode 1 will be screened, following will be a Q&A with Peyton Elizabeth Lee as “Lahela ‘Doogie’ Kamealoha” (Andi Mack, Secret Society of Second Born Royals, Shameless,) Jason Scott Lee as “Benny Kamealoha,” (Mulan, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Lilo & Stitch), Jeffery Bowyer-Chapman “Charles Zeller” (Unreal, Spiral, RuPaul’s Drag Race),  Mapuana Makia “Noelani Nakayama” (Finding O’hana, Aloha), Matthew Sato “Kai Kamealoha” (Hawaii 5-0, Side Hustle),  Wes Tian “Brian Patrick Kamealoha,” Emma Meisel “Steph Denisco” (American Horror Story: 1984), and Creator/Executive Producer Kourtney Kang (Pretty Smart, Fresh Off The Boat, How I Met Your Mother) . The Q&A will be conducted by MAM staff and co-founders Alex Chester and Sam Tanabe.

The evening will end with a virtual party featuring standup, trivia, and networking — featuring comedians Dylan Adler and Jess Tom. 

September 16 schedule includes: “Somatic Practices” with Chia-Ti, “How Our Mixed Identities Inform Our Artistry” co-presented by Mixt Collective, “Multi-Hyphenates in Virtual Reality” with Randall Okita, and Mixed Asian Media’s Michaela Ternasky-Holland, “Creative and Community Work in the Virtual World” presented by The Mixed Space, “Large Scale Art & Immersive Installations” with Randy Wong-Westbrooke & Beth Chin presented by Re-Mixed “Grant Writing and Fundraising for Documentary” co-presented by Video Consortium, and “Unpacking your Inheritance” presented by Inheritance Project. 

The evening featured programming will be a screening of the documentary Hafu, co-presented by A-Doc, followed by a Q&A session with Hafu‘s co-directors and co-producers Megumi Nishikura and Lara Perez Takagi.

September 17 schedule: “A Conversation on Mixed Fluency: Intersections of Mixed Identifying Artists” presented by Mixt Collective, “Fundraising & Open Financing Open Consultation” presented by CRUX, “Breathwork” with Mallory Combemale, “Onstage: Starring in Theatrical Productions” with Ali Ewoldt (Broadway: Phantom of the Opera, King and I,) Troy Iwata (Broadway: Be More Chill, Netflix’s Dash and Lilly,) Olivia Oguma (Broadway: Mamma Mia!, Les Miserables, A Christmas Carol,) Megan Masako Haley (National Tours: Wicked, Mean Girls) and moderated by Erin Quill (Broadway: Avenue Q,)“Intersectionality in theatre with Alliance for Jewish Theatre” with Alison Lea Bender (V/O Pinkfong/Baby Shark, Off-Broadway: Academia Nuts) Stephanie Mieko Cohen (Broadway: Les Miserables,) Alex Chester ( Broadway: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, EIC Mixed Asian Media,) Jeremy Aluma (Alliance of Jewish Theatre,) “Backstage: Storytelling Behind the Curtain” with Andy Lowe (East West Players,) Jonathan Castanien (The Song Collective,) Randy Wong-Westbrooke, and David Murakami “Indiginous Narratives to the Front” with TX Tario (A Crime to Remember,) Barrie Kealoah (A Crime to Remember,) “A Conversation on Mixed Fluency: Intersections of Mixed Identifying Artists – co-presented by Mixt Collective,” A Q&A with Joseph Ahmed (Half Magic).

The evening featured programming will have a Q&A with Scott Sickles (5-time consecutive Writers Guild of America Awardee, 9 time Emmy Award Nominee, General Hospital, One Life to Live,) followed by a free open to the public reading of his play The Known Universe. All donations will benefit Leviathan Lab, followed by a networking event co-presented by Strong Asian Lead.

September 18 schedule: “Bridge the Love – Meditation” with Denise Michelle, “Online Branding for the Creative” a workshop presented by The Light Leaks, “Welcome to Chinatown” a panel presented by Welcome to Chinatown, a Q&A with activist/artist Kim Saira, “Disability Justice” a Q&A with Jennifer Kumiyama, a Q&A with activist Annie Wu, a screening of “The Sensei” followed by a Q&A with Director/Writer/Actor Diana Lee Inosanto (The Mandalorian, Alita: Battle Angel,) and “A Performance” co-presented by Blasian Project with casting director and v/o actor Ashley Nguyen DeWitt (Harvey Girls Forever, Trolls: The Beat Goes On, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle).

Evening featured programming will be a screening of the award-winning feature film Relic, directed and written by Natalie Erika James, followed by a Q&A. The evening will wrap up with a networking event co-presented by Re-Mixed.

September 19 schedule: Start the final day of the festival with “Balance Calm and Positivity” followed by a Q&A with Rebecca Lee Lerman (Mixed Asian Media writer, Her Hotel,) “12 Steps to Starting a Project” a workshop presented by The Mixed Space, Q&A with Gotham FC soccer player Caprice Dydasco, “Let’s Make Guidelines for Leaders of Online Spaces” a workshop presented by The Mixed Space, a Q&A with restauranteur Bianca Stam, “MAM in Video Games” a Q&A with Lauren Stone, Clancy Narrative Specialist, Q&A with Animation Casting and voice director, Ashley Nguyen DeWitt, “The Moth Content Play” presented by The Moth, followed by “The Moth Hour” with The Moth team, a screening of The Monkey Prince and the Flower Maiden followed by “We Are Not All Ninjas” with Samantha Win (Army of the Dead, Wonder Woman, Justice League,) and Yoshi Sudarso (Power Rangers, The Paper Tigers, Bullet Train).

Featured evening programming includes the award-winning film Inbetween Girl, followed by AzNPoP (a satirical pop band and all-Asian sketch comedy team), and the all-girl mixed Asian band Crimson Apple. Concluding Mixed Asian Media Fest will be the award ceremony and a dance party co-presented by No Proscenium.

Tickets are globally available now and cannot guarantee the geo-blocking of accepted submissions. For more information on MAMF, check them out here.