CAAMFest 2024: Animontage Shorts Program

Frame by frame, layer by layer, these works bring the attractions of animation – movement, texture, materiality – to bear on core questions of Asian American experience: Familiar representations of martial arts stars disintegrate with its celluloid film substrate, miniatures recreate the smallness of a childhood adrift, and graphite smudges emulate the feeling of estrangement.

Expected Guests in Attendance: Director Spencer Tsang (Bridge to Everywhere), Director Angeline Marie Michael Meitzler (The Roaring of the Carabao), Director Xindi Zhang (“I’m Good.”), Producer Xiaowen Wu (“I’m Good.”), Sound Designer Sarah Ma (“I’m Good.”), Director Em Yue (hao hao wan wan), Director TT Takemoto (Lion in the Wind), Director Vi Tuong Bui (Thời Thơ Ấu (Childhood))

LIKE A STONE OR FLOWER
DIRECTED BY KAIYA MING JORDAN
Three Bay Area artists across generations reflect on their craft and the ability of art to transcend logic.

THE ROARING OF THE CARABAO
DIRECTED BY ANGELINE MARIE MICHAEL MEITZLER
On the night of a Fil-Am’s arrival to the Philippines, a volcano erupts, sparking a lyrical, haunting journey through the past, present, and future.

BRIDGE TO EVERYWHERE
DIRECTED BY SPENCER TSANG
An omniscient pigeon chronicles the transformations to the built environment in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

“I’M GOOD.”
DIRECTED BY XINDI ZHANG
During a phone call between mother and daughter, a chance to open up turns into a moment of further alienation.

I WOULD’VE BEEN HAPPY
DIRECTED BY JORDAN WONG
Architectural schematic abstractions rendered in ceramic and cyanotype excavate the memories of a broken family from the folds of domestic space.

HAO HAO WAN WAN
DIRECTED BY EM YUE
Miniatures reanimate a childhood of aimless roaming while parents labored in Chinese restaurants.

LION IN THE WIND
DIRECTED BY TT TAKEMOTO
Asian American icons fracture across degraded celluloid film.

SO THAT TONIGHT WE MIGHT SEE
DIRECTED BY BEA HESSELBART
A transracial adoptee questions the ethics of storytelling through family archives and interviews.

THỜI THƠ ẤU (CHILDHOOD)
DIRECTED BY VI TUONG BUI
A Vietnamese American daughter captures her parents on 16mm as they dream of their childhood and homeland.