Category Archives: Amazing Women

Women I have met who are an inspiration

LUNAFEST 2015-2016: supporting diverse voices and visions

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One of the common themes you will read in interview after interview is the call to keep fighting for your vision. This is a message to women directors, producers, writers – anyone who wants to work in the business. Your voice counts. Your vision matters.
― Melissa Silverstein, American writer and founder and director of Women and Hollywood, from In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing

When October sneaks up on us, we realize that the light has been changing ever so subtly and the leaves on the trees have been turning colors seemingly right before our eyes. The month also signals the start of the LUNAFEST film festival with the worldwide premiere in San Francisco. The lovely Herbst Theater hosted this year’s event. It’s been years since I’ve set foot in the theater, which features panels of murals painted by Frank Brangwyn for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It’s a beautiful and cozy venue for such a special event.

The beautiful Herbst Theater.

The beautiful Herbst Theater.

Kit Crawford, co-owner and co-chief visionary officer of Clif Bar & Company and strategic advisor to LUNAFEST, welcomed the full house to the 15th year of the film festival, “by, for, and about women.” Four of the six filmmakers made the premiere, coming from Paris and London and Los Angeles and our own backyard of Oakland.

Looking up at the balcony and murals.

Looking up at the balcony and murals.

Along the side walls of the Herbst Theater.

Along the side walls of the Herbst Theater.

And the ceiling.

And the ceiling.

Two years ago, at my first LUNAFEST premiere, Dr. Stacy L. Smith, PhD, director of the Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, was invited to discuss the state of women filmmakers in the industry. This year, Dr. Smith was invited back to talk about Gender & Short Films: Emerging Female Filmmakers and the Barriers Surrounding their Careers. With a grant from LUNAFEST, Dr. Smith and her team gathered data from the 10 top film festivals worldwide – Cannes, Sundance, Venice, Berlin, Telluride, TIFF, SXSW, IDFA, IFFR, and NYFF – from 2010 to 2015, and also gathered data from LUNAFEST filmmakers from 2002 to 2014.

Dr. Stacy Smith telling it like it is.

Dr. Stacy Smith telling it like it is.

Women filmmakers: an empirically sobering reality
From the top film festivals worldwide, Dr. Smith and her team focused on short films that were relevant to mainstream directing careers in television and film. Of the 3,933 short films, females filled almost a third of the directing pipeline in short films (32 percent women versus 68 percent men), which is a gender ratio of 2.13 male directors to every 1 female director. Dr. Smith also wanted to determine if storytelling genre was related to gender, which she categorized under narrative, documentary, animated or other. She and her team discovered that females are more likely to direct documentaries (37 percent versus 63 percent of men), but female directors are least likely to direct narrative shorts (28 percent versus 72 percent). Given the activism and interest in women filmmakers over the past several years, Smith and her team wanted to find out if an increase in female directors had occurred. “I’m just going to give you the data plain and simple – there has been no change over the last five years,” Smith revealed.

The data she and her team gathered, which included data from the Directors Guild of America, empirically showed a 10-percent drop in women directing short films to directing independent dramatic features, a 12-percent drop in women directing short films to directing episodic television, and a 24-percent drop in women directing short films to directing studio-level or top-grossing films. “I refer to this deep descent [the career pipeline of female directors from shorts to studio films] as the fiscal cliff,” Smith said matter-of-factly.

An illuminating study.

An illuminating study.

LUNAFEST directors rock
The other major part of the study, however, was determining how LUNAFEST directors fared in this gender terrain and what the career trajectories looked like for the LUNAFEST alumnae – to date, 115 directors. “The results reveal that the pedigree of LUNAFEST directors is actually very impressive,” Dr. Smith was happy to report. Seventy-two percent have attended film school or a film program, 36 percent have had their films shown at one of the top film festivals worldwide, 72 percent have won awards or accolades for their work, 24 percent have made a narrative or documentary feature, and 25 percent have directed, produced, or written for television.

Where do LUNAFEST directors land in terms of career paths: 25 percent go on to work onscreen or behind the camera in film and television, 27 percent are entrepreneurs, starting their own businesses and freelance enterprises, 20 percent are employees working for a variety of organizations, 11 percent are on faculty at post-secondary institutions, and 16 percent were not apparent from online sources. “Together, 75 percent of the alums are moving into industries and spaces outside of mainstream Hollywood storytelling. Clearly, this is a problem,” Smith noted. “Why? Because women directors, like the ones participating in LUNAFEST from 2002 to all the way to tonight, may actually be the solution to the lack of diversity onscreen that we see in Hollywood film.”

Furthermore, Dr. Smith and her team looked at the demographic profile of characters in the 115 LUNAFEST films and compared them to 2014’s 100 top-grossing films at U.S. box offices. They catalogued every speaking character (at least one word to be included in the analysis – which is, Smith pointed out, “a very low bar”). They measured each character according to demographics characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity), domesticity traits (parental status, relational standing), LGBT status, and hypersexualization (sexually revealing clothing, nudity). They compared the top 100 grossing films of 2014 to the 115 LUNAFEST films from 2002 to 2014. Dr. Smith and her team discovered two major findings. In the category of onscreen gender prevalence, 28 percent (4,610) of speaking characters are females in the top-grossing films, only 21 percent of the leads or co-leads are girls and women, and 21 percent are narrators. “This is surprising because the last time I checked women were 50 percent of the population and 50 percent bought tickets at U.S. box offices,” Smith remarked.

Diverse voices for a diverse population
As expected, LUNAFEST films fared better: 63 percent of onscreen-speaking characters are girls and women, 81 percent of the leads or co-leads are girls and women, and 79 percent are female narrators. “LUNAFEST short films feature women onscreen in abundance,” she concluded. But the kicker, according to Smith, is the data revelation outside of gender: 27 percent of the top 100 grossing films were from underrepresented ethnic or racial groups and only 17 percent of leads or co-leaders were from an ethnic or racial group. In LUNAFEST films, however, 38 percent of speaking characters were from underrepresented ethnic or racial groups and 37 percent of leads or co-leads are of minority status. These findings are important, Smith emphasized, because 37 percent of the U.S. population can be classified as coming from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group and these individuals bought 45 percent of the tickets at the U.S. box office. Additionally, approximately half of the zero to five age population in this country are not white. “When females are behind the camera, they not only increase the depiction of girls and women onscreen, but they take other groups that are marginalized and make them move from invisible to visible,” Smith noted.

We learned a few things from the study. “We now know where the career pipeline starts for female directors and we know what it means to their career trajectories,” Smith said. “We also know how female directors’ content is unique from what we see in mainstream storytelling. Together, we understand more where problems start for female directors and why it’s so important to support them, especially financially and early in their careers. In doing so, as the data illuminates, diverse voices working behind the camera can change the landscape of what we see on the screen.”

Jeanne walking off stage after her talk, as Kit Crawford asks for and is easily obliged with a round of applause for Jeanne.

Jeanne walking off stage after her talk, as Kit Crawford asks for and is easily obliged with a round of applause for Jeanne.

Turning on the ‘advocacy gene’
Dr. Smith is a tough act to follow on stage, but when Jeanne Rizzo, RN, president and CEO of the Breast Cancer Fund, takes the stage, you know you’re in good hands. I had the honor and privilege of interviewing Jeanne last year for my blog (in two parts, no less, because she’s such a wonderful and inspiring role model), as she was a special guest at LUNAFEST East Bay 2015.  So I knew we the audience were going to be treated to a rousing narrative. “Tonight is a perfect example of women expressing their own form of advocacy and being nurtured and supported in telling their stories, our stories,” she began.

Jeanne talked about her Aunt Minnie as a nurturing and supportive role model for her when she was growing up and the advocacy gene that was inherent in the both of them. When Jeanne was a child, she wanted to play Little League with the boys, whom she played with in the neighborhood. When she was told she couldn’t, Aunt Minnie told her to start her own team and give a piece of her mind to those who said no to her. “Give ’em hell,” Aunt Minnie advocated. So Jeanne cheered the momentous event when the first girl was admitted to Little League and with the passage of Title IX, which states in part that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Jeanne and Pali Cooper’s advocacy genes were turned on when they had to fight for the right to be married in California. Fittingly, it was Aunt Minnie who was the first in Jeanne’s large Italian Catholic clan to welcome her partner, Pali, into the family. After Jeanne helped to make a documentary film about a women’s climbing expedition in Denali, AK, and helped to establish subsequent climbing expeditions on Mt. Shasta, she continues to honor her Aunt Minnie. Every year, she asks one of the women climbers to carry her Aunt Minnie’s wedding ring. “I want her to know that it [the ring] goes as high as it can, carried by a strong woman, one step at a time, to remind us all that we have power and strength and we have both the privilege and the obligation to help carry each other,” Jeanne said.

“We stepped up, channeling the rights in Women’s Voting rights, the women who pushed corporate ceilings to try and get into the film industry,” she went on. “LUNAFEST embraces the advocacy work of the Breast Cancer Fund and our work on behalf of women and women’s health and environmental health through LUNAFEST and its proceeds.” She paused and took in the room full of people who gave her their rapt attention. “Aunt Minnie could never have imagined a film festival by, for, and about women. Consider what else we all can imagine together, and let’s do it,” she entreated.

And now for 6 inspiring stories
I won’t say too much about the fantastic lineup of movies this year because we want everyone to come to our March 19th screening. But I will give a brief intro to each film:

Anna by her poster.

Anna by her poster.

Finding June by Anna Schumacher of Los Angeles. “Through the eyes of a deaf woman just diagnosed with breast cancer, communication’s role in understanding one another is explored.” Anna is the daughter of our fellow committee member, Laurie Schumacher, and we are just as excited and proud as Laurie is!

Balsa Wood poster

Balsa Wood by Dominique Lecchi of London. “A lighthearted slice of life about two mixed-race siblings visiting their extended Filipino family for lunch.”

Boxeodora poster

Boxeadora by Meg Smaker of Oakland. “One woman defies Fidel Castro’s ban on female boxing to follow her dreams of Olympic glory and become Cuba’s first female boxer.”

Raising Ryland poster

Raising Ryland by Sarah Feeley of Los Angeles. “An intimate look at parenting with no strings attached – a journey inside the transgender experience as lived by a six-year-old boy and his two loving parents.”

First World Problems poster

First World Problems by Hanna Maylett of Helsinki. “A tired housewife loses her car in a shopping mall – sometimes problems can open a door to a whole new world.”

Beach Flags poster

Beach Flags by Sarah Saidan of Paris. “A young Iranian lifeguard, determined to participate in an international competition in Australia, experiences an unexpected obstacle when a new team member arrives.”

City Hall at twilight.

City Hall at twilight.

Interest piqued? Save it and save the date! It’s going to be an even better LUNAFEST film festival this year.

City Hall at night, across from the Herbst Theater.

City Hall at night, across from the Herbst Theater.

 

3rd Filipino American International Book Festival: an Open Tomorrow

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One only dies once, and if one does not die well, a good opportunity is lost and will not present itself again.
– Jose Rizal, national hero of the Philippines

The 3rd Filipino American International Book Festival was held in San Francisco, but it was my first time attending. Friday evening, invited Filipino/Filipino American and members of the Philippine American Writers and Artists (PAWA), Filipino American Center, San Francisco Public Library, and Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco enjoyed an opening reception, which included wine and lumpia, in the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library. PAWA President Edwin Lozada gave the welcome, followed by a welcome to San Francisco by Henry S. Bensurto, Jr., Philippine Consul General, and presentations by Filipino American poets, film trailer, and musicians.

Edwin Lozada welcomes everybody to the Third Filipino American International Book Festival.

Edwin Lozada welcomes everybody to the Third Filipino American International Book Festival.

The two days of sessions were packed. I enjoyed listening to Dawn Mabalon (she introduced me at my book launch at Eastwind Books of Berkeley), Robyn Magalit Rodriguez (who blurbed my book), Lily Ann Villaraza (PhD candidate and City College of San Francisco instructor), Oscar Penaranda (long-time middle and high school teacher in the Bay Area and mentor to many current Filipino American academics in Asian American Studies) discuss Filipino American history. Oscar and Lilly Ann started an interesting conversation about the definition of Filipino American and Filipino, trying to get at identity and who defines us and how we are defined. This is important stuff to figure out for my second novel, actually, before starting my second novel.

Another session on Filipino American Literature was sobering because it brought up an admittedly depressing reality – are Filipino Americans reading us? A couple of Asian American Studies professors pointed out that none or one at best of their freshmen students have read any Filipino-American writer before enrolling in their classes. In fact, for one professor, he has more Hmong students than Filipino-American studies in his Filipino-American courses. Twice he has had to cancel because of low enrollment. He also noted that many tenured professors at his university will be retiring within the next five to 10 years, and if enrollment continues to decline, expect those positions to go away and be replaced with adjunct professors with no clear path to tenure. It was too much to tackle, this complex problem of determining why enrollment is declining at some schools and not at others, but suffice to say the dialogue is out there.

The opening reception Friday evening at the Koret Auditorium.

The opening reception Friday evening at the Koret Auditorium.

I’ll admit that before I took an Asian American Studies class at UC Davis, I hadn’t read any Filipino-American writers. I read Bulosan while there and Bienvenido Santos afterwards. Other panelists bemoaned the fact that Filipino-Americans aren’t reading Filipino-American writers. So what has to be done? It requires the incorporation of Filipino-American history and culture into the K-12 curriculum, which means somebody has to take the initiative to develop a strategy of implementing Assembly Bill 123. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyperson Rob Bonta of Alameda, requires that Filipino-American contributions to the farm labor movement be incorporated into the social sciences curriculum. The Filipino American Educators Association of California (FAEAC) is meeting at the end of the month to address that issue.

Hope, however, also abounds in cities like San Diego, in which the school district is establishing an advisory committee to “develop recommendations on how ethnic studies can be implemented and accessible to all students throughout their K-12 educational experience.” Los Angeles and San Francisco passed their ethnic studies requirements in 2014. For Los Angeles, ethnic studies will be a required course for graduation, while in San Francisco, its 19 high schools must offer ethnic studies courses. So this is a good place to start.

But it also means, as the poet Eileen Tabios pointed out as a panelist on Filipino American Literature, that we have to get creative about getting Filipino Americans to read Filipino-American authors. She suggested that various student organizations in the areas of, for example, engineering or medicine be given a book of fiction or poetry in their conference packet or dinner. Maybe the engineering student wouldn’t read it, but perhaps he or she could pass it on to someone who would. Tabios also entreated that we reach out to children, grandchildren to get them interested in Filipino American poetry and fiction.

Reading as part of the Hot Off the press panel.

Reading as part of the Hot Off the press panel.

Isabella was with me both days. And, as Jacob and Isabella did in Delano, she absorbed a lot of information and appreciated the readings. In the session on the Philippine diaspora and politics, Isabella was too shy to participate in the ice breaker of introducing ourselves and telling everyone who we are, what we do, and why we were in this particular session. I was informed by the earlier discussions that teaching and instilling appreciation for one’s culture begins in the home. Even if we have already been assimilated and don’t know the language of our parents, we need to do more than just, as I do on occasion, remind Jacob and Isabella that they are half-Filipino. So I emphasized that I hoped to be part of the solution by bringing my daughter to the festival.

I truly appreciated being among the many Filipino American writers. But even more so, it was fun meeting and listening to writers from the Philippines, Canada, and Great Britain. A reunion of revolutionary writers from 1971, including Juanita Tamayo Lott, Lozada, Penaranda, Lou Syquia, Tony Robles reading his father Al’s works, Emilya Cachapero, and Bill Sorro’s widow. It was a nice connection for me, with one of my characters, Teddy Enebrad, fitting in nicely with this group.

FilAm Intl Book Festival reading

While I never found the time to go to the bookstore area to sign books, I networked like a madwoman, and the connections I made were invaluable to me as a writer but also as a Filipino American who is still trying to find out where she fits within her community.

In honor of Filipino American History Month, the Asian Art Museum had a display of books. I was delighted to find that my novel was with the classics by Carlos Bulosan and Bienvenidos Santos in the museum shop's storefront window by the entrance.

In honor of Filipino American History Month, the Asian Art Museum had a display of books. I was delighted to find that my novel was with the classics by Carlos Bulosan and Bienvenidos Santos in the museum shop’s storefront window by the entrance. Honored to be among these pioneering Filipino-American writers!

On Sunday, Isabella and I got to the Asian Art Museum in the late morning to listen to the presentation of Filipino-American history and hear Vangie Buell play the guitar and sing a wonderful Filipino song with Tess Bautista. We caught the Pina: an Enduring Philippine Fabric exhibit, which is ending soon. Our friends Jack and Justin came for my reading, a decidedly abbreviated reading as part of nine writers participating in the Sunday edition of Hot Off the Press, writers whose books have come out recently or are coming out soon. Erin Estrada Kelly read from her YA novel Blackbird Fly, about a girl named Apple who has to navigate the already treacherous world of middle school, which is further exacerbated by being Filipino in a white world in southern Louisiana. When the book’s premise was announced on a Saturday panel, Isabella immediately tugged my arm and asked if she could get it. We think alike. I thought it would be a great book for her to read. And she had it signed, too!

My books at the entrance of the Asian Art Museum shop.

My books at the entrance of the Asian Art Museum shop.

Now I have to recover for my reading at Green Apple Books Monday evening. All the readings have been wonderful, and I look forward to many more. I also look forward to connecting with more writers and scholars and figuring out how we can reach and touch our Filipino-American community. As this festival’s theme, Bukas Na Bukas: An Open Tomorrow, suggests, the opportunity and challenge are certainly there. And one of the calls to action for the next book festival in 2017 is to get more people to attend the festival.

Book festival poster.

Book festival poster.

Long road to Delano: A Village in the Fields comes home

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No history, no self; know history, know self. – José Rizal, Filipino patriot and national hero, physician, and man of letters

All these past months – a blur to me now – all came down to this Labor Day Weekend, the 50th Anniversary of the Delano Grape Strike. My novel, A Village in the Fields, came out the Friday before – no small feat. My publisher, Eastwind Books of Berkeley, and I worked hard the last five months to get the novel out in time for this historic event, Bold Step: A Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Delano Grape Strike. It was worth the sleep deprivation.

The Filipino Community Cultural Center of Delano, home of Bold Step: A Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Delano Grape Strike.

The Filipino Community Cultural Center of Delano, home of Bold Step: A Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Delano Grape Strike.

I’ll admit that I was a little apprehensive about the weekend because I’d spent most of those five months focused on editing, production, and then marketing and promotion activities. There was no moment of stepping back and enjoying the moment or thinking about the reception in Delano. As we packed up the van, which our friends Raissa and Mike lent us, with 20 boxes of my novel, I told myself I wouldn’t bring any work with me. I needed to decompress, enjoy the moment, and anticipate what I would say or do up on the stage during the open-mike evening and with anyone who came to our table to inquire about the book. As we drove down Interstate 5 in bumper-to-bumper traffic Friday early evening, I wondered whether I should practice reading the chosen excerpt or choose another passage. I was already stressed that we weren’t leaving when I had hoped to leave.

On Filipino time
If there is one overarching theme, it is that we were on Filipino time even before we left for Terra Bella/Porterville/Delano! I was looking forward to a leisurely dinner to celebrate my cousin Janet and her husband Tim’s anniversary. They ended up getting Mexican takeout and having it ready for us when we pulled up at 10:30pm. After dinner, Janet and I stayed up till past 1 in the morning catching up, even though David and I had to be in Delano before 10am on Saturday.

FANHS Delano Chapter president Alex Edillor welcoming everyone to Bold Step.

FANHS Delano Chapter president Alex Edillor welcoming everyone to Bold Step.

The festivities begin
We were late, but so were the festivities. The welcome and keynote address was held at the Filipino Community Center on Glenwood Street, which was a meeting place for Filipinos made historic during the grape strikes. Alex Edillor, president of the newly formed Delano chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), welcomed the audience who hailed from cities and towns up and down the state. Other dignitaries included Paul Chavez, son of Cesar Chavez and president of the Chavez Foundation, the mayor of Delano, and keynote speaker, Rob Bonta, California State Assemblyman Rob Bonta of Alameda. Bonta is the first Filipino-American elected to the California legislature and author of AB123, which requires California schools to teach Filipino-American contributions to the farm labor movement in social science curriculum, and AB 7, which requires the Governor to proclaim Larry Itliong Day in California on his birthdate of October 25th and encourage public schools to teach about Itliong’s life and contributions to California.

State Assemblyman Rob Bonita giving the keynote address.

State Assemblyman Rob Bonta giving the keynote address.

From the Filipino Community Center, we set up shop at Robert F. Kennedy High School, along with other vendors at the campus food court for the lunch break. The dance troupe Kayamanan Ng Lahi, adorned in beautiful and colorful traditional dress, put on a wonderful performance, which included the tinikling and a dance to the classic Filipino love song, Dahil Sa Iyo.

A fancier tinikling dance than I'm used to seeing.

A fancier tinikling dance than I’m used to seeing.

Tinikling dance gets livelier.

Tinikling dance gets livelier.

During the lunch hour, we cultivated relevant contacts, including an executive committee member of the National Education Association who was a contemporary of the farm labor movement. I talked with Dr. Oliver Rosales, who teaches history at Bakersfield College and the University of California at Santa Barbara. He was part of a terrific panel, which included Dr. Dawn Mabalon of San Francisco State and Dr. Robyn Rodriguez of UC Davis – she read an advance copy of my novel and blurbed me. During that panel, Dr. Rosales emphasized that he wanted to include Filipino-American courses and materials to his teachings because his Filipino-American students were thirsty for more knowledge about their heritage.

Dr. Oliver Rosales.

Dr. Oliver Rosales.

Once the symposium started, everyone moved over to the learning center auditorium, which was across campus. I wanted to watch and listen, so David stayed behind, only to pack up shop in a little while because everyone had gone in. By this time, Janet and Tim and the kids joined us. It was really wonderful for Janet and Tim to be here with me and learn about the part of our Filipino American history that has been obscured for so long. The rest of the panels included a personal film by John Armington – a tribute to his immigrant father Bob Armington, a discussion of what had preceded and paved the way for the grape strikes, and historical legacies and new activism, the latter a necessity because sadly we still see exploitation and discrimination in the labor force.

Dr. Mabalon and Dr. Rodriguez on historical legacies.

Dr. Mabalon and Dr. Rodriguez on historical legacies.

A mom moment
At the evening event, a reception and open-mike, we were treated to young slam poets who impressed me with their mastery of their poems and the passion in their voice and their artistic ability to express their experiences as “other.” I read the first chapter of the novel when it was my turn. In retrospect, David and I agreed that I should have read a section from the strike, and that the first chapter is more in line with any other crowd. I wasn’t nervous, mostly because the event was outdoors and I couldn’t really see anyone’s face. I confess that I didn’t read the Ilocano sentences or phrases for obvious reasons; rather, I read them in English. I was already anxious about incorrectly pronouncing the word “manong” because I’d been pronouncing it a different way. (I want to call out and give thanks to my cousin Annie who explained to me that the accents change when you address someone using the term versus when you are referring to the group as a whole or using the historic reference to them.)

My first public reading from A Village in the Fields, Delano, Calif.

My first public reading from A Village in the Fields, Delano, Calif. Master of ceremonies Herb Delute kindly held the flashlight for me.

The next day, a few people who came up to the table and bought my book told me that they had listened to me at the open-mike event and said they were impressed and that I read very well. My ease is in part from having to do public speaking in my profession, which has been an invaluable experience. Also, through the years of working on this book, late at night, I would often read revised passages in my head or out loud and transform myself into an unabashed thespian. I was a little more restrained Saturday evening, but my heart was in it. The biggest thrill for me, however, was when I walked off the stage and Isabella and then Jacob came up and gave me a hug. Later, I found out that Jacob had posted on Instagram and wrote: “My mom, reading a part of her novel at the Filipino Community Cultural Center of Delano. Her novel came out yesterday. It took her a long time to accomplish her goal, and I’m so happy for her!” That was all the validation I needed at that moment and now.

Selfie with Marissa Aroy.

Selfie with Marissa Aroy.

I was honored to sit with Marissa Aroy during Saturday’s sessions and chat in-between the session breaks selling our respective DVDs and books. I met Professor Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, who is using my novel in her Filipino/a American literature class this fall. I talked at length with Johnny Itliong, son of labor leader Larry Itliong. I connected with two Filipino-American librarians from San Jose Public Library, who were interested in a reading at the library. I gained more knowledge about the strike and unions of the past and of today from veteran labor leader Al Rojas. And I met wonderful people like Dale, a student from my alma mater UC Davis, who was just as thrilled as I was about the Aggie connection and the enthusiasm for my book. I’ll admit to enjoying my celebrity moments when people asked if they could have their picture taken with me.

Book signing!

Book signing with a smile!

We missed the luncheon at the Terra Bella Veterans Memorial Building for the 60th anniversary of the San Esteban Circle – and I missed catching up with my cousins and seeing other relatives. We were late to the dance, though we were able to see my cousin Annie and her mother, my Auntie Berta, who at age 93 was being honored for her work with the San Esteban Circle. She is not only a pioneer with the club, but she is the only one left of my father’s generation. We stopped by another cousin’s house to catch up with four more cousins, and we stayed up past midnight talking about Ilocano translations and the book.

Agbayani sign.

Agbayani sign.

The interior of Agbayani Village.

The interior of Agbayani Village.

After the Sunday events concluded, since we missed the bus tour of historic sites, we drove to Agbayani Village, which wasn’t that far away from RFK High School. Growth had indeed come to Delano because the last time I was here in 2004, Agbayani Village was isolated from the rest of the town. The village is still operational and clean and tidy; it is being rented out to retired farm workers. The kitchen and recreation room building was locked up, but we could peer inside and see the photographic displays still up for the tours. The garden, line of trees and cacti, goats in their pens, and vacant rabbit hutches, however, were gone. What stood was a vast empty field of cracked earth with a layer of powdery topsoil. I was sad to see that part of the village gone. But I was excited to share the village with Janet and Tim, and especially Jacob and Isabella.

Vineyards across the street from Agbayani Village.

Vineyards across the street from Agbayani Village.

As we walked through the village one last time and headed out through the main entryway, we came upon an elderly Filipino man who sat on a chair facing out. It seemed as if he was waiting for us, so we stopped to talk to him. His name was Edmundo. He told us he came to Agbayani Village in 1982. When we mentioned that Janet and I were related to Fred Abad, his face lit up. Fred was a good friend of his, and he said he was so happy to know that somebody else knew his good friend. He laughed and smiled and walked us out to the parking lot. That meeting touched my heart.

Resident Edmundo at Agbayani Village.

Resident Edmundo at Agbayani Village.

Because the Sunday afternoon sessions ran late, we were late getting back to Porterville. Our anniversary dinner out for Janet and Tim ended up at Super Burgers on Olive Avenue. We hurriedly ate and then David, Tim, and I headed back to the Veterans Memorial Building for the San Esteban Schools Alumni Association event, while Janet took the kids home. I sat with Annie and her mom. While we waited for my introduction, Annie and I surfed through her family photos, which she has been slowly digitizing. What a wonderful walk through nostalgia.

One of Annie's photos from the 1960s: roasting a pig in her family's backyard. I recognize many of my relatives here and recognize my dad's red sweater. He's holding onto me. I'm guessing the terror on my sister Joyce's and my face is from watching a pig being roasted. Vegetarian friends, look away!

One of Annie’s photos from the 1960s: roasting a pig in her family’s backyard. I recognize many of my relatives here and recognize my dad’s red sweater. He’s holding onto me. I’m guessing the terror on my sister Joyce’s and my face is from watching a pig being roasted. Vegetarian friends, look away!

Kudos go to my cousin Leila Eleccion Pereira: During the awards and recognition ceremony for the community’s student scholars, Leila presented my book to the top scholar, who was attending UC San Diego and wanted to become a pediatrician. She gave a brief introduction and had me come up to address the audience. I talked about my mom and dad, the backstory to the novel, and how I wanted to learn more about our history and contributions to the farm labor movement and share that not only with our community but the global community. When I told everyone that our young generation needs to learn about and embrace their history, I was heartened to see some of the students nodding their heads – such a satisfying moment for me. We sold many books, and I give Leila all the credit for her introduction, her enthusiasm, her pride.

My cousin Leila and me.

My cousin Leila and me.

Addressing the audience: telling them about the book's origins, dedicating the novel to my parents and our community, and waxing poetic about remembering and honoring our history.

Addressing the audience: telling them about the book’s origins, dedicating the novel to my parents and our community, and waxing poetic about remembering and honoring our history.

I was touched by the request by two moms who wanted to take a picture of me with her sons, who were holding up my book. Two college students, one a recent graduate from UCLA, the other still at Loma Linda University, bought a book. We chatted for a bit, and they understood the need to remember our history, which made me hopeful for the next generation’s convictions. We left as the evening concluded and retired to Porterville, the last of our Delano activities for the weekend. Wanting to capture more cousin time, Janet and I stayed up again.

Author hawking my book at RFK High School.

Author hawking my book at RFK High School.

The best way to cap the long weekend, which seemed to zoom by, was to have a leisurely breakfast with Janet and Tim and our cousin Debi, who played her guitar and entertained us with all of these wonderful stories from our childhood and from her incredibly rich and complex life. As we left, knowing that we left late and will encounter bumper-to-bumper traffic when we hit the Bay area, I made a note that we’d connect again so I could write down her stories. We made plans to get the cousins together to compare photographs, share stories, and talk about a San Esteban Circle archiving project. So much to do. So much history back home. And overall, so much to be grateful for.

Towering cypress trees at Agbayani Village.

Towering cypress trees at Agbayani Village.

Sunset over Agbayani Village.

Sunset over Agbayani Village. Most of these photos courtesy of David Rossi.

The Seedling Scholarship: changing the world for the better

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Unless someone like you
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It’s not.
– Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), from The Lorax

As an adult, I have always understood how fortunate I am with the opportunities that have been presented to me throughout my life. My father, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines, came as a teenager who only knew the words “yes” and “no.” His academic education ended with the second grade because his father needed him to work in the fields. He came to America, he once told me, to “change his luck.” He began his immigrant life as a farm worker and later spent the majority of his career as a cook. While most would say he achieved a modest goal, he and my mother lived fairly comfortable lives (they were also hard-core savers). The biggest goal my father and mother had was to ensure that their three daughters went to college and had solid careers. When we three graduated from high school and then college, and for me graduate school, they were incredibly proud.

Being in the high school environment again – through Jacob, who started his freshman year at El Cerrito High School last fall – I feel the same excitement of possibilities, of the world opening up. But for many students, the prospect of going to college is either a pipe dream or a journey fraught with challenges and barriers. And one of those barriers is financial. That was the main reason I wanted to establish a needs-based scholarship for seniors. But I want it to be more than that. If our family was going to help create opportunities, then the recipient must also “pay it forward.”

Our family – David, Jacob, Isabella, and I – established The Seedling Scholarship this year to encourage young women and men to act on their compassion and become engaged citizens by making positive contributions and to be of service to their communities – whether it be local, state, national, or overseas. The scholarship recognizes and supports a graduating El Cerrito High School senior whose passion in life is to be a social change agent and whose goal is to make the world a better, more inclusive place for their fellow human beings and/or by being compassionate stewards of and advocates for our environment and the animals on our planet.

Originally, the scholarship was named The Lorax Scholarship because I came across a line from Dr. Seuss’s book and it resonated with me. This, I thought, is exactly what the scholarship is all about. We opted out of trying to secure permission and decided upon the name The Seedling Scholarship, which embodies the same ideas and the desire to nurture our communities.

I sought to create a committee of three to be my readers, so I thank Jane, Lisa, and Kimi with all my heart. I was guided by the nurturing career and guidance counselor Bobbi Griggs in the career center. We all read the 10 applications that came in, and when it came time to run the applications through my admittedly evolving rubric, we all came to the same conclusion: the experience of learning about these amazing kids, the adversities they faced, and the successes they achieved was both humbling and profound. I truly believe that when things come too easily you don’t fully appreciate what you have. When you struggle and you stay in the battle and come out on top, victory is all the sweeter. That’s what we all learned about many of the applicants. When it came time to determine a recipient, we discussed the intangibles that go beyond GPAs and well-written essays. We talked about heart and drive. We talked about what it took to get to where these students are. We discussed who could really make their dreams come true – if they were able to get financial aid.

In the end, our readers voted on choosing two recipients. And I’d like you to meet them.

Congratulating ECHS graduating senior Monet Boyd!

Congratulating ECHS graduating senior Monet Boyd!

Monet Boyd: building a better community and empowering its members
“I have always wanted to uplift and build the people in my community, but never had the tools, network, or platform,” wrote Monet in her essay. “I want to show my people what they are capable of, so that we may grow as a collective group.” By attending Cal Poly Pomona with a dual major in urban planning and African-American Studies, Monet hopes to “promote the importance of Black business and group economics” and “educate my community about our ancestors so that we may have knowledge of ourselves.”

Monet went on to write: “I will teach young Black boys and girls their history/identity so they realize that they are capable of greatness and can change their circumstances like our ancestors have done many times before. I will teach young and old people of the struggle, the pain, the triumph, and the victories of our people so that we may love ourselves as well as one another.”

As an urban planner, Monet wrote, “I will create strategic and specific plans to renew, revitalize, and restore my community. I will make the City of Richmond a stable, eco-friendly city, as well as beautiful in all areas. The City of Richmond would reflect the hearts and the history of Richmond. These improvements will allow citizens of Richmond to understand that they deserve the best for their community; thus wanting more for themselves and others.”

In addition to excelling in academics and volunteering within her church, Monet, who will be the first in her family to attend college, works part time for the City of El Cerrito to help support her family. Among the many leadership roles she held, she was president of the Black Student Union for three years. One of her letters of recommendation cited her “resiliency, determination, and motivation…” Her AP Language and Composition teacher wrote, “Our school was recognized this year for our enormous gains in school climate over the past three years, and with all seriousness, Monet deserves significant credit in the matter for the multifaceted ways she has created community on our campus.”

I was on a business trip when the night of the Senior Awards Night, so I wasn’t there to hand the certificate to her, which truly pained me. When I saw the program, her name was under numerous awards – and for good reason. I was able to meet Monet this past week. The first thing that struck me about her was her kindness. Coupled with that was a quiet resolve. Those two traits will serve her well. In order to achieve the lofty goals she has set for herself, one has to have determination and resolve. But more importantly, one has to be passionate and compassionate. And those are the very things the Seedling Scholarship was created to reward. Congratulations, Monet!

Congratulations, ECHS graduating senior Akeilah Ward-Hale!

Congratulations, ECHS graduating senior Akeilah Ward-Hale!

Akeilah Ward-Hale: turning hardships into strengths
Akeilah and her mother have faced many hardships and challenges, but despite the challenges, she wrote in her essay, “I have learned some valuable lessons that I will carry throughout my life. I have learned to never take things for granted, to appreciate every resource I am given, to try to stay positive even in the worst situations, to work hard, and to be grateful for my mother, someone who has never given up and supported me through everything.”

She continued, “Being this low at a point in my life had inspired me to want to help people that are hurt, in pain or just stressed out…Having that certain experience in my life has pushed me to do well in school and not become another statistic that doesn’t take education seriously.” Akeilah, who will be attending Cal State East Bay in the fall, wants to become a doctor so she can provide healthcare in her community of Richmond, which she points out lacks doctors and medical insurance coverage.

Akeilah’s counselor touted the way she “consistently challenged herself throughout high school by taking Honors and AP courses.” Akeilah had juggled the demanding coursework, a part-time job, tutoring in an afterschool program, and volunteering at her church. Her counselor wrote, “Never once had she indicated that they (her mother and she) were experiencing hardship nor complained about her situation. Clearly, to persist with her education despite these circumstances displays a tremendous amount of grit. Akeilah has admitted to wanting to give up on occasion throughout her high school career, but she stayed focused on her education. To say I am proud of her is an understatement. Akeilah is one of the most inspiring students I’ve worked with in my career….”

What really resonated with me was Akeilah’s statement: “The hardships you go through is just making you stronger to succeed I life.” When I met her on campus on Friday, she exuded that sense of strength through adversity and also wisdom gained from having conquered her adversities. I felt that hard-earned confidence in her presence, and I came away with the knowledge that she will succeed in her goals because she has faced many challenges in her young life and understands what it takes to come out on top. And she believes in herself, as do we. Congratulations, Akeilah!

The Seedling Scholarship is very proud to offer scholarships to these deserving two young women in its inaugural year!

LUNAFEST East Bay 2015: a pictorial

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What woman doesn’t love to go to the movies with her girlfriends? Film is such a great way to bring women together, so it made sense for LUNA to create this opportunity to connect women filmmakers and their audiences with causes they care about.
– Kit Crawford, co-owner and co-chief visionary officer of Clif Bar & Company

It’s been a week since our LUNAFEST film festival and before I bid adieu to our LUNAFEST season, I wanted to share my LUNAFEST pictorial – a narrative in the form of photos and captions. As they say, a picture is worth a thousands words. And I have a lot of pictures from that memorable evening.

Our VIP event, hosted by our chair Joann Steck-Bayat, prior to the film festival featured our guest filmmakers Emily Fraser and Katherine Gorringe, posing with their Lady Parts LUNAFEST poster.

Our VIP event, hosted by our chair Joann Steck-Bayat at her lovely home prior to the film festival, featured our guest filmmakers Emily Fraser and Katherine Gorringe, posing with their Lady Parts LUNAFEST poster.

Our piano player for the evening - tickling the ivories.

VIP guest Jeanne Rizzo, RN, president and CEO of the Breast Cancer Fund, and Joann, chatting with guests.

Our VIP event piano player, tickling the ivories.

Our VIP event piano player, tickling the ivories.

A beautiful spread of cheeses and fruits.

A beautiful spread of cheeses and fruits.

VIP event private chef Sirona Skinner Nixon making those heavenly deviled eggs for the guests.

Private chef Sirona Skinner Nixon making those heavenly deviled eggs for the guests.

Sirona's wife and partner of S&S Foods, Sinead O'Rourke, making the crostini.

Sirona’s wife and partner of S&S Foods, Sinead O’Rourke, making the crostini.

Joann trains our superb raffle ticket sellers, from let to right, her cousin Annika, Isabella, Mateo, and Wyatt.

Joann trains our superb raffle ticket sellers, from let to right, her cousin Annika, Isabella, Mateo, and Wyatt, in front of the prize board.

El Cerrito High School's IT Academy students volunteered to serve food at our VIP event. Service with a smile.

El Cerrito High School’s IT Academy students volunteered to serve food at our VIP event: service with a smile and lamb sliders.

Jeanne meets Emily and Katherine.

Jeanne, Emily, and Katherine in a lively conversation.

It may have been March 21st, but we were able to throw open the French doors and spill into the backyard and grab a drink from our friendly bartenders.

It may have been March 21st, but we were able to throw open the French doors and spill into the backyard and grab a drink served by our friendly bartenders.

Which bag shall I put my raffle ticket in? The GoPro camera or the Kindle? We had so many wonderful donated gifts to raffle.

Which bag shall I put my raffle ticket in? The GoPro camera or the Kindle? We had so many wonderful donated gifts to raffle. Committee member Rebecca Boe made our sharp raffle boards.

New this year - Taiko drummers perform as attendees arrived in front of the high school. They were mesmerizing!

New this year – Taiko drummers perform as attendees arrived in front of the high school. They were mesmerizing!

A tribute to Mae De La Calzada, owner of Lady Parts Automotive - a beautiful bouquet and photo of Emily and Katharine and Mae De La Calzada.

A tribute to Mae De La Calzada, owner of Lady Parts Automotive – a beautiful bouquet and photo of Emily, Katharine and Mae.

Committee member Rebecca Boe made this wonderful poster announcing our guests Jeanne Rizzo, Katherine Gorringe, and Emily Fraser in the lobby of ECHS's Performing Arts Theater.

Committee member Rebecca also made this wonderful poster announcing our guests Jeanne, Katherine, and Emily in the lobby of ECHS’s Performing Arts Theater.

As expected, Jeanne Rizzo delivered a rousing, inspired, and educational welcome. Joann rocked as master of ceremonies and Melody Shah, representing the ITA, let us know how much the ITA appreciated being a beneficiary of our LUNAFEST fundraising.

As expected, Jeanne delivered a rousing, inspired, and educational welcome. Joann rocked as master of ceremonies and Melody Shah, representing the ITA, let us know how much the ITA appreciated being a beneficiary of our LUNAFEST fundraising.

I was honored to interview Emily and Katherine on stage and listen to them talk about the making of Lady Parts and the connection they formed with Mae.

I was honored to interview Emily and Katherine on stage and listen to them talk about the making of Lady Parts and the connection they formed with Mae.

We had nearly 300 attendees at this year's LUNAFEST! They enjoyed complimentary coffee by Well Grounded Coffee & Tea Bar during our post-screening Dessert Circle.

We had nearly 300 attendees at this year’s LUNAFEST! They enjoyed complimentary coffee by Well Grounded Coffee & Tea Bar during our post-screening Dessert Circle.

This year we had a very popular photo booth with props, which was the brainchild of committee member Anja Hakoshima. Thanks, Anja!

This year we had a very popular photo booth with props, which was the brainchild of committee member Anja Hakoshima. Thanks, Anja!

Returning with their yummy cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies were Pamela Braxton and her son Zachary of Braxtons' Boxes.

Returning from last year’s inaugural Dessert Circle with their yummy cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies were Pamela Braxton and her son Zachary of Braxtons’ Boxes.

Group photo! Emily and Katherine, flanked by many members of the LUNAFEST East Bay Committee.

Group photo! Emily and Katherine, flanked by many members of the LUNAFEST East Bay Committee. Until next year!

 

Melody Shah: sharing ‘brain-shattering’ outdoor and classroom adventures

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Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.
– Edward Abbey, American author and essayist

Melody at Snow Tongue Pass, Sierra High Route.

Melody at Snow Tongue Pass, Sierra High Route.

In the summer of 2014, Melody Shah, El Cerrito High School teacher and LUNAFEST East Bay Committee member, and her husband, Sati, spent two months hiking a 600-mile High loop in California’s High Sierra. They started south from Sonora on trails to Road’s End in King’s Canyon at the South Fork of the King’s River in the southern Sierra Nevada, and hiked cross-country on the Sierra High Route back to Twin Lakes in northern Yosemite. Their trip, specifically through the 195-mile Sierra High Route in King’s Canyon National Park, is the subject of their talk at the REI Berkeley store (1338 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702, 510.527.4140) on Wednesday, March 18th, 7 to 8:30pm, and the REI San Francisco store (840 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, 415.934.1938) on Wednesday, March 25th, 7 to 8:30pm. “I want to take our experiences and share them with a larger audience,” she said of her objective for the talks. With the Berkeley event sold out and on waitlist, and the San Francisco event almost sold out, Melody will definitely achieve her goal.

A beautiful view of the Swiss Alps.

A beautiful view of the Swiss Alps.

When the LUNAFEST East Bay committee convenes in the fall to begin preparations for our spring film festival “by, for, about women,” the 10 of us look forward to hearing about Melody’s spring break and summer backcountry explorations. When we meet in January, we get updates of winter holiday adventures. Just to give you an unfairly brief overview, in January 2013, Melody and Sati paraglided with friends in Yelapa, a small beach town in Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, Mexico. In the summer later that same year, they lived in the Azores and paraglided off of volcanoes. She has also gone paragliding in Indonesia and British Columbia, and traversed the European Alps from west to east, which included flying, hiking, and backpacking across France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and Slovenia. On that latter paragliding trip, she launched off of flower-covered mountainsides and glided across valleys. “That perspective of these amazing landscapes is so freeing and other-worldly,” she told me. She’s canyoneered in California’s Sierra Nevada and throughout Southern Utah, including Zion National Park and Escalante National Monument, and toured the backcountry of Eastern Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains. And in 2005, she spent two months completing 700 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail through California’s high country.

Melody and Sati atop Mt. Whitney.

Melody and Sati atop Mt. Whitney.

I haven’t been camping in years and I confess I’m acrophobic, and that’s exactly why I am in awe of and inspired by, what I call, Melody’s acts of courage. Since 2004, she’s chronicled her adventures in her interweb, Range of Light!, which boasts some beautiful images of nature across the continents. When I marveled at how fearless she is, Melody interjected, saying, “I have a lot of fears, but in order to overcome them, I don’t deny fear.” When she first began preparing for her outdoor adventures, she admitted that she was “super terrified.” “I didn’t know I could do these things,” she confided. “But as I went through each adventure and gained strength, knowledge, and skills, my confidence grew. One of the most important goals of the experience for me is becoming more capable and then allowing fear to be a consideration and a way to analyze and strategically approach the risks. Fear keeps me smart and safe about the whole adventure.”

Melody, her two brothers, and her mom at Fundy National Park, New Brunswick, Canada, August 1984.

Melody, her two brothers, and her mom at Fundy National Park, New Brunswick, Canada, August 1984.

Roots: Love of the outdoors, love of design
Melody hails from Merrimac, MA, on the New Hampshire border. Her love of the outdoors can be traced to her mother, Joyce Audy Zarins, artist, sculptor, and children’s book author and illustrator. All of the family vacations taken when her mother was a single parent were outdoor trips, as were many of them after her mother remarried. Melody, her two siblings, her mother, and later, her stepfather camped, hiked, and canoed. “She wasn’t scared to take a bunch of us kids down a river for a few days,” Melody related, with a laugh.

Baiba, Melody, and her mom canoeing the Saco River in Maine, July 1984.

Baiba, Melody, and her mom canoeing the Saco River in Maine, July 1984.

She also inherited her mother’s artistic talents. Melody graduated from Syracuse University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in art media, with a focus on 3D modeling and animation. That summer, she helped put together an exhibit for the annual SIGGRAPH conference on computer graphics and design in Los Angeles. She ended up landing a job in the Bay Area, and she’s remained a California resident ever since.

When Melody began working for advertising agencies, the first Internet boom was ramping up. “Young people were the ones who knew about the Internet, so it was a great time to come out of college and find a job easily,” she explained. In her first job, she designed websites for public and private organizations – including the White House – at a time when websites were just emerging. When her work shifted to online advertising, something she didn’t want to do, she went back to school. At San Francisco State University, she studied lightweight composite design specifically for backcountry snowboarding gear, with the intent on being an outdoor gear designer. With her degree in industrial design, she planned to marry her love of the outdoors with her career.

Melody's students in the ITA at El Cerrito High School.

Melody’s students in the ITA at El Cerrito High School.

While in school, Melody taught college and adult classes at City College and CELLSpace (now Inner Mission), a community-based hub for artistic and cultural classes and events, both in San Francisco. She taught in the motion graphics department at Ex’pression College for Visual Arts in Emeryville. In 2007, she “answered the call” to teach at El Cerrito High School, and since then has been teaching digital art and design classes as the Lead Teacher of the Information Technology Academy (ITA) – one of the local beneficiaries of LUNAFEST’s fundraising efforts – and digital photography ROP classes and media classes within the Media Academy. “I love the idea of having a job where I can share the things that I’m passionate about with people and feel that I’m contributing to the community in a positive way,” Melody said.

Sati and Melody camping - 'home away from home.'

Sati and Melody camping – ‘home away from home.’

Opening up opportunities and the world
Teaching high school students is “a totally different world” versus teaching college students and adults, but Melody pointed out that the goal remains the same: give students an environment to collaborate, solve problems, and create art and design through technology in a way that is meaningful to them. “In the academy setting, I can foster this community within the bigger school and give kids a place of their own, and empower them with skills that help build their confidence and help them shape their identity,” she said. When companies hire ITA students upon completion of their internships because of the skills that the students learned and brought to the table, she enthused, “It’s really powerful and impactful and validating. Those moments are great.” Melody hears often from ITA graduates who are majoring in art and design in universities and colleges or are now in the workforce, working for companies such as Pixar.

Paragliding at Big Sur.

Paragliding at Big Sur.

She illustrates visual design concepts in the classroom leveraging content from her travels. In doing so, she shares her love of the outdoors and her traveling adventures with her students. “It introduces an element of fun, but the kids also appreciate and respect me because they see that I have these skills outside of the classroom,” she explained.

Melody has also engaged her ITA students to participate as volunteers at LUNAFEST. She became involved with the film festival when the East Bay Committee invited her to join four years ago while she was teaching a video class at the school. “I feel lucky to be part of that group, being a part of something positive for the community,” she said, referring to the committee members and their work, as well as fundraising for the ITA and the Breast Cancer Fund. “It’s also important for students to be exposed to positive messages,” she added.

Hiking the Sierra, with a stunning view before them (photo credit: Ki Hong).

Hiking the Sierra, with a stunning view before them (photo credit: Ki Hong).

She likes that the films selected for LUNAFEST offer such diverse viewpoints in storytelling. “I have a love for the telling of a story; a lot of my work with students is helping them articulate and tell their stories,” she said. ITA students who volunteer at the VIP event and the film festival are not only exposed to the good work being done around breast cancer prevention but are introduced to the filmmaking world – using video as the medium to tell a story. The message she imparts to kids about the film festival: It’s possible to have your story shared and celebrated via a platform such as LUNAFEST and become something meaningful to other people. Her students watch the films in class and Melody admitted that many of the films are “outside of the students’ comfort zone,” but she likes challenging them to widen their world and be open to other messages and styles. “They have responded well,” she reported. “They like being surprised.”

Backcountry skiing in the Sierras.

Backcountry skiing in the Sierras.

Teaching, Melody acknowledges, is a “funny job.” “There are some things that are very pragmatic and very black and white that you try to give to your kids, but skills are only part of it,” she revealed. “I hope the kids start to think of life as an adventure. I hope they know that they are empowered to advocate for themselves and communicate with confidence about the things that they can do or that they know how to do. I hope that they foster curiosity about the world outside their comfort zone and learn to recognize that being curious is going to open up opportunities that would be missed otherwise.” When her students adopt her enthusiasm for and philosophy of life – and her graduates are proof of that certainty – her hopes will indeed have been realized. And their worlds will open up like leopard lilies along the Pacific Crest Trail high up in the Sierras.

Launching at Chamonix, the French Alps.

Launching at Chamonix, the French Alps.