Since 2010, SBTHP has presented the Asian American Film Series, a free event held on Fridays in July at the Alhecama Theatre. In an effort to explore the history and cultures of the Asian communities that once thrived in and around the Santa Barbara Presidio area, the series includes films that speak to the Asian American experience in the US. The films have addressed a broad range of historical and modern topics, such as the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, Chinese American adoptions, and the contributions of key Asian American figures.
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This event is free to attend for all SBTHP members, with a suggested $5 donation for non-members. Seating is first come, first served!
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This film series is made possible by the generous support of the George H. Griffiths and Olive J. Griffiths Charitable Foundation.
15th Annual Film Selections
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Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story
July 5, 2024 · 6 p.m.
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For 50 years, Chinese American photographer Corky Lee documented the celebrations, struggles, and daily lives of Asian American Pacific Islanders with epic focus. Determined to push mainstream media to include AAPI culture in the visual record of American history, Lee produced an astonishing archive of nearly a million compelling photographs. His work takes on new urgency with the alarming rise in anti-Asian attacks during the Covid pandemic. Jennifer Takaki’s intimate portrait reveals the triumphs and tragedies of the man behind the lens.  
Q&A with Jennifer Takaki (Director) & Linda Hattendorf (Editor) will follow the screening.
Nurse Unseen​
July 12, 2024 · 6 p.m.
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NURSE UNSEEN explores the little-known history and humanity of the unsung Filipino nurses risking their lives on the frontlines while facing a resurgence of anti-Asian hate in the streets. The film unearths the colonial ties between the Philippines and the United States that have led to Filipino nurses becoming the unknown backbone of the U.S. and global healthcare systems. 
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Q&A with Michele Josue (Director, Producer & Editor) will follow the screening.
Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of
Ben Fong-Torres
July 19, 2024 · 6 p.m.
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LIKE A ROLLING STONE is an inspirational portrait of the life and career of Rolling Stone magazine’s first music editor and legendary writer, during the great rock and roll era, when music meant more than entertainment. The film is told from Ben’s deeply personal point of view from the man who quite literally had the backstage pass. Long overdue – in fact, more than half a century – filmmaker/journalist Suzanne Joe Kai is pleased to finally tell his true story. 
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Q&A with Suzanne Joe Kai (Director, Producer, Writer) and Doug Blush (Executive Producer) will follow the screening.  
Finding Her Beat
July 26, 2024 · 6 p.m.
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For thousands of years women have been locked out of Taiko drumming. Not anymore. In the dead of a Minnesota winter, Asian drumming divas smash gender roles and redefine power on their own terms. FINDING HER BEAT that dives into the rhythms and struggles that lead to an electrifying historic performance that changes everything. 
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A special performance by Togen Daiko will follow the screening.
Previous Selections
2023
Alternative Facts: The Lies of Executive Order 9066
Liquor Store Dreams
The Donut King
Chinatown Rising
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2022
A Vanished Dream: Wartime Story of My Japanese Grandfather
Waterman
Free Chol Soo Lee
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2021
Harana
Grasshopper for Grandpa
Sonzai: Japantown Santa Barbara
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2020
Flower Drum Song
Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings
Meditation Park
I Am Bruce Lee
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2019
Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority
For the Sake of the Children
ULAM: Main Dish
Bittersweet Roots: The Chinese in California's Heartland
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2018
Never Give Up! Minoru Yasui and the Fight for Justice
Meditation Park
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers & the Chinese Exclusion Act
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2017
Off the Menu: Asian America
Comfort
My Life in China
Allegiance
2016
Chinese Couplets
Documented
Transcending - The Wat Misaka Story
Tyrus
2015
9man
Harana
Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings
2014
Anita Ho
Linsanity
My Grandfather’s Drum
2013
The Cats of Mirikitani
I am Bruce Lee
Somewhere Between
2012
Dim Sum Funeral
Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story
Snow Falling on Cedars
2011
American Pastime
The Debut
The Joy Luck Club
The Slanted Screen
2010
Flower Drum Song
Forbidden City
Picture Bride
Sewing Woman