Discover Nikkei Article

Here's an article (part 1 of 2) on Discover Nikkei about my film Pilgrimage and the connection I try to make with the JA community through my work. I got a chance to sit down and talk with writer Mia Nakaji Monnier at JANM last year and I thought she did an excellent job with article.

Interview for Fancast.com

My blogging skills are the worst! I forgot to post this interview I did for Fancast.com in December. The article was written by Chi-hui Yang, the curator of Comcast's Cinema Asian America. I owe a lot to Chi-hui. As the director of the San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival, he picked my first film, Yellow Brotherhood, to screen at the festival and has been really supportive of my work ever since. It's also because of him that A Song For Ourselves was part of last month's Cinema Asian America line-up.

Read the interview here.

Review of A Song For Ourselves in Anthropology Review

Here's a recent review of A Song For Ourselves published on the Anthropology Review Database site. Click here to read.

Here's another review posted last year on Educational Media Reviews Online.

If you would like to get A Song For Ourselves into you school's library please contact Third World Majority or Center For Asian American Media.

Feature article in Evil Monito by Terry Hwang

A couple months back my friend Terry Hwang was kind enough to write a feature on me for Evil Monito. It's one of the most insightful articles that have been written on me (like all three of them) and I know that Terry really spent a lot of time working on it. I went to school with her at UCLA and it's been inspiring to watch her chase her dreams as a writer. You can read the article here.

206 Rock Rock On!

A newly formed organization of young Japanese Americans in Seattle who call themselves The YoGos (Yonsei-Gosei) had their first event last Saturday and asked me to be a part of it. My favorite type of screenings are the ones that take place in the middle of a community with the people who built it. And of course, there is just a special kinda feeling when it's with my people. It was a true pleasure to show my films in Seattle's International District and build with a group of JA's who are active in shaping their community.

The YoGos


It was ironic that I left a rainy LA for a sunny Seattle. It was a gorgeous day in the 206!


I even got some ink in the International Examiner!

Honolulu Weekly Cover Story

One of the coolest parts of the Hawai'i trip was going to Boots & Kimo's to eat this (banana pancakes swimming in macadamia nut sauce)... ...and then walking over to Foodland and seeing this:
The small print along the yellow fist reads "Long Live Chris Iijima"!
Read the whole article here.

Under The Influence

someone made the mistake of nominating me for angry asian man's 30 most influential asian americans under 30, and the angry guy picked me! it's a huge honor to make this list which includes karen o from yeah yeah yeahs and the co-founder of youtube. i really have to thank phil yu (aka. angry asian man) for always covering my back, his blog is phenomenal and continues to inform and unite asian americans across the country. speaking of karen o, "zero" is one of my favorite songs this year:

Visual Communications Interview

during their film festival, visual communications (vc) posted an interview with me on their website. i literally grew up at vc as both my parents were working there when i was born and had to take me to the office with them.  

SONG Gets Mention in LA Weekly

song got at really dope write-up by ernest hardy in the la weekly this week!  peep game:

"Also recommended is Tadashi Nakamura’s hugely moving short A Song for Ourselves, which celebrates the life and legacy of the late Asian-American musician-activist Chris Iijima, an unsung hero of America’s progressive political movement. The film illuminates the roles Asians played in the 1960s civil rights movement, forging political alliances while asserting their own identities, while the portrait of Iijima himself — his oldest son’s anguish at not having his father around; his wife’s teary confession that the world makes no sense without him; his own words on how he came to create himself — will make your heart ache."

SONG Mixtape Mentioned in District

a song for ourselves and the mixtape got mentioned in this article about bambu in district. don't forget to come out to the a peaceful riot release party tomorrow at beatrock!

Channel APA Interview

this berry embarrassing interview was done during the sf international asian american film festival last month for channel apa. the interview was so weak i don't think they even posted it. oh well, at least the new era and my hundreds tee look clean!

Asian Pacific Arts Video and Article on LA Premiere

asian pacific arts recently posted an article and video of the some of the highlights of last months LA premiere of song.  read and watch them here.  big ups to liann, ada, warren, and the rest of the apa staff for covering the event!

why does this photo look like geo, bam, kiwi and phat are starring in a filipino re-make of barbershop?

speaking of barbershop scenes...

Song Gets Write-Up In LA Times!

robert ito wrote a really nice article on song that ran in the la times on saturday.

"The film is at turns celebratory and wistful, a paean to Iijima and the L.A. that, despite its rap as a town without a center or a sense of community, nurtured the artist like no other."

read article here

i sat down with robert a couple of weeks ago. being japanese american himself, he really understood the history and significance of the asian american movement and the relevance of chris iijima's story. another reminder why we need more people from our respective communities with access to mainstream media outlets like the times.

Asian Pacific Arts Interview

asian pacific arts, an online magazine published by the ucla asia institute, asked me to sit-down with them to talk about Song and the premiere and concert this sat (2/28).  the way they posted the interview is dope because they have both the audio from the interview and the transcript so you can pick and choose what you want to hear rather than having to hear my dumb-ass ramble.  you can check it out here.

shouts to my cuzzo liann for setting this up!

Review on BeyondChron

earlier this month a fine cut of A Song For Ourselves was screened in the sco by the center for asian american media as a sneak peak of their film festival coming this march.  peter wong of attended the screening and wrote a dope review of the film on beyondchron.

“A Song For Ourselves reminds viewers that Asian-American progressivism is not a rarity. It is a strain of activism that’s not acknowledged often enough."

wong called the screening a "sobering wake-up call to the white progressive community." daymn, like that! read the whole review here.

"Song" Premiere Gets Love On Angry Asian Man

angry asian man was probably the first blog i ever got into...and now look at me.  the premiere for a song for ourselves got a big shout on angry asian man last week!  if you wanna keep up with any kinda asian american anything in the media, this is the place to go.  

good looks phil for always having my back! 

"Song" Gets Write-Up in the Rafu Shimpo

for those who don't know, the rafu shimpo is the main japanese american newspaper here in LA.  getting ink in the rafu is huge for me personally because i know my grandma and bachan are gonna see it!  i don't know if they really understand what i do, but if my name's in the rafu it's all gravy to them. "I think it's important to know that there have been successful artists and musicians in our community who have come before.   My parallel with what Chris was doing back then is my relationship to hip-hop now."

large up to jordan ikeda from the rafu for the interview and doing a great job of connecting the film with the musicians who are gonna perform at the premiere. 

UPDATE:  the rafu article is now online.

Premiere Shout on Prometheus Brown

geologic (one half of blue scholars) mentioned the premiere of a song for ourselves on his blog. between touring, recording music and raising a kid, geo aka prometheus brown somehow finds time to watch and review a gang of flicks (almost one a day)! peep the blog for articulate and socially conscious reviews of films both new and old, hollywood and indie, local and foreign.

earlier this year he reviewed my film pilgrimage. good looks geo!