Visual Communications Movies

  • 1980
    Hito Hata: Raise the Banner

    Hito Hata: Raise the Banner

    Hito Hata: Raise the Banner

    01980HD

    The film looks back at the life of a man named Oda and other Japanese Americans through the decades as they face great challenges and joys living in...

    Hito Hata: Raise the Banner
  • 2012
    Lil Tokyo Reporter

    Lil Tokyo Reporter

    Lil Tokyo Reporter

    02012HD

    1935 Los Angeles, community leader Sei Fujii uncovers the corrupt activities of his community's underground mafia. He must choose between saving the...

    Lil Tokyo Reporter
  • 1976
    Wataridori: Birds of Passage

    Wataridori: Birds of Passage

    Wataridori: Birds of Passage

    01976HD

    This important tribute to the issei (first generation Japanese Americans) integrates the stories of three people who describe a collective history...

    Wataridori: Birds of Passage
  • 2022
    People Unite!

    People Unite!

    People Unite!

    02022HD

    In the face of AAPI violence, an intergenerational coalition of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, People of Color organizers come together to...

    People Unite!
  • 2024
    Daughter of Guam

    Daughter of Guam

    Daughter of Guam

    02024HD

    A young woman contends with her role as a Daughter of Guam. Contemplating the inherited burden of her island’s collective loss, the Daughter of...

    Daughter of Guam
  • 2020
    Thank You, Come Again

    Thank You, Come Again

    Thank You, Come Again

    02020HD

    After the trigger of a hate crime, an undocumented Indian American convenience store clerk comes crashing into his subconscious as he grieves the...

    Thank You, Come Again
  • 2022
    Lisa Mania

    Lisa Mania

    Lisa Mania

    02022HD

    After Dom begins having suspicions about his wife, he goes to the seemingly wrong person for advice, leading him down a rabbit hole of drug fueled...

    Lisa Mania
  • 1975
    Cruisin' J-Town

    Cruisin' J-Town

    Cruisin' J-Town

    01975HD

    Celebrates the music and influences of contemporary Asian American culture on Dan Kuramoto, June Okida Kuramoto, and Johnny Mori — three...

    Cruisin' J-Town
  • 2023
    unseen

    unseen

    unseen

    02023HD

    An aspiring social worker, Pedro must confront political restrictions as a blind, undocumented immigrant to get his college degree and support his...

    unseen
  • 2017
    Disintegration 93-96

    Disintegration 93-96

    Disintegration 93-96

    62017HD

    Living in the USA illegally for over 20 years, Miko Revereza reflects on his family's relocation from Manila to Los Angeles in this introspective...

    Disintegration 93-96
  • 2016
    I Hate Big Phony

    I Hate Big Phony

    I Hate Big Phony

    02016HD

    For all intents and purposes, 2015 was seemingly a banner year for singer/songwriter Bobby Choy (aka Big Phony). His melodic and quiet songs had...

    I Hate Big Phony
  • 2020
    The Many Pink Triangles

    The Many Pink Triangles

    The Many Pink Triangles

    02020HD

    This documentary tells the story of the LGBTTI communities who have suffered persecution, prison and torture for their sexual condition under...

    The Many Pink Triangles
  • 2024
    Come Together

    Come Together

    Come Together

    02024HD

    Inspired by the 1978 documentary “Omai Fa’atasi: Samoa Mo Samoa,” a teenage girl growing up in a strict Samoan household lives the...

    Come Together
  • 1975
    Kites and Other Tales

    Kites and Other Tales

    Kites and Other Tales

    01975HD

    Modern kite maker Tom Joe seeks to preserve the craft of kite making as well as the traditional Asian folklore behind it. Alan Takemoto illustrates...

    Kites and Other Tales
  • 2023
    Butterfly/Bataplai

    Butterfly/Bataplai

    Butterfly/Bataplai

    02023HD

    Raya loves makeup but her family does not. She’s torn between her secret dream of being a makeup artist and her family’s strict religious...

    Butterfly/Bataplai
  • 2020
    Dear Sally,

    Dear Sally,

    Dear Sally,

    02020HD

    In 1953, a young man in Los Angeles wrote to a young woman in St. Louis. The letters between the pen pals evolved into a courtship that spanned over...

    Dear Sally,
  • 2017
    Samoan Americans in Carson

    Samoan Americans in Carson

    Samoan Americans in Carson

    02017HD

    June Pouesi, director of the Office of Samoan Affairs, describes the waves of immigration from American Samoa that led to the development of the...

    Samoan Americans in Carson
  • 1981
    Vaitafe: Running Water

    Vaitafe: Running Water

    Vaitafe: Running Water

    01981HD

    A follow-up to the groundbreaking Visual Communications documentary OMAI FA'ATASI: SAMOA MO SAMOA, this fictionalized account of Vaitafe Futu, a...

    Vaitafe: Running Water
  • 1990
    Claiming A Voice: The Visual Communications Story

    Claiming A Voice: The Visual Communications Story

    Claiming A Voice: The Visual Communications Story

    01990HD

    Documentary on the Los Angeles-based media arts group, Visual Communications. The one-hour film chronicles their first twenty years, 1970-1990, of...

    Claiming A Voice: The Visual Communications Story
  • 1978
    Omai Fa'atasi: Samoa Mo Samoa

    Omai Fa'atasi: Samoa Mo Samoa

    Omai Fa'atasi: Samoa Mo Samoa

    01978HD

    The dilemmas and challenges facing Samoan Americans are frankly explored in this film about Omai Fa’atasi, a Southern Californian community...

    Omai Fa'atasi: Samoa Mo Samoa