CLAIMING A VOICE: THE VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS STORY

Claiming A Voice: The Visual Communications Story is a one-hour documentary chronicling the twenty-year history of the first arts group dedicated to productions by and about Asian Pacific Americans. Combining interviews with clips from over twenty Visual Communications films, this video traces the important role alternative media played in the Asian American movement. The film shows how one grassroots organization survived budget cuts, Hollywood, and the collective process of the sixties to control their own images on screens, large and small. The stories of Visual Communications members along with those of jazz fusion band Hiroshima, poet Lawson Inada, and actors Pat Morita and Mako are among the many in this documentary which reflect personal commitments to claiming a voice in media.

CREDITS
Director: Arthur Dong
Produced by Visual Communications