Searching for wellness and joy at the Festival continues with our growing practice of restoration, regeneration, and renewal. For this year’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, we renew C3:Conference for Creative Content by disrupting it. Instead of C3:Conference, Visual Communications presents R3:NEWAL, a series of restorative activities and gatherings to connect peoples as themselves, instead of our titles as artists and creators.

In industry spaces, we often have to perform what we do, instead of who we are. While we intersect as artists and creators, we are deeply connected as people who are engaging challenges stemming from recent events around the pandemic, especially our shared experiences around grief.

In centering wellness and joy, we have to focus on what creates unwellness and what brings us unhappiness. The Festival is not a solution to magically creating wellness and joy in our lives, but we have to disrupt systems that produce unwell practices of extraction and harm. While we are not fully resourced to do the work to create a wide impact, we have to begin.

R3:NEWAL begins on Friday with the Filmmaker Welcome Reception, where fellow artists, filmmakers, and creators break bread over brunch. Focused on Festival Filmmakers, the reception will be followed by R3:NEWAL activities designed for artists to connect with each other.

These events are FREE; however, certain in-person events are available for invited guests only.

Our online conversations will premiere on our Virtual Cinema and on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube channels. Follow us so you can be notified of the premieres!

Dance It Off: Bollywood Style
(for festival filmmakers and guests only)
Join choreographer Saleena Khamamkar for a fun and casual Bollywood dance session! Learn some steps, dance with your fellow filmmakers, and make a group dance video at the end! (No previous dance experience necessary)
Friday, May 5 / 11:30 am – 12:00 pm
Japanese American National Museum

Dance It Off: Kpop Style
(for festival filmmakers and guests only)
Join us for a fun and casual KPop dance session! Learn some steps, dance with your fellow filmmakers, and make a group dance video at the end! (No previous dance experience necessary)
Friday, May 5 / 11:30 am – 12:00 pm
Japanese American National Museum

Building Blocks of Connection
(for festival filmmakers only)
Join an experiential process designed to enhance engagement, connection, and creativity. Explore the power of play through Lego building and the ways it helps us to connect and deepen our relationships.
Friday, May 5 / 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
CENTRL Office | 366 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

DASH + Pottery Play
(for festival filmmakers only)
Take a DASH tour through the Arts District to a pottery studio, where LAAPFF Alums Asavari Kumar and Pulkit Datta will facilitate a clay hand building workshop. In this workshop, we will work with our hands to build with clay as we share intentions and feelings around building more sustainable and healthy lives as artists. (No prior pottery experience needed)
Friday, May 5 / 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Still Life Ceramics | 588 Mateo St, Los Angeles, CA 90021

Go Go into Little Tokyo
(for festival filmmakers and guests only)
Get to know Visual Communications’ home of Little Tokyo through a neighborhood tour to experience histories, peoples, and places.
Hosted by Little Tokyo Community Council & Go Little Tokyo
Friday, May 5 /1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Japanese American National Museum

Creative Consultations with Ryan
(for festival filmmakers only)
Filmmakers and creatives hit roadblocks and limitations all of the time. Maybe it’s just a matter of seeing the journey you are on from a unique perspective. In this 1-on-1 coaching session, Ryan will use a combination of energy reading + meditative techniques to help you find more certainty about the trajectory of your creative path. We can dive into the specifics of your life, a project, or your overall career.
Friday, May 5 / 12:30 pm – 4:00 pm
CENTRL Office | 366 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Tea Talks
(for festival filmmakers and guests only)
Join fellow filmmakers, detox with tea, and build community through intimate conversations.
Friday, May 5 /1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Japanese American National Museum

Multi-Sensory Playroom
(for festival filmmakers only)
Sensory rooms can leave people feeling more focused and relaxed, less stressed, and better able to communicate with others. Drop into this space as needed!
Friday, May 5, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm | Saturday, May 6, 3:00pm – 6:00pm | Sunday, May 7, 10:00am – 2:00pm | 3:00pm – 6:00pm
CENTRL Office | 366 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Nap Time with Ryan
(for festival filmmakers only)
Creating a time in your day to let go and separate from everything can be the very healing you need to finish that project, release stress, or dream up something new. Come rest, rejuvenate, and nap with us while receiving a group energy healing to support releasing the excess emotion and stress that you might be consciously or unconsciously holding onto.
Sunday, May 7 / 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
CENTRL Office | 366 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012