R3:VOLVE | Navigating Authenticity: Who is Telling the Story?

Can Pasifika stories be told and made by non-Pasifika folks? When is it done successfully? How did those Pasifika and non-Pasifika storytelling teams hold each other accountable and hold each other in care? These questions and more will be explored in a conversation that navigates how to support creative Pasifika storytelling solidarity in the filmmaking process.

PANEL

Kiki Rivera (Moderator)
Kiki Rivera (he/they) is an internationally produced theatre artist, educator, and arts activist who has been involved with Visual Communications as a moderator, mentor, cultural consultant and programmer for the last 4 years. They hold a BA in Theatre and MFA in Playwriting from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM). Original plays include Faʻalavelave: The Interruption. Published plays include “Puzzy” (featuring New Zealand Playwright Victor Rodger) in the anthology Samoan Queer Lives, To “Our Black and Brown Babies of Ocean and Islands” in the anthology We’re Not Neutral, and “Kumu Kukui” in Lighting the Way: An Anthology of Short Plays About The Climate Crises. 

Kiki’s work focuses on the intersections of cultural, sexual, and gender identity within the context of post-colonial society  and is one of many Pacific Islander voices in the diaspora who believes in the value of self-reflective storytelling from a contemporary indigenous perspective.   

As the former storyteller for Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC), Kiki Rivera helped fulfill EPIC’s mission to advance social justice by developing and implementing narrative change strategies. They used creative skills to build political will for the organization’s advocacy agenda and expanded its reach in the Pacific Islander community.

Micki Davis (Moderator)
Micki Davis is a multimedia artist, educator and, most notably, an Armed with a Camera Alum! She values Visual Communications for its commitment to the Pan-Asian and Pacific communities here in Los Angeles and is committed herself to advocacy of these perspectives in the arts. If she’s not at the movies, she’s on the karaoke mic.