Mixed Remixed Festival

Meet Cam, a Festival Attendee with a great heart!

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photo (3)I had a chance to do an email Q & A with Cam who is super excited to attend the Mixed Remixed Festival.  I love his story!  He’s traveling all the way from Illinois to join in on the fun!  Check out what he had to say.–Heidi Durrow
Q: You’ve probably heard it all your life, but I have to ask: What are you?

A: I’ve been asked so many times and I still don’t know the best way to answer the question. The simplest answer is half white on my mom’s side and half black on my father’s.

Q: Was there a moment in your growing up you realized that you or your family were “different”?  How old were you?  What happened?
A: I distinctly remember in kindergarden drawing pictures of my family and ALWAYS using a different crayon when I had to draw myself.  Everyone was “Peach” while I was “Tan”.  I grew up in a pretty diverse suburb of Chicago and all my peers were of various backgrounds.
Q: What did your parents tell you about being mixed?
A: My mom always emphasized not having to choose between being black and being white.  This helped a lot when my mom and I moved to a predominantly white suburb and it was difficult not to be a token.  I was always just told to be myself, because I’m more than just my ethnicity.  This way of thinking helped me to embrace white and black cultures and live my life not fitting into stereotypes.
Q: Why is the Festival important to you?
A:  I’ve been coming to Mixed Roots for a few years and now Mixed Remixed and I remember the first year I walked in and was so shocked by how many beautiful people were there.  This festival for me is a glimpse of how much tolerance and unity can be achieved if we celebrate everyone’s cultures coming together.  That’s what the festival stands for in my eyes, a celebration of cultures coming together as one community.
Q: The mayor of LA calls himself a “kosher burrito” because he has a mixed Mexican and Jewish background.  What would your “mixie food name” be? 🙂 #mixiefoodname
A: My mixed background is a little bit of everything so I’d have to be a “Thanksgiving leftover sandwich” Some of all of it in every bite!

Panel: KPCC’s #Multicultivate: Can diversity really be taught?

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SCPR logoWe’re very excited that KPCC will produce a panel at the Mixed Remixed Festival 6/14 at 1pm.  Join us for this special discussion moderated by KPCC’s Josie Huang.

 

Title:
#Multicultivate: Can diversity really be taught?

Description:
The interracial Cheerios commercial. The Swiffer ad with a mixed race family and a dad who lost a hand and part of his arm. The Honey Maid #ThisIsWholesome campaign featuring a range of families, including a gay couple and their two sons. All three use a marketing strategy that speaks to our increasingly diverse populations in Southern California and around the country.

 

These commercials reflect the realities of many kids’ lives, and have sparked conversation about diversity right in our living rooms or at our kitchen tables. But how effective is talking, really? Are there other ways parents and caregivers can broach discussion about diversity? And if it’s actually “teachable,” what approaches make the message stick?

 

Saturday afternoon, June 14, from 1:00 – 2:30pm, KPCC emerging communities and immigration reporter Josie Huang takes the Crawford Family Forum on the road to the Japanese American National Museum. She’ll talk with a special panel about how we can help kids understand and appreciate the diversity of their own families and communities… and what they see in other kids – and adults – around them.

This conversation and Q&A is part of the Mixed Remixed Festival’s day of programming.

An exciting new festival, the Mixed Remixed Festival brings together film and book lovers to celebrate stories of multiracial, mixed and hapa individuals with workshops, readings, film screenings and live performances for the largest West Coast celebration of Loving Day.

 

*Please note that RSVPs for this event will be collected by The Mixed Remixed Festival, and may be placed here: https://www.artful.ly/store/events/3413

PANELISTS:

Heidi Durrow: The Girl Who Fell from the Sky (New York Times bestseller, PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction winner) author; Mixed Remixed Festival founder; Ebony Magazine Power 100 Leader.

Sonia N. Kang: Multiracial Americans of Southern California (MASC) vice-president; The Mixed Up Blog writer, Modern Mom contributor; Multiculti Cuties co-founder.

Terrence Franklin and Jeffrey Moline: Trust and estates litigation attorney, Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise, LLP founding partner; has two teenage daughters with former wife, who is also African American; partner of songwriter, musician and filmmaker Jeffrey Moline.

Children’s Book Reading: I Am Mixed with co-author Sebastian Jones

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Children’s Book Reading with Sebastian Jones co-author of I am Mixed

June 14, 2014 12:15pm-12:40pm

CoverChildren’s Book Author Sebastian Jones

Reading from children’s book I Am Mixed by Garcelle Beauvais and Sebastian Jones.

12:15pm

SEBASTIAN A. JONES

Sebastian is the president of Stranger Comics. He has been involved in entertainment since an early age in England. After having left for America at the age of 18, he founded and ran the critically acclaimed MVP Records at the age of 20, globally releasing 25 albums that included such artists as James Brown, John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye, and Billie Holiday, with a client list including EMI-Capitol, Sony, WB, BMG, and Universal. He transitioned from music to film when he collaborated with filmmakers The Polish Brothers to create Salvador for Boom! Studios.  Following that, he wrote and directed the comedy pilot Cast Off starring Scoot McNairy (Argo) and Scott Adsit (30 Rock). Jones then transitioned to feature writing and adapted several of his stories into graphic novel form when he founded Stranger Comics. Stranger’s maiden title is The Untamed, from which Jones directed and produced a motion comic in addition to creating the comic book.  Under Stranger Kids (Stranger Comics’ children’s division) Jones has released the,

Garcelle and Seb picI Am Book Series (I Am Mixed and I Am Living in 2 Homes), which he authored with Garcelle Beauvais (Flight, White House Down, The Jamie Foxx Show, Franklin & Bash) with foreword endorsement by Halle Berry.

 

GARCELLE BEAUVAIS                                                                                                            

Haitian-born actress Garcelle Beauvais immigrated to the United States at the age of seven, and has since charmed audiences with her dramatic and comedic abilities. Recent projects include “White House Down,” “Flight,” “And Then There Was You,” and “Small Time.”  Garcelle is also a co-host for E!’s “Fashion Police” and “Access Hollywood Live” on NBC, and was recently named one of the 50 Most Beautiful Women 2014 by People Magazine.  Above all, Garcelle’s most important job is being a mother. She was inspired to write the children’s book series entitled ‘I AM,’ addressing identity issues relevant to many children today.  The first book “I AM MIXED,” celebrating diversity in all cultures, was released in the summer of 2013, and the second in the series, “I AM LIVING IN TWO HOMES,” to help children and parent navigate the complexities of divorce, will be released August 19th, 2014.  Looking back, Garcelle got her start when she began modeling at the age of seventeen and easily transitioned to acting in the Aaron Spelling series “Models, Inc.” After that, she co-starred opposite Jamie Foxx for five years on the popular WB sitcom “The Jamie Foxx Show.” For four seasons she also starred on the highly rated Emmy© Award-winning series “NYPD Blue.” She was recently a series regular on TNT’s “Franklin & Bash.” Other television credits include: “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “Arrested Development,” “The Exes,” “Eyes” “Human Target,” “Crash,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” and “The Bonnie Hunt Show.”

 

Storyteller’s Prize Presentation & Live Event: Pre-registrations, the Waitlist & open seating

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PRIZE-MIXED-REMIXED-UPDATE 6/8/14: WAITLIST IS NOW CLOSED.  The Storyteller’s Prize Presentation & Live Event is SOLD OUT!   Here is important information about how the seating will work:
How do I claim my Pre-registered reservation?
Your Festival name badge will indicate whether you Pre-registered – there are no physical tickets. Doors to the theatre open at 5:45PM for Pre-registered reservations only. This is a sold-out event and we recommend “pre-registered” arrive by 5:30PM to line up for first choice of seats. The members of your party must be seated. After 6:10pm, all vacant seats will be given to Wait List.
How does the Wait List work?
Vacant seats remaining unclaimed at 6:10pm will be released to our Wait List. The Wait List is now closed.  The Wait List line will begin forming outside the JANM Democracy Forum as early as 5:30PM. We will begin seating at 6:10PM and is first come, first serve. When the theatre has reached capacity, no additional guests will be admitted.
What time should I arrive for the show?
 
Be advised; come early! It is not unexpected for people to start lining up at the entrance to JANM Democracy Forum prior to 5:30PM. Seating is limited.
All guests arriving before the theatre is open for seating will be asked to form single file lines outside the entrance to JANM Democracy Forum. Please wait in line based on your reservation type: “Pre-registered” or “Wait List”. We begin seating “pre-registered” approximately 40 to 45 minutes before showtime and “wait list 20 minutes before showtime. The show will begin promptly at 6:30PM.

 

Storyteller’s Prize Presentation & Live Event — JOIN WAITLIST!

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PRIZE-MIXED-REMIXED-UPDATE 6/8/14: THE WAITLIST IS NOW CLOSED.  The Storyteller’s Prize Presentation & Live Event is SOLD OUT!  But you can still join the WAITLIST by filling out this form.  It’s going to be a great night!–Heidi Durrow

 

 

 

Performer’s Bootcamp: FREE ACTING WORKSHOP! 6/14

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BOOTCAMP-PERF-MIXED-REMIXED-Mixed Remixed Performer’s Bootcamp
June 14, 2014 3:00pm-4:30pm

Instructor: Khanisha Foster

Pre-registration strongly encouraged.  Save your spot by registering here.

Ever wished you could share your music, performance, stand-up, spoken word poetry, or one-person show at the Mixed Remixed Festival in front of such a warm and welcoming crowd?  Learn the ins and outs of what Festival directors and producers are looking for in your application.  Learn tips to present your very best work so that you will share the stage with the very best acts about the Mixed experience.

A Writing Workshop for Kids 6/14 FREE!

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KIDS-MIXED-REMIXED-Love Stories Told By Kids (For Kids!)
June 14, 2014 1:00pm-2:20pm

Instructor: Lora Nakamura

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.  Save your spot by registering here.

In this storytelling workshop, children will be able to explore the love they currently experience in their lives, from family love to friendship love, and even to love they have for themselves. Through the use of illustrations, they will learn to sequence their stories and share with others in a safe and fun environment.

Lora Nakamura is the author and illustrator of, The Bonsai Babes: A Love Story, a cross-cultural tale of unconditional love and friendship set in Los Angeles and its neighboring San Gabriel Valley. She has a background in education and social work, receiving her B.A. in Spanish Literature from the University of California, San Diego, her teaching credential from Cal State L.A., and her Masters in Social Work from Cal State Long Beach. She has been a guest lecturer on issues of diversity at Cal State L.A., and an advocate for underrepresented communities in Compton, Lynwood, Los Angeles, and the San Gabriel Valley.

Featured Writers Reading 6/14

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READINGS-MIXED-REMIXED-

Readings: June 14, 2014, 1:00pm – 2:20pm

Book signing immediately following the reading and Q & A.

Books for sale by the Mixed Remixed Festival Official Bookseller Skylight Books.

 Krista Bremer

mx14_bremerKrista Bremer’s writing has won a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, a Pushcart Prize, and a North Carolina Arts Fellowship. Krista’s essays have appeared in magazines like O, The Oprah Magazine, MORE, The Sun,Utne, and The Sunday Times (London). Her work has also appeared on CNN and MSN, and she is a regular contributor to National Public Radio.

Krista lives in Carrboro, North Carolina, and works as associate publisher of The Sun.  Her memoir about her bicultural marriage, My Accidental Jihad (Algonquin Books), has met great critical acclaim.  Eat, Pray, Lovebestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert calls My Accidental Jihad “a bold piece of writing (and thinking) by an incredibly brave woman.”

 

 

Crystal Chan

mx14_crystal_chanCrystal Chan grew up as a mixed-race kid in the middle of the Wisconsin cornfields and has been trying to find her place in the world ever since. Over time, she found that her heart lies in public speaking, performing, and ultimately, writing. She has published articles in several magazines; given talks and workshops across the country; facilitated discussion groups at national conferences; and been a professional storyteller for children and adults alike.

In Chicago, where Crystal now lives, you will find her biking along the city streets and talking to her pet turtle. Her debut middle-grade novel, Bird, is published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers. She is represented by Emily van Beek of Folio Literary Management.  Visit her website for more information.

 

 

Chris Terry

mx14_ChrisLTerryTribStaceyWescottChris L. Terry recently relocated to L.A. from Chicago, where he got a Creative Writing MFA from Columbia College. Slate and Kirkus included his novel, Zero Fade, (Curbside Splendor, 2013), on their Best of 2013 lists. Kirkus called it, “Original, hilarious, thought-provoking and wicked smart: not to be missed.” ChrisLTerry.com has links to more of his writing.

 

 

Brannon Rockwell-Charland

mx14_Brannon Rockwell-Charland Photo (mixed remixed)Brannon Rockwell-Charland is a multimedia artist originally hailing from Berkeley, California. She recently graduated from Oberlin College where she majored in Africana Studies and Visual Art. She is a Mellon-Mays Research Fellow whose scholarship deals with historical mixed-race media representation, race in contemporary advertising, and post-racialism. Much of her artistic work focuses on visual intersections of queerness, blackness, gender, legacy, autobiography, and mythology. Her photographic and sculptural work has been shown at the Lansing Art Gallery in Lansing, Michigan and at the Edmonia Lewis Center for Women and Transgender People in Oberlin, Ohio. In her spare time, she enjoys stream of consciousness writing, playing the guitar, singing, and mixing lipstick colors to find the perfect shade. She was probably a mermaid in a past life. Visit her website for more information.

 

 

Shannon Luders-Manuel

mx14_shannon_ludersShannon received her B.A. in English and Writing from Southern Oregon University, and her M.A. in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her previous publications include a scholarly article in AmeriQuests about the child abductee, Elizabeth Smart, online articles about movies and dating for The Content Cruncher, a twice-monthly column in the SOU student newspaper, and a poem in the online journal Jellyfish Magazine. She currently work as an SAT Prep instructor at HS2 Academy in the Silicon Valley.

Shannon was born in San Francisco to a white mother and a black father, and  lived on the famous Haight Street in the 70s. She has dedicated her scholarship to devouring biracial literature from the past two centuries and wrote her Master’s thesis on the role of the black mother and white suitor in the “tragic mulatta” genre. She has previously been an active member of the Bay Area group “Sisters and White Misters,” and is currently in a happy relationship with a Colombian.  Visit her website to find out more.

 

Feature Film: Closure, a documentary about transracial adoption

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CLOSURE-MIXED-REMIXED-Don’t miss this excellent feature documentary, Closure, about a young African-American woman who was raised by white parents who goes looking for her biological parents.

Closure dir. Bryan Tucker

June 14, 2014 11:00am-12:30pm

Discussion on Transracial Adoption immediately following screening.

Running Time 76 minutes

Pre-registration strongly encouraged.  Save your spot by registering here.

Angela, an African-American, was raised by a Caucasian couple in a large, multiracial family in Washington State.  She was adopted at the age of one from foster care in the state of Tennessee, under the terms of a closed adoption.  As Angela grew older, it became apparent that the unanswered questions about her birth story would continue to haunt her if she did not attempt to find some answers.  Filmed and edited by her husband, Bryan, this documentary follows Angela for two years during the search for her birth family.  Several twists and surprising revelations ultimately lead Angela and her family across the country to her place of birth.  It is here where Angela comes face to face with her birth mother for the first time, and meets family members who had never known she was even born – including her birth father.
http://closuredocumentary.com/

SHORT FILMS PROGRAM

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Don’t miss the wonderful line-up of short films with a Q & A with the filmmakers immediately following.

Short Films 2014

Short_Films

SHORT-FILM-MIXED-REMIXED-Short Film Program

June 14, 2014 10:00am-10:50am

The United Colors of Amani, dir. Amani Starnes (Running time 15 minutes)

Ozzy & Harry dir. Jeffrey Moline (Running time 6:25 minutes)

Tender Love dir. Joseph Hernandez-Kolski (Running time 5:17 minutes)

Covered in Grass dir. Celso White & Matt Malis (Running time 4:45 minutes)

There will be a short Q&A with the filmmakers and actors involved immediately following the screenings.

Pre-registration strongly encouraged.  Save your spot by registering here.

The United Colors of Amani

In the tradition of Robert mx14_Amani Starnes Commercial Headshot PrimaryTownsend’s Hollywood Shuffle, the web series “The United Colors of Amani,” explores Amani’s uncomfortable racial adventures in Hollywood. Amani, an ethnically ambiguous performer, has dealt with the “What are you question” her whole life. But what does it mean to be black, white, and everything in between as she navigates the entertainment industry and life in LA? “The United Colors of Amani,” a with sociological undertones, sheds light on the uncomfortable, awkward, and outrageous constructions of race permeating showbiz. It will evoke laughter, discomfort, and outrage. Despite the specific circumstances of the protagonist’s journey through the big bad world of Hollywood, viewers will be surprised to find that they, too, can relate on some level to the identity politics and interpersonal catastrophes highlighted in “The United Colors of Amani.”

Amani Starnes is a multiracial actress, writer, producer, and singer. She graduated from Yale, where she studied Theater and African American Studies. Amani is the face of several national television commercials and a member of Tim Robbins’ Actors’ Gang. She also sings, choreographs, and stars in independent films, plays, concerts, music videos, and rock operas.

 

Ozzy & Harry

mx14_molineA biting satire on Conservative American Family Values “Ozzy and Harry” (a play on “Ozzy and Harriet”). Features Ozzy, a closeted, conservative Mixed race business executive and Harry his Nordic spouse and homemaker are trying to raise Pumpkin, their Latino son in a world that only existed on their television sets. Pumpkin tries to pull the wool from over his parents eyes by confronting the family dynamic of two fathers. Shot in 2003 in glorious black and white “Ozzy and Harry” reflects rotten core at buying into the American Dream, through apathy, consumerism and simply the need to be right. It illustrates how we lose our uniqueness in chasing it.

JGM is a singer/songwriter, musician and filmmaker. He uses his art and life to promote a solidarity of enlightened common people. JGM was farm raised in MN and lives in West Hollywood. JGM hopes you enjoy his film Ozzy and Harry.

Tender Love

mx14_joseph_hernandez_kolskiAs a writer who comes from a mixed background, I think my perspective is slightly different. I think my comedy tends to reflect that. This comedy short is a commentary on technology and relationships, not specifically about the mixed experience, but I think it’s a universal topic. My goal is to continue to speak about our experience in ways that demonstrate a positive direction in which I think we need to move as a society, where we are not on the outskirts of the mainstream. We need to redefine what that mainstream looks like.

Joe Hernandez-Kolski is a spoken word poet and comedian. His first short film, “Afterschool’d” was an NBC Comedy Short Cuts finalist. He has written several hip-theater shows, both in the solo format and with his partner Joshua Silverstein under the comedy moniker “So Fresh & So Clean.” His first solo show, “You Wanna Piece of Me?” was recently published by the University of Michigan press as part of an anthology entitled, “Say Word: Voices of Hip-Hop Theater.”

 

Covered in Grass

mx14_aaron_samuelsThe film is a video adaptation of a poem that examines a shared history of oppression between the narrator’s Black heritage and Jewish heritage.

Aaron Samuels, raised in Providence, Rhode Island by a Jewish mother and a Black father, is a Cave Canem Fellowand a nationally acclaimed performer. His work has been nominated for a Pushcart, featured on TV One’s Verses & Flow, and has appeared in many journals including Tidal Basin Review and Muzzle Magazine.

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