Back in April, John was part of an event at The Center for Transpacific Studies at USC called Troubled Ocean: Filmmakers Imagine the Pacific, along with director Vilsoni Hereniko.
Photo Credit: Chris Santiago
The Pacific has a vivid hold on the European and American imagination as a paradise, as a vast region of exploration, as a mystery. It has also been a place of conquest, colonization and war. In a one-day festival, screenings and discussions with filmmakers John Sayles and Vilsoni Hereniko, scholars Viet Nguyen and David Kang and members of the community will address themes of the Pacific. The juxtaposition of three films dealing, respectively, with the Philippines, Fiji and Korea will connect seemingly disparate times and places of the Pacific under a common history.
The event was compelling and enjoyable, and thanks to the fine folks at USC, we have photos (all photo credits go to Chris Santiago) and even a video to share with you.
Check out the gallery below, and watch the video to hear excerpts from the selected works, as well as frank and interesting discussion of the varied experiences of colonization, the challenge of making art about histories not well known in the United States, and much more.
Thanks to Viet Thanh Nguyen and everyone at USC and the Visions and Voices program for putting together this fantastic event, and sharing its documentation! #gallery-2 { margin: auto; } #gallery-2 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-2 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-2 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */
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