Unrest is a short thesis film made by a group of graduate student filmmakers pursuing their Master of Fine Arts degree from the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles. It is a coming of age family drama that follows a 10 year old girl’s experience amidst a chaotic revolution in the streets of the Philippines, shaking up not [...]
Archive for August, 2010
Posted in 
Open Doors: Monument in Israel Honoring Filipinos
August 29th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Here’s a little known fact that you won’t get from Hollywood or a Steven Spielberg flick. Did you know that the Philippines played a role in saving hundreds of Jews from the gas chambers and mass graves of the Holocaust? In 1939, two years before World War II reached the Pacific, the Commonwealth government under President [...]
Get A Free Vincent Who? DVD With Your APAP Membership at Blacklava
August 28th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Do you know who Vincent Chin is? This is a question that is often asked to Asian American students in universities across America. Surprisingly, the majority of Asian Americans don’t know who Vincent Chin is and what his death meant to the community. I first found out about Vincent Chin in 2004 after seeing a flyer [...]
Obama names Fil-Am as Associate Judge of DC
August 27th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
President Barack Obama has nominated Fil-Am Maria Elizabeth (Maribeth) Raffinan to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. “Throughout her career Maribeth Raffinan has shown a commitment to justice and public service,” said President Obama in a statement released last month. “I am proud to nominate her to serve [...]
Venus Raj Takes on Miss Universe 2010 and then Falls Short
August 23rd, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Maria Venus Bayonito Raj (born July 7, 1988) is one of the three reigning 2010 Binibining Pilipinas winners. Upon separation of her parents, Maria Venus Raj was taken to Bato, Camarines Sur in Bicol, Philippines as an infant and was registered by an aunt as Philippine-born to Roman Catholic parents—a Filipino mother and an Indian father. It was her mother, [...]
Philippine SWAT: “Sorry, We Aren’t Trained”
August 23rd, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
According to Philippine authorities, they found nine bodies: eight Hong Kong tourists and the ex-policeman who had seized the bus to demand his job back. It was 10:15 a.m. Monday in Manila when Rolando Mendoza, 55 and married with three children, hitched a ride with the tourists as they visited historic sites in the city. [...]
S-Cube Entertainment Presents Umamiya’s Hot Sour Spicy and Sweet
August 19th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Never heard of the Pan-Asian girl group Umamiya? Then I guess you’ve been living under a rock. Umamiya is comprised of five women from different Asian Pacific Islander ethnicities. Each female member of Umamiya is a talented, triple-threatening singer, songwriter and dancer. Breaking new ground with singers representing Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and the Philippines. [...]
J.J. Racaza’s Last Shot
August 18th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Did any of you catch the last episode of Top Shot on Sunday August 15th? If you did, you know that Fil-Am contestant J.J. was one of the final three contestants on the History Channel reality show. Although, the show didn’t end with the results I wanted, J.J. proved to be a worthy contestant and [...]
Airport Workers Resolve Age Bias Case
August 17th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Filipino Advocates for Justice just released an update on Oakland Airport Workers’ campaign against Delta Air Lines Global Services for discrimination and harassment of older workers.A year from the launching of the “Justice for Manong” campaign, Hector Arcangel and Alex Lugtu’s age discrimination case against Delta Airlines Global Services (DGS) has been resolved! Hector and Alex [...]
CCCI Presents Once Upon a Full Moon: An Evening with Beauty and Melody
August 17th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Here is an upcoming event from my good friend Z.J. Tong, the founder of Chicago Chinese Cultural Institute (CCCI) and a Chinese culture expert. He has made presentations at various universities, corporations and organizations and has been quoted mulitple times by publications such as Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Time, Crain’s Chicago Business, Gazette, [...]
DECKTECHS: A Science Fiction Dramatic Comedy
August 10th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
DECKTECHS is a show to look out for in the near future and find out how you can even help produce the pilot for this show. DECKTECHS is a Dramatic Comedy television pilot set in the not-too-distant future. It is the story of a young man named Don who wants to work in outer space, [...]
The Peace Corps Alumni Foundation for Philippines Development (PCAFPD)
August 10th, 2010 by
by Sylvia The Peace Corps Alumni Foundation for Philippines Development (PCAFPD) is preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps in 2011 by collecting stories from Filipinos about Peace Corps Voluneers who served in the Philippines. If you have memories of a Peace Corps Volunteer who was your friend, colleague or neighbor when [...]
17th Annual Pistahan Parade and Festival
August 10th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
17TH ANNUAL PISTAHAN PARADE AND FESTIVAL AT THE YERBA BUENA GARDENS – August 14 and 15, 11am-5pm. (FREE) Experience the Philippines in San Francisco. The largest celebration of Filipino Americans in San Francisco is back! Over 50,000 attended last year. The Pistahan begins with the Grand Parade at 11am on Saturday, August 14 on Market [...]
Guestworker Teachers Fight Back
August 9th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Hundreds of Filipino guestworkers lured to teach in Louisiana public schools were cheated out of tens of thousands of dollars and forced into exploitative contracts by an international trafficking ring run by labor contractors, according to a class action lawsuit filed on August 5th by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the American Federation of Teachers [...]
Meet Stephen Dypiangco, Director of Home Unknown
August 2nd, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Last month I featured an upcoming documentary entitled, Home Unknown. This personal documentary is about filmmaker Stephen Dypiangco’s attempts to reconnect with his roots by traveling with his parents to their homeland, the Philippines. Through a series of surprising encounters, he realizes that he knows far less about his quiet father, outspoken mother, and himself [...]