Ravi Chandra

The Power of the Journey

Socheata Poeuv's New Year Baby documents her family's return to Cambodia's killing fields.

CAMBODIAN American filmmaker Socheata Poeuv's debut documentary film, New Year Baby, wowed audiences and won the Jury Prize at the 2007 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. I saw the film right before I left for a five-month Buddhist pilgrimage across Asia and, in a way, it served as an emotional starting point for my own voyage.

Fire Breather

Artist Kana Tanaka takes blowtorching seriously.

There’s something about a woman with a blowtorch that grabs my attention. The bright rod of orange and blue flame reflected in protective glasses, the steady roar of gas, the occasional faint yet pugnacious whiff of sulfur—this artist evokes power and incandescent spirit like nothing else.

Hapa Hollywood

Two up-and-coming filmmakers hope to spark a movement and send a message.

Photographer Seng Chen

During the 24th Annual San Francisco Asian American Film Festival in March 2006, directors Eric Byler and Mora Mi-Ok Stephens screened their films Americanese and Conventioneers, respectively. They sat down with Hyphen to discuss their work, politics and experiences of being hapa. Here are excerpts from that hour-long conversation.