SESSION 1: HAVING ONE’S BACK: MENTORSHIP WITHIN THE DOCUMENTARY COMMUNITY

CAAM 2021 Fellows, in conversation with their mentors, discuss what it means to start out as an Asian American filmmaker and the crucial need to find mentors who guide them through the daunting industry. The mentors will speak of their early experiences as documentarians and talk about what mentoring really means within the context of the Asian American community and how constructive mentoring can bring forth a perspective shift and a slew of stories that are able to authentically celebrate Asian resilience and joy. The fellows will ask questions around the mentors’ career choices, their processes, their experiences with their own mentors, and try and negotiate the area that lies in between good mentoring and gatekeeping.