YOU ARE HERE

We are thrilled to showcase the world premiere of YOU ARE HERE, the new series by Producer/Creator James Q. Chan (FOREVER CHINATOWN; CHINATOWN RISING) which is a loving portrait of San Francisco’s Chinatown and the diverse community who live in and around the historic neighborhood. This documentary series will include various stories about local residents and the lasting impact they are making. From Master Kuo, a Tai Chi and Shaolin Kung Fu headmaster to Aaron Lim, a young entrepreneur who created an online system to order food from Chinatown restaurants hurting due to COVID-19, these stories are sure to inspire audiences.

YOU ARE HERE Season One (partial) include:

Aaron Lim (Dir. Anson Ho)

Against the backdrop of Shelter in Place, a young Chinatown resident launches a personal mission to provide support for his neighborhood restaurants. (Co-presented by Chinatown Development Center)

Leon Sun (Dir. James Q. Chan)

Since arriving from Hong Kong in the 1960s, Leon has documented and interpreted the Asian American community’s values of equity and social justice through an eclectic body of artwork.

This Constellation (Dir. James Q. Chan)

Filmed at the start and throughout shelter in place, this music video from local musician Ying-sun Ho (Dialectic) provides a soundtrack to loneliness, grief, and a dose of magical realism in the time of the pandemic.

Share the Square (Dir. James Q. Chan)

Paint brushes to the people! Two local artists lead the community in joining the nationwide Juneteenth 2020 weekend of action in support for Black Lives Matter at Chinatown’s historic Portsmouth Square.  (Co-presented by Chinese Culture Center)

Master Simu Kuo (Dir. James Q. Chan)

Master Kuo remains one of the few female masters who continue to teach one of the oldest forms of Tai Chi and Shaolin Kung Fu to students in her Chinatown studio.

Program includes exclusive Q&A with Creator James Q. Chan, Co-director Anson Ho and Subject Dorothy Quock. 

Series Producer/Creator biography:

James Q. Chan is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker based in San Francisco. He directed and produced FOREVER, CHINATOWN (PBS/World) and the film received an Emmy® nomination, multiple jury and audience awards, and has screened globally with American Film Showcase, the US State Department/USC Cinematic Arts film diplomacy program where James serves as an envoy. James’ recent credits include producing Harry and Josh Chuck’s CHINATOWN RISING (CAAMFest Opening Night); BLOODLINE (coming to public television 2021) and directing large-format 360° CIRCLE VISION films for Disney. Prior to his training with two-time Academy-Award winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK; CELLULOID CLOSET; HOWL), James worked as a talent agent. James received a Certificate of Honor from the city of San Francisco for his work in amplifying stories from the APA community. His refugee and working class background, love for nature shows, memories of his mother’s cooking shape his sensibilities throughout all his stories. He is currently adapting Laurence Yep’s acclaimed Child of the Owl book into his narrative feature debut. James is a member of the Directors Guild of America.

Filmmakers in this series:

Anson Ho

Anson is a San Francisco native rooted in the Chinatown community. While serving in the US Navy he found his passion in film and tv when he produced and filmed his own closed circuit television show on his naval ship, USS OLDENDORF. He followed his passion by moving to Los Angeles and worked on various short films, music videos and documentary projects. Notable projects included sundance film FINISHING THE GAME as an associated producer and thereafter worked on Universal’s Studio FAST & FURIOUS as an assistant to the director both directed by Justin Lin. He also help develop and film numerous webseries and comedy sketches on a Youtube Asian American channel called YOMYOMF which gained over 35 million views within a year. As a traveling cinematographer, he’s filmed documentaries all over China, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Mt Everest base camp. He recently worked on the feature film narrative called SNAKEHEAD as a producer and 1st Assistant Director. He was also the Director of Photography for the feature film documentary CHINATOWN RISING which premiered at CAAMFest 2019 opening night.

About the Series:

YOU ARE HERE is a physical statement of place for viewers and an affirmation of belonging for the storied lives connected to this historically vibrant neighborhood.

The short documentary series showcases up to eight new short docs biannually (Fall/Winter, Spring/Summer) and is intended for cross presentations on public television with the main goal of digitally archiving our community stories through an interactive and bilingual website (forthcoming). James directed partial Season One episodes and is actively curating future episodes and pairing them with a growing team of seasoned and aspiring local filmmakers. Visit Good Medicine Picture Company for more information.