Executive Producer: gayle k. yamada
gayle is returning to the world of filmmaking after earning her doctorate in Interdisciplinary Humanities. She has directed, produced, written, and been the executive producer of award-winning programs for public television and radio for more than three decades. Her national credits include The Spirit of Taiko, Uncommon Courage: Patriotism and Civil Liberties, Yan Can Cook, Cooking at the Academy, Maxine Hong Kingston: Talking Story, Artwear: The Body Adorned, Czeslaw Milosz: The Poet Remembers, and Julia Morgan: A Life by Design. Her many awards include an Edward R. Murrow Award, first place in the Asian American Journalists Association in both television and radio, and election to the Silver Circle of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She has co-authored two books, taught at the university and secondary school levels, and served on several cultural and broadcast industry boards. Her films have been distributed for broadcast through PBS, NETA, Pacific Mountain Network, TLC, and local public, commercial, and cable television stations. They have been shown at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival where she was awarded the Best Historical Documentary, the Sedona International Film Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, and screened at many universities, community centers, and cultural organizations throughout the country. |
Director and Editor: Emiko Omori
Emiko is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and pioneer Asian American camerawoman in San Francisco. She has produced, directed, shot and edited Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World, Passion & Power: The Technology of Orgasm, California and the America Dream: Ripe for Change, and Hot Summer Winds for PBS’ American Playhouse. Emiko received a National Emmy for Outstanding Historical Program for Rabbit in the Moon, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on public television’s POV. Her works have been presented at film festivals internationally. A member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Emiko has taught at the University of Southern California, San Francisco State, and San Francisco City College. Select awards are Best Documentary Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, the Society for Visual Anthropology’s Award of Excellence, the Asian American Media Award at the Asian American International Film Festival, the John O’Connor Award from the American Historical Association, and Golden and Silver Apples from the National Educational Media Network. In addition to presenting her works at the named festivals, they have appeared at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in the Netherlands, South by Southwest, the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, and INPUT. |
Producer: Lydia Tanji
Lydia’s passion for the fantastic Cantonese opera costumes she saw, drew her to Vanishing Chinatown. A first-time producer, she is known for her costume design for film and television. Her credits include: Joy Luck Club, Carved in Silence, Unfinished Business, Dim Sum, Hot Summer Winds, A Thousand Pieces of Gold, The Wash, and Life Tastes Good. She has worked on many re-creations for televised PBS documentaries, including We Shall Remain: Trail of Tears, American Experience: The Chinese in America with Bill Moyers, The Gold Rush, The Transcontinental Railroad, and The Massie Case. Theaters Lydia has worked with include San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre in New York, Manhattan Theatre Club, Children's Theater in Minneapolis, Arena Stage, and the Newseum in Washington, DC, and Sundance Educational Tour. Lydia has co-curated fiber art exhibits in Hong Kong and has presented her works in Foshan, China. She has lectured at the University of Wisconsin, the University of California, Davis, San Francisco State, and Aoyama Gakuen in Tokyo. A recipient of the Woman Warrior award from the Pacific Asian American Women Bay Area Coalition, Lydia has received numerous Bay Area Theater Critics and Drama-Logue awards. |