Meeting with Malcom Collier

Had a nice session with Malcom Collier today at my place. Malcom, who is my former teacher at San Francisco State, is a pioneer, along with his father John Collier Jr., in Visual Anthropology. Their book, Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method, is a classic in the field. Malcom has also been an important figure in the Asian American studies program at State University.

I first met him exactly 10 years ago when I was a beginning graduate counseling student at San Francisco State University. I decided to venture outside of my department by taking a course in the Asian American studies department called "Photographic Explorations of Asian Americans" taught by Malcom. That class eventually let me onto a path that I am now where I am using the photographic/video medium to explore marginal communities that I encounter at the clinic.

He was very generous with his time today spending almost three hours talking to me about our video and giving me some thoughtful feedback about ways in which we can improve upon our project. Here are some nuggets that came out of our conversation:

(a) the process of working with our client-participants should be looked at more closely rather than just focusing on the product.

(b) the need to explore more deeply some of the ethical concerns involved in working with our population. In other words, why are we doing this and who is benefitting?

 (c) the difference between eliciting a narrative structure from the participants vs imposing a narrative structure onto the participants (he coined the term "photo elicitation")

 (d) some reminders about different ways in which people view a film/photographs based on their own interpretive lens and cultural context.

(e) and...Have Fun!!!

Meeting with Filmmaker David L. Brown

Went out to Brisbane (20 minutes from downtown San Francisco) to the studio of David L. Brown, my former instructor & multi Emmy award winning documentary filmmaker, to give him a copy of the Unheard Voices DVD and to basically get some guidance & feedback about our Intermedia Arts Project. 

David is one of the few documentary filmmakers in the Bay Area who are constantly making documentary films at a prolific, professional level. 

 Got some really insightful ideas about how we can use this project to enrich the lives of our clients at the clinic through networking and collaborating with other artists & filmmakers. It is always a good idea for any novice artist, such myself, to surround himself/herself with experienced, knowledgeable, and generous mentors/advisors like David. 

Writing Class at City College Sharpens My Script

I am currently working on a digital story with Rochelle, a client at the clinic whose story will be featured at the upcoming "Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Illness" workshop to be held at the clinic. In her story, she talks about her journey through mental illness beginning with her first "break" at the age of 19 and all the ups and downs that took place. Hers is really a story of hope and faith as she describes how her family and faith in God have helped her through the "toughest of times." 

At the "non fiction Scriptwriting" (cinema 72) course I am taking at City College, I had an opportunity tonight to submit my work in progress to the class for critique. It was a script of Rochelle's story that I revised using some of the storytelling techniques we've been utilizing in class. We actually took a whole hour analyzing my rough draft and got some helpful feedback. I'm beginning to feel that my investment in a three-hour class in the evenings (taking the bus from work to school then home) is paying off. 

Clients Talk about their Films to Social Work Interns

Today I had a chance to present on the Intermedia Arts Project to this year's interns at our clinic. Every year, Citywide & Community Focus Center recruits eager and capable students from a number of Bay Area counseling and social work programs for a year of supervised internship. This year the Intermedia Arts Project was invited to be a part of the 3-week long intensive training for the interns that occurs annually at our clinic. I brought along our client-participants to the training so that they could talk about their experiences with the digital storytelling project. We began with the 30-minute "Unheard Voices" video which was warmly and enthusiastically received by the interns. They asked a lot of questions to the clients afterwards. If you ask me, I think some of the interns were "star struck" by our client-participants--which is a good thing. The main reason for today's training was to help our future social workers/clinicians to see our clients in a new way--not just as patients but as human beings who have a lot of important things to say.One of my hopes for our project is that our client-participants would continue to have opportunities like to this to talk about their experiences and to interact with the public through multiple viewing/screening opportunities throughout the year. This would not only help fight stigma against mental illness in a powerful way, but it can really enhance their self- esteem. Today's session has certainly boosted my own self-esteem. 

Cultural Competency Work Committee Retreat

About three weeks ago, the Cultural Competency Work Committee, which is responsible for promoting cultural and diversity awareness within our clinic, held our annual day retreat at Bonnie's house in San Francisco. 

The committee (which is co-chaired this year by me and Lindsey McDaniel) is composed of staff and clients from diverse ethnic, religious, and sociocultural backgrounds who are seen (in photo) enjoying a multicultural potluck meal while discussing goals for the upcoming year. 

This committee has been instrumental in helping to organize our previous film festival at the clinic and is an ardent supporter of the Intermedia Arts Project. Given the variety of views represented in our committee, the CCWC is poised to provide much needed perspective and guidance to the Intermedia Arts Project. 

At this retreat, our main point of discussion and planning revolved around our upcoming workshop/inservice on RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY & MENTAL ILLNESS. The members agreed that religion and spirituality play an important role in the lives of our clients as well as staff and that this would be a workshop that is long overdue. We will invite a group of inter-faith panelists who will address their work & ministry. 

During the workshop, we will also showcase a video on spirituality that will be put together by the Intermedia Arts Project. The date of the workshop is scheduled for November 4th, 2009 from 2:00PM-4:00PM at Citywide & Community Focus Center.

Picturing Our Clinic

A few days ago, our program director asked me to take some photographs of our clinic site. The photographs would then be attached to the RFP's  (grant applications) and sent out to Community Behavioral Health Services.  

Rather than taking matters into my own hands, I asked Se Kyu Kim (photographer and member of our Intermedia Arts Project) for some assistance. He graciously offered his services and came out to the clinic with his tripod and fancy camera and went about his business with ease and competence. Thanks again to Se Kyu for his time and talents. The pics look great, by the way, and will surely "beautify" our application. 

Meeting with Trey Houston (aka "Chuck")

Had a nice meeting with Trey Houston today, a Millbrae-based producer/filmmaker who has done a lot of work with non-profit organizations. Several months ago, I saw one of his videos at a church function and really admired his photographic sensibilities and his ability to tell stories visually. So I invited him to our film festival. He was impressed with the screening and showed some interest in getting involved with our project.  Check out his website "Chuck Three Productions" on the side bar. 

 I gave him a brief tour of our clinic and discussed ways in which we might be able to collaborate. Given Trey's passion for community service, social justice, and commitment to helping non-profits, I felt really good about our first meeting. 

With his experience in both producing and teaching film, I was glad when he offered to provide some consultation/guidance/feedback in the next few months as I begin to think about where to go from here.