JANM screening of Life on Four Strings with Jake

Photo by J.K. Yamamoto/Rafu Shimpo

The Japanese American National Museum, Angry Asian Man, First Pond Ent. and Visual Communications hosted a fun screening of Life on Four Strings. This was the first time Jake and I did a public Q&A session in LA and as expected, it got a little goofy. It had been a while since we talked about the film so we shared a lot of funny behind-the-scene stories. You can read a very detailed write-up about the event in the Rafu Shimpo.

Jake treated the crowd to an intimate performance.

My first (and best) Xmas gift! The Mike & Mike aloha shirt 
that they made for Jake when he was on their show.

Holiday screening of Life on Four Strings in LA with Jake!

A very special Los Angeles screening of Life on Four Strings featuring a guest appearance and performance by Jake Shimabukuro himself on Dec. 21st! The show starts at 3p so it's a perfect event for all ages.

PBS National Re-Broadcast of Life on Four Strings in May

 

I'm happy to announce that PBS will re-broadcast Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings nationally starting on Friday, May 9th. 

Broadcast dates and times vary in each city so please check your local listings. The easiest way to find the film is to search "Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings" on your cable box or your local PBS station's website. You can find your local PBS station here:
http://www.pbs.org/about/faq/station-finder/

Los Angeles, KOCE - 5/9 @ 10P
Bay Area, KQED - 5/10 @ 6P
Boston, WENH & WGBH - 5/9 @ 10P
New York, WEDW - 5/12 @ 4A
Phoenix, KAET - 5/9 @ 9P
Houston, KUHT - 5/14 @ 8P
Dallas, KERA - 5/9 @ 9P
Minneapolis, KAWB - 5/9 @ 10P
Philadelphia, WHYY - 5/9 @ 10P

Life on Four Strings at Stanford

I'll be screening Life on Four Strings at Stanford's Institute for Diversity in the Arts on April 22nd at 5p. The screening is free and will be held at the Roble Hall Theater

CAAM Interview about Gotham

Photo by Aaron Yoshinio

Momo Chang from CAAM recently interviewed me about the Gotham Awards.  You can read the interview HERE.

Life on Four Strings wins the Gotham Audience Award!

As a result of all your votes, Life on Four Strings won the Gotham Film Audience Award! Cindy and I had a great time at the awards ceremony and the win was totally unexpected. Thank you for all your help mobilizing our community to vote and spread the word. Many of you have been backing me since day one and I really wouldn't be making films if it were not for all your love and support.

We got some ink in Variety but only as an example of how bad 12 Years of Slave did at the Gotham Awards, hilarious!

Geeked that I got to meet one of my favorite actors Mike B. Jordan. I’ve been a fan since he was Wallace in The Wire and Friday Night Lights just sealed the deal. He won the Breakthrough Actor Award that night for his lead role as Oscar Grant in Fruitvale Station.

Talk about geeked, Cindy was screaming inside while meeting her idol Rashida Jones.

Got to meet Director Ryan Coogler who won Breakthrough Director Award for this film Fruitvale Station.

Jake was in NYC but couldn't make it to the awards ceremony because he was performing with Paul Simon at a fundraiser that night. I got to catch up with him and his manager Chris the next day.

Vote for Life on Four Strings for Gotham Award

I'm honored that Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings, the film I directed for CAAM and PIC, was nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Audience Award and the winner is determined by a public vote!  The Gotham awards is a huge thing for independent films and it would be awesome to win.

There are two rounds of voting and the first starts today. I would really appreciate if you can go to the link, log-in (even if you've never signed up before just type in your email address and a password) and vote for Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings. You get to vote for five different films in this round, and those top five will make it to the final round.
Click here to vote.

Free Outdoor Screening of Life on Four Strings in Seattle - 8/24

I've always heard that Seattle in the summer is amazing. The Seattle Asian American Film Festival has partnered with Seattle Parks to present a FREE summer film series OUTDOORS at Hing Hay Park. Life on Four Strings will be screened on Saturday August 24th at 8p. It sounds like it will be a great International District community event.

More info HERE

Live Pledge on PBS SoCal

PBS SoCal chose to feature Life on Four Strings for their live pledge this month and invited me to be a part of it. It was my first time on a live TV set and it was fun to see how it all goes down.

Feature article in Hyphen Magazine

My friend Oliver Saria wrote a great feature on me in Hyphen Magazine. We met up and talked over burgers at Plan Check on Sawtelle. I feel he really understood my goals as a filmmaker and where I'm at in my career. Oliver is a super talented writer and is the drummer for one of my favorite bands The Skyflakes!

Life on Four Strings wins at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Fest!

Photo by Steve Lam

Just when I thought the Los Angeles premiere of Life on Four Strings couldn't have gone better, it did.  We won both the Audience Award for Best Documentary and the Best Editor Award at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Fest (LAAPFF)!  While I do love me some awards, the best part about the LAAPFF screening was being able to finally show the film to a hometown crowd of family and friends.  Big hugs and thank you to everyone who came out to support that night!

PBS National Broadcast Premiere of Life on Four Strings on May 10, 2013!

PBS Hawa'i Broadcast Premiere on March 12th

Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings will have it's exclusive Hawai'i broadcast premiere on Tuesday, March 12th at 8:00p.  PBS Hawai'i gets to air the film two months before the national broadcast (on May 10th, but please tune-in then also).   So many people in Hawai'i contributed their time and talent to this film and I'm happy that they can be the first to share it with their family, friends and neighbors.  For me, the best outcome of this project is the relationships I built with local artists and community members during the two and a half years of production.

Video from Smithsonian Screening

Here's a video recap of Jake's PBS office show and the Life On Four Strings screening at the Smithsonian in DC!

DC Premiere at The Smithsonian

(Photo by Smithsonian APA Center)

The Washington DC premiere of Life on Four Strings was presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) and Pacific Islanders in Communication (PIC). All partners of the film came to D.C. for this special event including Leanne Ferrer from PIC (Honolulu) and Stephen Gong from CAAM (San Francisco). Jake added an extra day to his East Coast tour so he could attend the event.


The day started early with a special visit to Eastern High School where Jake talked about the ukulele and demonstrated it’s power. The students requested he play his cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”…twice!


We then headed over to the National PBS Headquarters in Arlington, VA.


PBS staffers crowded in the lobby to see Jake perform. Department meeting or free concert, which one would you pick?


Don Young (Producer of Life on Four Strings) and I took Jake to experience Shake Shack for the first time. It's hands down my favorite burger joint and Jake was not disappointed. When I first met Jake he was a gluten free health freak and now look at him.




People packed the theater at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. There was a great energy in the room the whole night, the DC crowd was one the most lively audiences we have had so far. The film was followed by a wonderful performance by Jake and a Q&A session moderated by CAAM board member Christine Chen.
(Photo by Smithsonian APA Center)


Director of the Smithsonian Asian and Pacific American Center Konrad Ng (who also happens to be President Obama’s brother-in-law) welcomed the audience.
(Photo by Smithsonian APA Center)


Leanne Ferrer from Pacific Islanders In Communication introduced the film. (Photo by Smithsonian APA Center)


Following the film, Jake broke out his uke and his vest for the audience. (Photo by Smithsonian APA Center)



CAAM Board member Christine Chen moderated a real fun Q&A. I thought it might rain on stage so I wore my waterproof vans, Jake wore his waterproof pants.  (Photo by Smithsonian APA Center)

Interview on NPR affiliate KUSP

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Robert Pollie for his feature story on Life on Four Strings on NPR affiliate KUSP.  

Listen to the story HERE

Check out some of the highlights from last week's amazing Hawai'i premiere on Jake's latest webisode...

Back to Santa Cruz for the Pacific Film Festival

It felt great to return to Santa Cruz to show Life on Four Strings. When I was in grad school at UC Santa Cruz I'd always walk past the Del Mar Theater. It was pretty cool to see it packed to see my film.

The line around the corner to see Life on Four Strings in Santa Cruz. Deep apologies to those who didn't get in.

Capitola > Santa Cruz (at Sunny Cove Beach)

 Made time to walk through Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

Hawai'i Premiere at HIFF

What an amazing night!  Over 1,100 people packed the historic Hawaii Theater for the Hawai'i Premiere of Life on Four Strings.  The premiere was an special event of the Hawai'i International Film Festival sponsored by Pacific Islanders in Communication and PBS Hawaii.  Fans, friends, family and many local stars like ukulele legend Eddie Kamae and singer/songwriter Paula Fuga came out to watch the film.

 
(Photo by Rae Huo/Zakka)



 
(Photo by Rae Huo/Zakka from HIFF website)
Jake's hero Eddie Kamae and family with HIFF Executive Director Chuck Boller


I was super stoked to meet one of my favorite singers Paula Fuga!

Feature in Innov8 Magazine

The September/October issue of Innov8 Magazine features a great write-up on Life on Four Strings.  Article written by Sonny Ganaden and photo by Aaron Yoshino.

Read the article on page 29: