Mele Murals Trailer!

Budokan of Los Angeles Video

I had the pleasure of making this video for The Budokan of Los Angeles, a massive project headed by the Little Tokyo Service Center. Nine years ago I made a similar video for the campaign as this gym in Little Tokyo has been something that the community has been organizing around for over 20 years.

Please watch and help spread the word about this epic community effort.

Yuri Kochiyama Tribute Video

I had the honor of creating the tribute video for the Yuri Kochiyama memorials held in Oakland, LA and NY. Family and friends provided the photos and Blue Scholars provided the track. Yuri was a hero of mine and a great family friend, as are all members of the Kochiyama family. Her passion and commitment to the liberation of all peoples continues to inspire my work. 

Here's the tribute reel I cut for my dad's (Robert Nakamura) retirement reception. Besides founding three major institutions (Visual Communications / JANM's Media Arts Center / UCLA's Center for EthnoCommunications) and training an army of filmmakers, he also made a lot of good films.

Remembering Loni Ding

Loni Ding would have been 80 today...

Tribute video by Walt Louie:

Who is Melissa Roxas?

Please watch and learn about Melissa's story. Her bravery is inspiring and her continued community work deserves the support of all of us.



CLICK HERE to sign an open letter to demand justice for Melissa Roxas.

Winners of the JACCC Power of Community Video Contest

The JACCC recently announced the winners of the Power of Community Video Contest. It's great to see API filmmakers creating spots that promote the importance of community instead of selling product. All three directors have different perspectives about the concept of community and took their own approach to trying to capture it on video.

Sportscenter's "Do It For Dylan"

As formulaic and heavy handed as they may be, these tragic stories on ESPN always get me...

Hari Kondabolu's Comedy Central Special on 02/12

Hari Kondabolu's Comedy Central special is airing on Feb. 11th at 11pm. The dude is brilliant. Set your DVR's now...

Inspiration of the Week: REDU's Re:form School in NYC

Here's Lupe at REDU’s Re:form School, three days of events in NYC to call for the reform of the American Public Education System. The project sounded amazing, I would really love to do something like this in LA someday.

"We believe that by speaking the same language as the youth we teach, we can engage them in a discussion about sophisticated issues in their own communities and around the world. Through integrated technologies in the classroom, we’re able to do this in a more dynamic way than ever before."
- Re:Form School

Kenny Endo, Kaoru Watanabe & Abe Lagrimas Jr. at JACCC

Here's some footage that I shot of Kenny Endo, Kaoru Watanabe & Abe Lagrimas Jr. drumming at the JACCC 30th Anniversary concert. Growing up JA in LA it's easy to get taiko'd-out, but these dudes bring a level of craft and energy that really separates them from the rest.

Yo Mina Mina!

Last weekend my niece Mina Loy turned 3-years-grown! Since my nephew Gus had turned 1 a month ago, my family decided to have one big party for the both of them. Mina was born with paralyzed vocal cords and spent the first months of her life with a hole in her throat and was constantly in and out of the hospital. Now at 3, her vocal cords work 100% and she is constantly singing and won't shut-up!

I also just dove into the geeky world of DSLR video and got a Canon T2i. The party was a perfect time to give it a test run.



Hours after I got home from the birthday party I found out that a friend had lost her life earlier that day. The combination of both events reinforced the need to cherish the loved ones in your life and each day you have with them.

In Memory of Tam Tran and Cinthya Felix

Before she was taken away from us, Tam Tran left an imprint on this earth, leaving cracks in this broken-ass US immigration system. Tonight at the packed memorial for Tam and Cinthya Felix, we collectively realized that those cracks will continue to grow and widen as the organized fire that Tam and Cinthya sparked will burn in all of us until the DREAM act is passed and undocumented workers and students receive the full rights and protection of citizenship. Loteria Chicana provides a detailed account of the memorial.



I met Tam when she was a students in the EthnoCommunications program at UCLA. Through the process of making her film Seattle Underground Railroad, I got schooled on the experience of the undocumented student, as well as, Tam's own dedication as leader and filmmaker within the AB540 student community.

Here's a video that features both Tam and Cinthya:


Tam and Cinthya, thank you for all the work and leadership you provided us in such a short amount of time. Rest In Power!

Repeal SB 1070!

Due to the passing of SB 1070 in Arizona:
*Criminalization of all undocumented immigrants as "trespassers" in the state of Arizona. All undocumented workers and their families are subjected to arrest and conviction for misdemeanors, and in some cases felony charges for the new crime of "trespass".

*Legalization of unchecked racial profiling by police of anyone they "suspect" is undocumented.

*Police now have the authority to enforce federal immigration law and arrest people who cannot produce identification proving their legal residency in the U.S.

*Makes seeking work illegal for day laborers and forces all individuals, regardless of immigration status or citizenship, to carry identification papers or be subjected to detention and even deportation.

An Earth Day Message by Captain Planet (and Hari Kondabolu)

For all my fellow 80's babies...

I Heart Hulu

In addition to not being able to wake up and watch football on the weekends, these clips really make me want to get cable (and a HD TV, and a DVR). But Hulu holds me down. These videos are worth sitting through the short commercials, especially if you haven't seen them before:

The Daily Show feature on the new Republican Party website:

The Daily Show: Slim Thug Feels the Recession

The Queen on SNL: Excedrin for Racial Tension Headaches