Past Panel Discussions

Past PANEL DISCUSSIONS @ ViFF 2009
Crossing Boundaries: Female Filmmakers and Questions of Genre and Gender

Moderated by Lan Duong, Ph.D. (from Center for Women in Coalition, UC Riverside)

Panelists: Doan Hoang, Tammy Nguyen Lee, Tien Nguyen, Kim Spurlock, and Kim-Trang Tran

SUNDAY, April 5th

2:00pm-3:30pm

Humanities Instructional Building

(HIB) 100, UC Irvine

“Crossing Boundaries: Female Filmmakers and Questions of Gender and Genre” brings together a vibrant group of women filmmakers who have shaped and continue to shape the emergent body of work that is Vietnamese American filmmaking.  The panelists include Kim-Trang Tran (”Blindness” Series), Kim Spurlock (Down in Number 5), Doan Hoang (Oh, Saigon), Tammy Nguyen (Operation Babylift) and Tien Nguyen (Fortunate Son).  We will be speaking about issues related to genre, funding, production and the reception of women’s films, especially within the Vietnamese American film context. This panel aims to explore the opportunities that are offered to women filmmakers and producers today and the struggles that they face in making films.

Combating HumanTrafficking: How YOU Can Help

Moderated by Tu-Uyen Nguyen, Ph.D., M.P.H.(Assistant Professor, CSUF)

Panelists: Mirabelle Ang (Director, Match Made); Suzie Xuyen Dong-Matsuda, PsyD, MSW, LCSW (Service Chief of Adult Mental Health Services, Orange County Health Care Agency), Thang Dinh Nguyen, Ph.D. (Executive Director, Boat People SOS), and Tammy Tran (President, VietACT).

SUNDAY, April 5th

6:15pm-8:00pm

Humanities Instructional Building (HIB) 135, UC Irvine

Human trafficking refers to the recruitment, transportation, and harboring of persons for forced labor, sexual exploitation, or other illicit activities.  Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery.  The International Labor Organization of the United Nations (UN) estimates that there are approximately 12 million women, men, and children enslaved throughout the world at any given time, being deprived of their basic human rights.  Since 2001, over 600,000 Vietnamese persons have been trafficked to over 20 different countries; 80,000 additional Vietnamese individuals continue to be exported and forced into slavery each year.  What can be done to fight this global injustice? The speakers on this panel will share their experiences as activists working to bring attention to this important topic.  Come learn what we all can do to inform ourselves, raise community awareness, and take action to make a difference in combating and stopping human trafficking.