Documentary: Who Killed Vincent Chin?

This week I continue my documentary series with one of my favorite documentary films, Who Killed Vincent Chin? 30 years ago (June 23rd, 1982), Vincent Chin was killed in Highland Park, Michigan close to Detroit by two men, Ronald Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz outside of a McDonalds restaurant.

Vincent Chin was killed during a rough time in Detroit, especially in the auto industry when a lot of manufacturing jobs were being lost to Japan and their rising auto industry. In the Detroit area there was hatred towards Japan and Japanese people and unfortunately Vincent Chin was a victim of that hatred and he lost his life.

The sad thing is that Vincent Chin was not Japanese but Chinese and got into an argument with Ebens (a superintendent at Chrysler during that time) at a strip club where Chin was having his bachelor party. Ebens was quoted as saying "It's because of you little motherfuckers that we're out of work," talking about the jobs that were being lost.

Chin left the strip club and Ebens and his stepson searched for Chin and found him at McDonald's where the duo beat Chin with a baseball bat multiple times leaving him in a coma before he ultimately died. Ebens and Nitz never really served time for the murder, Ebens was originally convicted to 25 years in prison but was overturned.

I watched this film almost two years ago in my Asian representation class at DePaul and this film has been one of my favorites and I was so intrigued by the way the story was told from different perspectives. From looking at the auto industry in Detroit, the incident that took place, and even the perspective of Chin's family and friends, Ebens family and friends, and how the incident effected the Asian community.

I encourage you all to find this documentary (it's really hard to find) and check it out because it's a very good documentary. In the meantime, you can check out another documentary about Vincent Chin called Vincent Who? This one was made in 2009 and directed by Chris Chin (no relation) and looks back the 1982 incident and he even interviews about 80 Asian Americans to see if they ever heard of Vincent Chin.

Justin

A Frustrating Week

What a frustrating week!! First off, I have to apologize for not posting anything on Monday. I had plan to talk about this documentary called "I Got Next" but unfortunately my blog had a hiccup so I had to fix it to make sure it was ok for everyone to visit again. So I'm sorry once again for not posting on my blog.

Anyway, I had shot some more footage for the film but it didn't really work out the way I planned and I couldn't use the footage at all so the three days that I took time to work on the film were a total waste. I've also been dealing with some personal issues that's really been effecting me and I don't know how to handle it at this moment

The good thing is that this week is over and I'm gonna relax, take a little bit of time to myself and get ready to start fresh next week!

Justin

Deadly Embrace

This week I mentioned on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr that I was gonna be working on another film project called Deadly Embrace. This is a short film noir film directed by Alaric Rocha.The other day I accepted a position on the film as 2nd Assistant Director and I can't put into words how excited I am to be working on this film.

The main reason I'm excited is that this will give me some actual experience in the film industry and the lessons that I learn from taking part in this film will go a long way when it comes to making my documentary. I've been working on my film for 8 months and I'm still a novice when it comes to directing but I'm glad to have people like my special advisor for my film who has a lot more experience than I have and also getting a chance to work on another film and getting a chance to watch and learn from another director.

Justin

Check out the website for Deadly Embrace:
http://www.bluebassoon.net/deadlyembrace.html

Documentary: The Interrupters

Photo: Frontline

Directed by Steve James and produced by Alex Kotlowitz, The Interrupters is a documentary talking about the violent landscape that's been taking place in Chicago. I watched this documentary a few weeks ago and instantly fell in love with it. The style that's presented in The Interrupters is sort of how I want to present my film. I want viewers to go in-depth into my life and my experience in a wheelchair. A lot of people don't understand the work that it takes for me to get in my wheelchair and to get around on a daily basis. Here's a quick clip and it you haven't seen this documentary, I encourage you to check it out.

Frontline: The Interrupters

Watch The Interrupters (Graphic Language) on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Important Update!

Hey everyone, hope you all had a great week! I've got a couple of announcements to make and a major update regarding the blog. Let me start first with the update. I changed the theme for my blog and the reason I changed it because I wasn't really comfortable with the previous theme and in the end, I ultimately decided to it. 

Now on to the announcements. For the blog I plan to post again twice a week Monday & Friday. The reason I'm doing this is that I have more time in the summer now to posts more material on the blog. Even though I'm taking a couple of classes at DePaul during the summer, I do have more time to not only work on the film but also the blog as well.

My plan is for Monday to do a blog post on certain documentaries that I like and I'll share my opinions on why I like it and how it effects my film. On Friday, I'll post film updates and I continue to do my What A Film Should Be Like series.

Also for those who read my blog can you please leave a comment either on the blog at the end of my blog posts or on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. because I really want some feedback on what you all like or dislike about my posts. That way I can work on improving the blog and giving my readers good quality content.

Thank you all for continuing to support my blog and the film.

Justin

What A Film Should Be Like: John Huston

Photo Courtesy: 5 Recipes for Life

This week I continue my What A Film Should Be Like series with a quote from one of my favorite directors John Huston

"The directing of a picture involves coming out of your individual loneliness and taking a controlling part in putting together a small world. A picture is made. You put a frame around it and move on. And one day you die. That is all there is to it."

The directing of a picture involves coming out of your individual loneliness. When I read the first line of this quote it really hit me because this is exactly what I'm dealing with in regards to my film. For many years I've been a loner , staying to myself and not opening up to my friends and family.

This film that I'm creating has helped me get out of my loneliness. I'm opening myself up to not just my friends and family but to the entire world. It's scary to me that I'm actually doing this because I've never done this before and I fear that if people got to know the real me through this film they might not like what they see.

But if this is what I want to do with my film then I can't worry about how people will perceive me. I want people to come into my world and see what I have to go through on a daily basis. I want people to see that thanks to this film I have become a better person and that I'm not a loner. That will give me satisfaction.

Justin 

What A Film Should Be Like: Ron Howard

Photo Courtesy: Very Aware

This week I continue my What A Film Should Be Like series with an excellent quote from legendary director Ron Howard:

"One of the great things about being a director as a life choice is that it can never be mastered. Every story is its own kind of expedition, with its own set of challenges."

To be honest with you all I absolutely love this quote because this is a very important lesson that I've learned in my short time as a director. In regards to my film I felt that I had to be perfect in making this documentary, that in order for it to be a success it had to be perfect and I had to master every aspect of filming but that's not the case. 

Making this film has been a big challenge for me so far but I accept the challenge and the journey that goes with creating this documentary. For a long time I was afraid of facing this challenge of making this film because I feared that I would fail but today I'm in a different state of mind and I'm up for this challenge and I will be a success and this film will be a stepping stone to bigger and better things in my life.

Justin

 

Stepping In Front Of The Camera

Sorry for not posting anything last week, it was a really busy time for me trying to finish up school and everything. The film has been coming along pretty well but I haven't been able to get some more footage for the film itself and that sucks because I miss it big time. But in all honesty I'll have plenty of time to get more footage during the summer.

During that time I'll be working with my special adviser for my film Camille DeBose (who's a documentary filmmaker herself) and recently her documentary Good Hair has been selected to be shown at the San Francisco Black Film Festival . Let me tell you a little bit about Camille, she is my former professor at DePaul and I took many of her sociology and media courses and she has taught me a lot during my experience at DePaul. She has been a strong supporter of my film and as a matter of fact when I first told her about this film and the idea that I had about it she wanted me to do 6-7 films based on different issues involving people in wheelchairs. Look in all honesty I just wanted to do one film but as time went by I understood what she wanted me to do and I thank her for that.

We're putting together an interview session where me and her will come up with some questions and I'll answer them in front of the camera. I'm a little nervous about this because this will dive into my personal life but that's what I want and that is the central premise of my film for the world to get to know me and to get to know about my life in a wheelchair. So instead of being nervous I should actually be excited because I want people to know that I'm not just a man in a wheelchair, I'm a man! It probably sounds cheesy but that's how I truly feel.

Justin

Please support my friend Camille who's currently working on her new documentary and fundraising on Kickstarter:

Hidden Brilliance

Also like her page on Facebook:

SocMedia

Thanks

What A Film Should Be Like: David Fincher

Photo: The King Bulletin

This week my What A Film Should Be Like series continues this time with a great quote from one of my favorite directors David Fincher (Fight Club, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Se7en, The Social Network):

“Directing ain’t about drawing a neat little picture and showing it to the cameraman. I didn’t want to go to film school. I didn’t know what the point was. The fact is, you don’t know what directing is until the sun is setting and you’ve got to get five shots and you’re only going to get two.” - David Fincher

This is an interesting quote for me due to the fact that I just started as a film director and I haven't had an experience that's similar to David Fincher but I believe to as I continue through my journey as a film director I know that the same thing will happen to me.

I do however can relate to the first sentence of his quote about directing ain't about drawing a neat little picture and showing it to the cameraman. During my short amount of time as a filmmaker and working on my film, I was trying to make this film as perfect as I can, to give my audience a perfect story of my life in a wheelchair but I've learned  that being perfect or drawing a neat little picture is not what I'm going for and that I'm not gonna be completely perfect with this film and now that I know that I'm now more comfortable with making this film and the style that I'm gonna be working with.

I'm going to make mistakes with this film (I know that) but I'm going to enjoy making this film and if it's not perfect then so be it because I'll be very happy with the end result of my first film.

Justin

What A Film Should Be Like: Sydney Pollack

Photo: Hollywoodland

This week I found a great quote from director Sydney Pollack about making a film. It's short but it's to the point.

"When you make a film you usually make a film about an idea"

This is exactly what happen with my film. To be honest this film came from an original idea I had a few years ago. I introduced my original idea to a friend of mine in one of my classes. The focus of my idea was to document and chronicles people's lives in wheelchairs living in Chicago, focusing on issues that affect them.

Now this idea was on a piece of paper and was under a stack of papers for a couple of years until one day while cleaning up in my room and I found it and started looking at it again and then while I was looking at it more ideas started going through my head.

It then hit me that instead of focusing on other people in wheelchairs, I should focus on my life and how I've my life has been affected by my wheelchair. Thanks to my original idea I'm now on a path to sharing my experience in a wheelchair with the world and I'm couldn't be more happier with my decision.

Justin

What A Film Should Be Like: According to Francis Ford Coppola

Photo: Movieretrospect.blogspot.com

Today I decided that I'm gonna create a series of post dedicated to What a film should be like. I love what I did in my last post about Stanley Kubrick so much that I wanna continue it and turn it into a series, choosing quotes from famous directors and explaining how that quote relates to what I'm doing for my film. This week I found a great quote from director Francis Ford Coppola:

" You have to really be courageous about your instincts and your ideas. Otherwise you'll just knuckle under, and things that might have been memorable will be lost."

One of the things I'm learning about in creating my film is trusting my own instincts and ideas. While I've gotten advice from a lot of people who have more experience in making documentary films than I have, I feel that since this is my first film I have to have more faith in my instincts and in my ideas. That's the problem I've had not just as a filmmaker but as a person.

I sometimes don't trust my instincts the way I should and most times I feel that most of my ideas are garbage but the work that I've done during my years at DePaul and coming up with the idea to create a film based on my experience of being in a wheelchair, I should trust my decisions making a lot more. There have been some instances during the shooting of my film where I've missed out on footage that I thought would be memorable for film because I didn't think it would work for my film and that's one of my early regrets.

For this film I really want to give people a memorable viewing experience and trust myself and I have to be more courageous about my instincts.

Justin

What A Film Should Be Like: According to Stanley Kubrick

Courtesy: Edgemar Center for the Arts

Well a few days ago I was on tumblr and I ran across this interesting quote from director Stanley Kubrick explaining what a film should be like:

"A film is - or should be - more like music than fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later."

In all honesty I didn't really pay attention to the quote but then I started thinking about it and realized that he's absolutely right about film being more like music than fiction.

While working on my film I was spending too much time thinking about what the theme was gonna be, how I was gonna present myself in the film and while that's important those things will only come as I continue working on the film all of those pieces the theme, what's behind the emotion, and the meaning will all come together once the film is done.

As a director this is an important lesson that I've learned and I will never forget this lesson

Justin

Heartache & Pain

As I continue to work on my film I've been dealing with a dilemma that's very difficult to talk about to anyone. I know for this film I'm opening myself up to the entire world but there are some things that I'm not ready for the world to know because in all honesty I don't know how to deal with these issues myself so how can I open myself up to other people when I don't know how to handle these personal issues in my life.

I mean I'm lonely as hell not just because I'm working on the film by myself at this particular time but I'm lonely because I don't have anyone I can talk to about these personal issues. I know I have people in my life who support me and this film but I don't feel like I have anyone who I could talk to and understand what I'm going through right now. There is so much heartache and pain that I'm going through right now it just hard to keep a smile on my face and pretend like nothing's wrong.

I've devoted myself to this film and my future projects but it's difficult for me right now to deal with my personal issues and I really don't want it affect my film.

My Apologies

Hey everyone sorry for not posting last Friday. I had to recover from an accident I had and I couldn't post anything on my blog. I just wanted to let you all know that sometime soon I'll be putting together a kickstarter page to start funding the film. I will go more in detail about that in my next post. Once again I'm sorry for not posting last week after I promised I would post weekly.

Justin

Accidental Disappointment

Today I was expecting to show you all a clip from the film but I did something foolish and accidentally deleted the footage I intended to show you all. Yesterday afternoon I took my camera and left home to shoot part of my neighborhood. I wanted you to see the journey I take in my neighborhood and show you the obstacles I go through traveling around.

The past few weeks I was filming my travels from DePaul all the way to my home but I got tired of that and wanted you to see what I go through around my neighborhood. It was also very personal because for the first time I was actually speaking while I was filming explaing to everyone about my travels being sort of like a tour guide.

I had finally gotten to point where I was ready to talk about my experiences traveling through the city and now the footage is all gone. Now I know that I can shoot more footage. But as a director it's hard to recapture that same experience I had the first time.

I don't want to create anything that's fake. I want to capture real moments and what I had yesterday was real and genuine and wanted you all to see that first hand and that's what disappoints me the most. But you know what, it's not the end of the world, it's just a minor setback. I can always get more footage and I plan to actually do that. Hopefully this time around I'm gonna make I take all precautions just in case something like this happens again.

Justin

Update: Blog posting days!

Hey everyone! Normally I would have a blog post today, but I've decided to change that. For now on I will be posting stuff only on Friday's. With finishing up school, working on the film and putting together my film studio, I just don't have the time and energy to put out posts twice a week.

It was really difficult to make this decision but I wanna give the people who read my blog my absolute best work and posting just once a week will give me that chance. I'm also doing this to give my readers and new readers a chance to catch up on my previous posts on the blog.

I wanna thank everyone for reading my blog. I've gotten a lot of praise from you guys and that means a lot to me. I will continue to give you updates on the film and issues that coincide with the film.

Thanks,
Justin

A Major Announcement!!

I've been spending all my time this week working on my film. Not really shooting the film, but watching different documentaries and coming up with ideas on how I wanted to present the film itself. I've also spent this week coming up with a plan which coincides with my major announcement. Well today I decided that I will start up my own film studio which will also be a production company.

I've been thinking long and hard about this since I started working on my film. I feel that the Wheelchair Chronicles is just the first step in my career as a director and producer and I need to have my own film studio where I can continue my future projects. This film is not a one and done deal for me, I want this film to be a success so I can use the success of the film to open up more doors for me in the film or television industry.

Listen I know this gonna be hard work for me but I'm in a place in my life where I'm determined to make an impact in this world. Not a of African-Americans have their own film studio and it's difficult for African-Americans to make in the film and television industry in general so I have some work to do if I'm gonna make it in the film industry. You know I can do it! Plus I got a lot of people who believe I can do this and I'm not gonna let them or myself down.

I don't have a name for film studio yet but I will definitely keep you all posted.

Justin

A Breakthrough for People with Disabilities...

Well I'm currently on spring break and let me tell you, it's awesome. I don't have get up early to go to class, I can actually sleep in for a change (well, not really). The last couple of days I've been an early bird and working on my film. I've been watching different documentaries and coming up with different ideas on how I want to present my film. I'm also working on putting together my own film studio. I know it gonna be hard work but I really wanna put this studio together because I have a lot of ideas beyond just my film that I want to work on and get out to the public.

During my film work the past couple of days I saw an article on Gizmodo that absolutely amazed me and forced me to change what I was originally going to talk to about. The article talks about a new robotic device that can help paraplegics and people with disabilities. This device called Tek Robotic Mobilization Device was created by Turkish scientists and is designed not just to help people who have a hard time walking move around more independently, but it helps people be able to actually stand on their own.

Now I've been conflicted about my feelings on this device. At first I was skeptical about this device because as person that uses a wheelchair I've heard about new devices that help people who are paraplegic or disabled but never coming to fruition. As I been thinking about it a little bit more I think it's great news for people with disabilities. It gives those people including me hope that we can be more independent.

I don't know if people are going to embrace this device fully because it's seems like it's trying to make us normal people in society. People who are disabled are viewed as freaks and not apart of society so people who are paraplegic or disabled might take issue to this robotic device but I doubt it. I am so happy to hear about this device. You just don't know the joy that I feel right now, this is simply amazing.

Links:
Gizmodo: This Amazing Device Just Made Wheelchairs Obsolete for Paraplegics
Tek Robotic Mobilization Device:

Justin

My Film Inspiration

Today I wanted to talk to you all about the film that inspired me to get back into working on my film. The documentary film is called Shameless: The ART of Disability (2006) and it's a film about five artists dealing with diverse disabilities (Mental, Learning, Physical, etc.). I love this film because you get a chance to see these individuals from their point-of-view and how they handle their disability. It's humorous but it's also intimate in a sense because these individuals are letting the viewer into their lives and talking about their disability.

The film is directed by Bonnie Sherr Klein, who's a feminist filmmaker and disability rights activist. She directed and produced at least a dozen films for the National Film Board of Canada. Her time as a filmmaker was cut short when she suffered a stroke in 1987 that left her a quadriplegic and this was the first film she did since her stroke.

The people in this film are just regular people trying to find their place in this world. Even though they have a disability, it has not stopped them for being who they are as people. For example one of my favorite people in this film is a guy named David Roche who's a poet, writer, and humorist. His face is disfigured but he's a guy I can really relate to because his disfigurement hasn't stop him for achieving his goals and is one of the most enjoyable, charming person in the film.

I don't wanna give a whole lot away in this film but I want you all to check it out. This is the direction I'm strongly considering doing for my film because I feel that this a great way for people to get to know me and how I handle my own disability. I hope you enjoy this film as much as I did. It was just great for me to see another person with a disability produce and direct a film. That's just awesome!

Justin

My Filming Experience

Well as of yesterday I am on break from DePaul. Man it feels good waking up and not having to go to class, that's an awesome feeling. I want to let you guys know that I had my presentation in my math class and it went very well. I'm proud of the work that I put into it because it coincided with the film.

Today I want to talk about and go more in depth about my filming experience so far. Let me tell you all something, I've really enjoyed working on my film. I enjoy having a video camera in my hand and filming my journey. In short time filming, I never imagine that I could have this much fun working on a film, let alone my own.

Last week I filmed my trip from the DePaul Student Center to the Best Buy Store on North Ave.This was a different trip for me because the last few weeks I was filming my trip from the DePaul Student Center back to my home. But this trip in particular was fun because I got a chance to film in another part of the city that I travel in. I got a chance to film the industrial area of Chicago around Armitage and Clybourn just to get a different filming perspective.

Student Center to Best Buy

You know working on this film has given me a new sense of energy in my life. I'm doing something in my life that's is making me happy for a change and I think I have found my calling in life. I didn't think I would enjoy working on film, maybe I thought it would be a complete drag but it hasn't and I'm happy for that. I'm gonna make this film a success not just for the people who not only believe in me but in my film. I want this film to be a success because I'm apart of it and this film will be a huge step for me in my future as a producer and a filmmaker.

That's all for today but for my next post I'll talk about the documentary film that inspired me to work on my film again.

Take Care,
Justin