REFRAME: Filmmaker Community Day

Guest Speakers

• Memory Keepers Panelist - JT Takagi (Third World Newsreel)

  JT Takagi is the Executive Director of Third World Newsreel (TWN) as well as an award winning independent film maker and sound recordist. She oversees the archival and preservation activities of TWN, which has a collection of 16mm films from the late 1960s onwards,  documenting the Black Panthers, the Young Lords, and other movements.

  JT’s own films are primarily on Asian/Asian American issues; as a sound engineer, she has recorded hundreds of public television and theatrical documentaries. She is a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

• Memory Keepers Moderator - John Woo (Asian CineVision)

  John Woo is co-founder and Executive Director of Woo Art International, a New York based creative services and visual communications studio founded in 1980. Woo Art creates award winning visual media for a diverse base of clients in the communications, broadcast promotion, exhibit, and entertainment industries.

  He is the Board Chair for Asian CineVision (ACV), the New York based not-for-profit media arts organization and presenter of the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF). In 2007, he became Acting Director of ACV and in 2010, Executive Director.

• The Mind Behind the Lens Panelist - Sahaj Kaur Kohli

  Sahaj Kaur Kohli MA.Ed, LGPC, NCC is an award-winning therapist and mental health educator. She is the founder of Brown Girl Therapy, a mental health community organization for adult children of immigrants, a columnist for the Washington Post, and author of the book, But What Will People Say: Navigating Mental Health, Identity, Love and Family Between Cultures.

  With a 6+ year career in journalism, Sahaj’s passion lies at the intersection of narrative storytelling and mental health advocacy. Sahaj’s words and work have been featured across media such as NPR, Good Morning America, CNN, and others.

  [Photo credit: Beowulf Sheehan]

• The Mind Behind the Lens Moderator - Masum Momaya (The Asian American Foundation)

  Dr. Masum Momaya (she/her) serves as TAAF’s Director of Narrative Change – increasing representation of Asian Americans in media, literature, journalism, and entertainment, and nurturing a groundswell of nuanced, intersectional AANHPI storytelling.

  For the past 25 years, she has worked as a scholar, social justice advocate, and grantmaker, as well the Smithsonian’s first Curator of Asian American Studies. Masum graduated from Stanford University (BA) and Harvard University (EdM, EdD).

  In her free time, she plays with her adorable nephews and is currently writing her maiden screenplay.

• Beyond the Festival Circuit Panelist - Chithra Jeyaram (LOVE, CHAOS, KIN)

  Chithra is a physical therapist turned filmmaker who identifies as Tamil. Her films reveal the extraordinary in the everyday, honoring the unique wisdom, resilience, and love that define both biological and chosen families. She also regularly contributes her directing, producing, and editing expertise to other creators’ work.

  Chithra is an adjunct faculty member at NYU. She is an alumna of prestigious programs, including Visions du Réel’s RoughCut Lab, the Chicken & (Egg)celerator Lab, and others. She calls Chennai and New York City home and is writing her first screenplay, THE LONGEST SUMMER.

• Beyond the Festival Circuit Panelist - Sunah Kim (VOICES)

  Sunah Kim is a Korean-American filmmaker based in South Korea. She has collaborated with filmmakers on both narrative and documentary features in the U.S. and Korea. Her producing credits include KUNGFU GRANNY, THIS IS THE STORY OF TED AND ALICE, SINGING WITH ANGRY BIRD, and others. She also worked as a consulting producer on the Netflix documentary series, My Love: Six Stories of True Love.

  Sunah served as Head of Industry at the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in 2021 and 2022. She is also a founding member and former co-director of the Korean Documentary Network (KDN).

• Beyond the Festival Circuit Panelist - Jota Mun (BETWEEN GOODBYES)

  Jota Mun (they/them) is the director and producer of BETWEEN GOODBYES, which had its World Premiere at the DMZ International Film Festival, where they won the Emerging Filmmaker Award. The film was selected to screen at DOC NYC, SIFF, and many others. As an editor, Jota’s credits include the Emmy-nominated Netflix series, Who Killed Malcolm X?

• Beyond the Festival Circuit Moderator - Robert Chang (POV)

  Robert Y. Chang is Co-Producer at POV and has served as programmer, panelist, and reviewer for a range of film festivals. He has also served as juror for festival and industry awards including: the IDA Awards, RTDNA Murrow Awards, and the News & Doc Emmys®.

  In 2020, he was awarded a New Leader in Documentary Award from DOC NYC. He is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Producers Guild of America, the Asian American Documentary Network, and others. Robert holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from NYU, where he researched the intersection of religion and media.