About us
### FILM SCREENINGS ON SATURDAYS 4PM!
Check all of our upcoming events and RSVP! https://www.theclarionsf.org/upcoming-events
Held at The Clarion Performing Arts Center on 2 Waverly Pl, San Francisco.
COMMUNITY CINEMA is a space for artists and movie-lovers to gather together and watch local films made in the Bay Area.
Community Cinema attracts many residents of Chinatown, Nob Hill, North Beach and other neighboring districts, as well as college students and young working professionals in the city.
Films shown at Community Cinema range from documentary films about gender, sexuality, war, politics, poetry and arts, to narrative films like rom-com, action thriller and etc.
Since its launch in May 2021, Community Cinema has screened 47 films, and counting! We are grateful to have collaborated with amazing filmmakers like Emmy-Nominated director James Q. Chan, Vietnamese filmmakers Ngoc Le and Tam Ngo and Henry Rosenthal.
Meet Community Cinema Curator, Jeff Giordano
Jeff M. Giordano has curated film series on both coasts of the United States. Since 2004, he has been directing independent documentaries and has interviewed over 180 people for various projects.
In addition to filmmaking, Giordano paints abstract-expressionist art and collaborates on musical projects. Follow Jeff’s artistic endeavors at [jeffmgiordano.com](https://theclarionsf.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=eead0190e09be98c59a3ecb34&id=ca0818ba06&e=05936e4f22) & [youtube.com/c/jmgfilms](https://theclarionsf.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=eead0190e09be98c59a3ecb34&id=964f0980b6&e=05936e4f22)
Upcoming events
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Chinatown Shorts: Barrio Chino Tusán Perspectives from Lima, Peru
Clarion Performing Arts Center, 2 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA, USAt the Heart of Barrio Chino: Tusán Perspectives in Lima, Peru
Documentary, 16min, 2026
Directed by Lenora Lee & Moyra Silva Rodriguez
In this new episode, we explore Capón Barrio Chino, Lima's vibrant Chinatown and one of South America's oldest Chinatowns, through dance and personal narratives of fourth-generation Chinese Peruvians, or Tusáns. Moyra Silva, Marco Loo, and Angie Chang delve into their Chinese Peruvian ancestry, connecting their professional backgrounds in performing arts, curation, and architecture to their heritage. Through their stories, accompanied by photographic archives and site-specific dance interventions, the film honors the struggles and lasting cultural contributions of Chinese immigrants to Peruvian society, expanding perspectives on Chinese immigration in the Americas.Conversation with co-directors Lenora Lee and Moyra Silva Rodriguez and special guests will follow the screening. Moderated by Chinatown Shorts series creator James Q. Chan
Preceded by:
Pinwheel
Narrative Short, 4min, 2021
Directed by Anson HoDuring an intimate Lunar New Year dinner, a family tells a story of resilience and connection as tradition and magic intertwine through the power of the pinwheel.
Director Bios:
Lenora Lee (San Francisco) has been a dancer, choreographer, producer and artistic director for 28 years. She has been a United States Artists Fellow, an Artist in Residence at Dance Mission Theater, Pao Arts Center and ArtsEmerson, and a Visiting Scholar at New York University. For the last 19 years, her company Lenora Lee Dance has created intimate and large-scale multimedia, immersive dance performances connecting movement, film, text, and music to culture, history, and human rights issues. www.LenoraLeeDance.com
Moyra Cecilia Silva Rodríguez (Lima/London) is a dancer, director and researcher working across performance, film, and immersive experiences. Driven by curiosity about her family heritage, she integrates research on Chinese migration in Peru into her academic and artistic practice, including the transnational collaborations Un Puente Hacia el Presente and At the Heart of Barrio Chino with Lenora Lee Dance. www.MoyraSilva.com
Anson Ho is a San Francisco native rooted in the Chinatown community. While serving in the US Navy he found his passion in film and tv when he produced and filmed his own closed circuit television show on his naval ship, USS OLDENDORF. He followed his passion by moving to Los Angeles and worked on various short films, music videos and documentary projects. Notable projects included sundance film FINISHING THE GAME as an associate producer and thereafter worked on Universal's Studio FAST & FURIOUS as an assistant to the director both directed by Justin Lin. He also helped develop and film numerous webseries and comedy sketches on a Youtube Asian American channel called YOMYOMF which gained over 35 million views within a year. As a traveling cinematographer, he's filmed documentaries all over China, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Mt Everest base camp. He was the 1st Assistant Director on the feature film SNAKEHEAD and currently works as Acting Production Supervisor/Producer for SF Government TV (SFGovTV).
About Chinatown Shorts
Launched in October 2020, Chinatown Shorts is a documentary series dedicated to archiving and preserving community stories from historic Chinatowns. Rooted in San Francisco, the series has now expanded globally with this Lima, Peru episode, with future episodes planned for Chinatowns nationally in Hawaii and New York, as well as internationally in Johannesburg, Melbourne, Mexico City, and beyond. www.ChinatownShorts.com1 attendee
BLURRING THE COLOR LINE by Crystal Kwok, Film Screening + Q&A with James Sun
Clarion Performing Arts Center, 2 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA, USWhere did the Chinese sit on the bus during Jim Crow?
Blurring the Color Line breaks racial barriers by going beyond the narratives of black & white. Much has been written about segregation upon Black people in the South, but nothing that discusses the social placement of Asian Americans during this time. This film invites critical conversations around today’s racial tensions by addressing a connective past.
Blurring the Color Line is inspired by Crystal Kwok’s grandmother’s story about her family’s grocery store in Augusta, Georgia. Her family grew up in a Black neighborhood and they share stories about their personal experiences that expose the problematic, racialized system.
The film decenters existing narratives and showcases perspectives from both the Chinese and Black community, opening up necessary but uncomfortable discussions between marginalized groups. Blurring the Color Line is a step towards cross-racial solidarity by having a better understanding of the past in efforts of changing the future. Both Asian and Black groups have faced hardships and lack of representation in the media, so this film is needed now more than ever.
“Blurring the Color Line” has received awards including the Courage Award at DisOrient Film Festival, Mira Nair Rising Female Filmmaker Award at the Harlem International Film Festival, Best Documentary Award from JXN Film Festival, Viewers Choice Award & Best Documentary Award from Black Cat Picture Show in Augusta. W. Kamau Bell, Lisa Ling and Daniel Wu are Executive Producers and the film is supported by CAAM and NextShark. Kwok has been interviewed by The World, She Has The Mic and others featured on the film’s YouTube channel.
For more information about Blurring the Color Line, please visit: https://www.blurringthecolorline.com/synopsis
For information regarding academic licensing, please visit:
https://gooddocs.net/products/blurring-the-color-line?srsltid=AfmBOoohNUIQcpBejhTffrKdyZZvMuvKuBqvSqfHE_umqmA2AwJlNaV21 attendee
Past events
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