Author: Adam Tow

Boston University Screening Recap

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With professors from Boston University

Following our screening at Goucher College, we traveled the next morning to Boston. My friend, Joe, whom I’ve known since our days together in the Reuters Digital Vision Fellowship Program, is hosting us for the next several days. It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly six years since we last saw each other in-person; there’s been so much that we’ve been catching up with! I’ve said it before on this blog (and I’ll repeat it again) that one of the hidden rewards of touring has been the opportunity to spend time with our friends and family.

On Wednesday, we held a screening at Boston University. We set up shop in the College of Arts and Sciences Building, Room B-12 on 725 Commonwealth Avenue. As I was connecting the computer to the projector, I pleasantly noticed that it was capable of outputting a 720P signal. This made for the best presentation of the film we’ve had to date on this tour — the colors were pretty spot on and the detail from the film was readily apparent.

The event was sponsored by the Center for the Study of Asia. Professors Shelley Hawks, Eugenio Menegon and Susan Lee were present with their students to watch the film; they posed a number of great questions that we hadn’t field before in our past screening. Professor Menegon was especially pleased with the layered portrayal of Qiu Jin and the women’s movement in the film. His class has been studying the role of women in the Republican era of China, and we hope Autumn Gem gave them some good context with which to write their papers! Professor Lee noted that the commemorative statues of Qiu Jin in Shaoxing and Hangzhou were very different from how Qiu Jin portrayed herself in photographs and in the film. In the statues, she’s dressed in women’s clothing and sports a somewhat relaxed post. This contrasts with those remaining photos of Qiu Jin, which depict her in men’s clothing or holding daggers!

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Goucher College Screening Recap

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Autumn Gem at Goucher College

Our final stop in our Autumn Gem double feature yesterday was at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland. I definitely liked the name of that city, especially since it’s pronounced the same way — think how now brown cow — my last name is! We were greeted at the university by Steve DeCaroli, Professor of Philosophy at Goucher. He heard about our film from the folks over at Red Emma’s Bookstore in Baltimore. Over some Pho dinner, we instantly bonded over various shared interests, including Red Boxes, Ultima (the map of Goucher reminded me of the cloth maps included in the early Ultima games from Origin Systems), philosophy and art history. We found it fascinating that students are required to study abroad (three weeks to a semester or year) in a foreign country. I really valued my time that I spent in Paris during my junior year at Stanford. Studying abroad is one of the things that I recommend to every college student, and it’s great to see a university that agrees!

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World Journal Coverage of Autumn Gem

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We’ve had a number of articles written about Autumn Gem in recent weeks as part of our Spring 2010 marketing. Check out the articles below (in Chinese):

University of Maryland Recap and Photos

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Professor Shinagawa introduces us to his Asian American Studies class at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Yesterday was a double feature of Autumn Gem. We woke up in the morning in Baltimore to drive to the University of Maryland, College Park, for a screening at Professor Larry Shinagawa’s Asian American Studies class. The weather was certainly a lot colder and wetter than our previous screenings in Las Vegas and Arizona; good thing we came prepared with an umbrella and extra layers!

The screening was advertised to the Chinese community in the Washington D.C. edition of the World Journal, and there were several members present. Coupled with fifty of so students from Professor Shinagawa’s class, we had a nice sized group to see Autumn Gem. Rae and I gave our expanded presentation at the beginning of the class, talking about our backgrounds growing up Chinese American in California, how we experienced a bit of culture shock when we traveled to China and how the film helps to bridge the gap between our generation and our parents’ generation. Seeing that the students in the class were born in the 90s, there were nearly three generations present at our screening!

While the film was playing, we spoke with Professor Shinagawa in the adjoining room. We learned that he, Rae and Jeff Ow were all at Berkeley at the same time in the 90’s. Small world, indeed! We also discovered that as part of their final project in the class, students have to produce their own short film. When I was in school, I loved those multidisciplinary classes with projects such as these. And, technology has improved to the point where students can produce quality content in just a fraction of the time it used to take.

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Red Emma’s Bookstore Screening and Recap

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Screening at St. John's Church in Baltimore

After we had screened in the Baltimore area during our last tour, we got an email from Red Emma’s Bookstore asking us if we could set up a screening with them. While we weren’t able to schedule anything in our Fall 2010 tour, we made sure to contact them for this one.

The film showing was held at St. John’s United Methodist Church, which Red Emma’s uses for performance-related events. It definitely was the most unique place we’ve screened Autumn Gem in! In some ways, it reminded me of the church from the John Woo film, The Killer. I was half expecting doves to start flying around the church when the film started!

We had an eclectic group of about 30 people at the screening, ranging from students at Johns Hopkins to a teacher and students at College of Notre Dame at Maryland to San Francisco Bay Area residents who were in-town visiting! We had come with Larry, Caitlin and Caitlin’s father to the screening. Afterwards, we drove down to Red Emma’s for a quick bite to eat. We noticed that Qiu Jin was listed among the various F-Bomb feminist revolutionaries in the bookstore’s main window.

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Arizona State University Screening Recap and Photos

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Autumn Gem at Arizona State University

We had a tremendous time in Arizona for our screening at Arizona State University. Three co-sponsors, the Asian Pacific American Studies Program, the Confucius Institute and the Chinese Language Flagship Program pulled out all the stops for us on our two-day stay in Tempe, Arizona.

On Friday, we spoke at two of Professor Jeff Ow’s Intro to Asian Pacific American Studies classes. We went through a presentation that described our lives growing up as Chinese Americans and the forces that shaped us into the artists we are today. Our original goal with Autumn Gem was to introduce the story of Qiu Jin to western audiences. We did not anticipate that this project would also serve as a bridge between our generation and our parents’ generation. Older audience members frequently tell us how much they enjoyed the film and how it reminded them of their own childhood when they first learned about Qiu Jin. They are proud that two members of their children’s generation is bringing this story to a wider audience.

Lunch was spent with members from the Asian Student Coalition at this on-campus restaurant which served organic and locally-produced dishes; for dinner, we went to the House of Tricks just outside of the ASU campus, with Mia and Irene from the Chinese Language Flagship Program. It was great comparing with them their experiences growing up in Arizona with ours in California. We shared stories about our travels to Asia and our future desires to learn Chinese. Irene kept stressing that it’s not too late for us to learn Chinese, and as I mentioned in my previous post, it’s on our to-do list!

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College of Southern Nevada Screening Recap

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Rae at the College of Southern Nevada

On Thursday, we held a screening at Professor David Wang’s Chinese language class at the College of Southern Nevada. The students who were taking the class came from very different backgrounds, and their reasons for taking Chinese were equally diverse. One individual had a dream of moving to China and setting up an orphanage. Another student was half-Chinese and wanted to connect with her parent’s family in Taiwan. Yet another saw China as the next thing and didn’t want himself nor his family left behind in the coming years.

There’s a photo of me when I was a child learning Chinese characters, but I don’t really recall every going to Chinese School. I studied French from junior high through college. Living in France was never a problem for me because I was confident in my language abilities. That confidence was non-existent in China or even Hong Kong where my parents are from. I think I speak for many Asian-Americans of my generation who either (1) didn’t go to Chinese School or (2) didn’t really pay attention at Chinese School that I really wish I went to and excelled at Chinese School! It’s never too late for me, however, and I’m looking forward to the day when I will learn Chinese.

Here are some photos from our screening at the College of Southern Nevada. Afterwards, Cynthia from the US China Peoples Friendship Association drove us to the airport so we could catch our flight to Phoenix, Arizona. Big thanks go out to her, as well as Pongky and Myta for hosting us in Las Vegas.

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UNLV Screening Recap

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Autumn Gem at UNLV

Our Spring 2010 Tour of Autumn Gem got off to a great start last night at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The screening was held at the Marjorie Barrick Museum Auditorium / Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies (or MSM/HRC for short) and was sponsored by the Asian Film and Drama Club, Asian Studies Program, Department of Foreign Languages and the Las Vegas chapter of the US China Peoples Friendship Association. We first got the idea to come to Las Vegas after meeting with UNLV’s Joan Mann when she in San Francisco for the USCPFA’s National Convention last September. Big thanks go out to her, Cynthia Tripp and Professor Ying Bao for organizing!

We had anywhere from 60-70 people at the screening. This time, we remember to write down the questions that we got from the crowd. Some of the notable ones included:

  • Did Qiu Jin see herself as a poet or literary figure? We certainly feel this was the case. Qiu Jin left behind 200 poems and writings following her death.
  • What prompted us to do the film and how does it relate to today’s sociological issues? Introducing the story of a influential Asian feminist to a Western audience was a driving force behind the project. We certainly feel her example still is relevant to women today.
  • Are we talking to PBS or the History Channel to get this film shown on television? This is certainly one of our long-term goals for the film.

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One Bag Packing Strategy for Spring 2010 Tour

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This weekend, Rae and I saw and enjoyed Up in the Air. Being a packing fanatic, I liked seeing George Clooney’s character pack efficiently for his trips. Each time I travel, I endeavor to travel lighter, smarter and faster.

We’re just a few hours away from our Spring 2010 Autumn Gem tour! This time around, we’ll be traveling for two and a half weeks, heading to Las Vegas, Arizona, Maryland, Boston, New Jersey and New York. We learned a lot about what to pack and what not to pack during our last tour in October, 2009. We’re leaving the rolling Pelican case at home; while it’s durable and can hold a lot of stuff, but it’s sure and tiring to drag around everywhere!

Rae is bringing her REI Traverse 30 backpack once again. As for me, I’m replacing the Rickshaw Medium Commuter Messenger Bag with my LowePro CompuTrekker AW backpack. I did a lot of online research and hands-on testing of backpacks at the local REI store, but I kept returning to the CompuTrekker. Yes, it’s kind of bulky due to its rigid, foam-padded frame, but it can carry a surprising amount of gear, including my laptop in a separate, padded compartment. It’s reasonably comfortable, aided in part by its sternum strap and waist belt, and it has a stowaway rain cover. This might come in handy if the weather gets wet on the East Coast. I’m putting my clothes, DVDs, camera, lens, flash, and various cables in the main compartment. The outside compartment will hold pens, surveys, and other documents. Rae is going to have to fit her laptop in her backpack, but that shouldn’t be a problem since she won’t have to carry any of my clothes.

I recently purchased a Microfleece Hoodie from SCOTTEVEST. I’ve long wanted to try out Scott Jordan’s products, and this trip gave me that opportunity. The hoodie has 11 pockets, and believe me, I’m going to use most of them! The weather in the Bay Area has warmed up significantly, so it’s a bit too warm to wear during the daytime. It stands to be colder where we’re going, so the hoodie should be perfect. I also bought a Ribz vest, but I feel it’s more suited for a backpacking trip than this film screening tour. I may experiment with the Ribz during my next photography gig, however, as it allows for quick access to gear front the front.

Traveling with one bag is a liberating experience. I love not having to wait in line at the baggage claim for our luggage, and I take pride in being able to fit everything I need underneath the airline seat. One of my dreams is to travel extensively with no more than what’s on my back. Ideally, if I could travel with no carry-ons, I would!

Update March 31, 2010: A quick update now that we’re traveling on tour right now. I didn’t quite get it down to one bag for me personally. I’m also carrying an REI Flash UL convertible backpack as a daypack and a clothes carrier. I couldn’t fit both the DVDs that we’re selling and my clothes into the CompuTrekker AW. Sometimes the clothes go into the backpack and sometimes the DVDs are in the Flash. As we sell through our lot of DVDs, more space will become available in the CompuTrekker, and my goal is to fit everything into that by the time the tour ends next week. I’m also routinely carrying Rae’s laptop and my laptop in the back pouch of the CompuTrekker (yes, two MacBook Pros can fit in there!). In addition, we sometimes travel with some food, drinks and snacks, which we carry in a plastic or paper bag with us. Still, traveling with one and a half bags is a whole lot better than lugging around a rollable suitcase. We’ve gotten a number of compliments on our packing strategy!