AAAGFF One Week Away

[Nervous, yet reserved and reserved, yet nervous]

The Asian Adult Adoptee Gathering & Film Festival is coming up in one week (October 10-13)!

As already mentioned by Ethnically Incorrect Daughter, I will be one of several participants on a panel about being adopted and identifying as mixed race, hosted by Susan Ito. I’ve been thinking long and hard about what I would like to say on the topic, but still having some difficulty putting together in my brain something that is beyond the commonplace.

Right after the panel discussion, I’ll jump up and start presenting a project that Sumeia Williams and I have been working on for the past several months. It’s certainly been a labor of love and much rumination. With a healthy dose of history, we will be confronting two very big myths that have clouded the discussion of transracial adoption in the Western world since the 1950s.

Much thanks to Ji In and KAHI for including us in this much-anticipated event!

AAAGFF Schedule (May be subject to change)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9

5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
E&O Trading Co., Ward Centre, Honolulu
IKAA NETWORK LEADERSHIP MEETING (by invitation)

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10

11:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.
OPTIONAL AFTERNOON TRIPS (Departing from the Hawaii Prince Hotel lobby)
• Catamaran Sail – Departs at 11:45 a.m.
• Hike – Departs at noon
• Windward and East Island Tour – Departs at noon
Due to tour operators’ payment policies and transportation arrangements, pre-registration for these optional trips is required. On-site registration is not possible.

5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Hawaii Prince Hotel – Foyer outside Mauna Kea Ballroom
REGISTRATION

6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Hawaii Prince Hotel – Foyer outside Mauna Kea Ballroom
LATE REGISTRATION

6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Hawaii Prince Hotel – Mauna Kea Ballroom
ALOHA DINNER & PROGRAM – For all AAAGFF registrants
Cash bar will be available. Guests age 21 and older, please bring ID if you wish to purchase alcoholic beverages.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11

6 a.m. to 12 p.m.
OPTIONAL MORNING TRIPS (Departing from the Hawaii Prince Hotel lobby)
• Hanauma Bay Snorkel – Departs at 6 a.m.
• Pearl Harbor Tour – Departs at 6 a.m.
• Surfing Lesson – Departs at 6:30 a.m.
Due to tour operators’ payment policies and transportation arrangements, pre-registration for these optional trips is required. On-site registration is not possible.

2 p.m.
BUSES DEPART from the Hawaii Prince Hotel for the film festival. Please be ready in the main lobby no later than 2 p.m., and bring your name badges, which will serve as your admission to the film screenings and to dinner. Latecomers will be responsible for their own transportation to the Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Academy of Arts
ASIAN ADOPTEE FILM FESTIVAL: Afternoon Session – Short Works
• Searching for Go-hyang by Tammy (Tolle) Chu
• Jagadamba: Mother of the Universe by Amber Field
• My Great Grandfather by Jette Hye Jin Mortensen
• Missing by Kate Hers
• Tracing Trades by Jane Jin Kaisen and Tobias Hübinette

5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Catholic Charities (Makiki campus), 1822 Ke’eaumoku Street
DINNER – For all AAAGFF registrants attending the film festival
Sponsored by Yummy Korean BBQ
Buses will pick us up at the theatre at 5 p.m. to transport us to dinner, and will transport us back around 6:30 p.m. to the theatre for the evening show.

7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Academy of Arts
ASIAN ADOPTEE FILM FESTIVAL: Evening Session – ‘Adopted’ and Other Works
• Preview: Resilience by Tammy Chu
• Preview: Operation Babylift: The Lost Children of Vietnam by Tammy Nguyen Lee (producer, Jared Rehberg)
• Annie Ong: Lost and Found by Jeannette Loakman
• Adopted by Barb Lee

10:15 p.m.
BUSES DEPART from the Doris Duke Theatre for the hotel.

11:30 p.m.
TBA – Meet in the Hawaii Prince Hotel lobby
NIGHTLIFE – Optional, for all AAAGFF registrants age 21+

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12

7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
Hawaii Prince Hotel – Mauna Kea Ballroom
BREAKFAST – For all AAAGFF registrants

8:45 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Hawaii Prince Hotel
CONFERENCE SESSION I: Choose from two concurrent sessions.
• Mixed-Race Asian Adoptees – Open to all attendees (Facilitator: Susan Ito) – Being adopted presents enough of a challenge to one’s sense of identity. But being mixed race adds an extra layer of complexity to that challenge. A panel of mixed-race Asian adoptees with a range of experiences will discuss what it meant for each of them to grow up as mixed-race Asian adoptees. (Mauna Kea Ballroom)
• An Artist Talk With Tammy Chu – Open to all attendees (Facilitator: Tammy Ko Robinson) – Filmmaker Tammy Chu, whose film “Searching for Go-hyang” is featured in Saturday’s Asian Adoptee Film Festival, will present clips from her work-in-progress, “Resilience,” and discuss her perspective and process as an artist in an interactive Q&A discussion session. (Haleakala/Kilauea)

10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Hawaii Prince Hotel
CONFERENCE SESSION II: Choose from two concurrent sessions.
• International Adoption and the Babylift Legacy – Open to all attendees (Facilitator: Kevin Minh Allen): As adoptees, we are often confronted with hard truths as we search our histories for meaning. Often we learn that things are not always as they seem and come to realize that one of our greatest assets is our ability to question. This presentation takes another look at the historical events that surrounded the “babylifts” of Korea and Vietnam and examines how those events influenced current adoption practices and attitudes. (Mauna Kea Ballroom)
• Racism & Social Justice Issues: What About Asian Adoptees? Open to adoptees only (Facilitators: Kimberly Langrehr and Allen Majors): This discussion invites adoptees to share their thoughts and experiences with the racial and cultural challenges that Asian adoptees often face in the context of a racialized society. We will cover salient topics such as the minimization of racial reality and the distorted messages about adoption presented by the media. Adoptees with backgrounds in social justice are strongly encouraged to attend to discuss their work and advocacy efforts for Asians and adoptees. (Haleakala/Kilauea)

3:55 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Paradise Cove, Ko’olina
LUAU (Optional; Open to pre-registered guests only): Please be ready in the hotel lobby no later than 3:55 p.m., and bring your name tags to check in with a KAHI representative. Adults age 21 and older must bring ID if you wish to drink alcoholic beverages (and money if you plan to purchase additional drinks over your 2 free drinks). Aloha attire (or resort wear) encouraged.

If you miss the Paradise Cove bus, you are responsible for your own transportation to the luau.
Due to Paradise Cove payment policies and transportation arrangements, pre-registration for the luau is required. On-site registration is not possible.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 13

9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
TBA
FAREWELL BRUNCH (Optional)