All Events
Cup of Culture
REFUGEE
MCC Theater
Mike Siv has a plan: go to Cambodia with his buddies Paul and David, see the sights, have fun and reunite with his father and younger brother, whom he hasn’t seen in 22 years. Harsh reality sets in before the journey even begins, however, as Mike, Paul and David have never been out of the U.S., and are the first in their families to visit Cambodia since fleeing the bloody regime of Pol Pot in the late 1970s.
REFUGEE, director Spencer Nakasako (AKA DON BONUS, KELLY LOVES TONY) follows these young men from San Francisco’s Tenderloin to Battambang where they reunited with long-separated family members in Cambodia. Mike, the most emotionally invested of the three, supplies the film’s narration and main focus.
For Mike, the reunion is filled with happy, strange moments: calling someone “Dad” for the first time, or seeing a smile of recognition on his brother’s face. He relishes time with his family, yet can’t help doggedly pursuing an impossible question – “Why did I grow up without a father?” – as he struggles to understand his family’s past. A simple reunion becomes a journey of self-discovery, maturation and acceptance, against a backdrop of war, broken families and long separation.
Remembering Violence and the Violence of Remembering
MCC Lounge
Khatharya Um, author of the recently published book From the Land of Shadows, will examine the conditions that produced the 1975-79 Cambodian genocide as well as the struggle of Cambodians, both in their homeland and in the diaspora, to live with and transcend this historic trauma. Khatharya Um is an Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley.
Art Exhibition
Resistance in Portrait
Rommy Torrico
Exhibit/MCC Lounge
To honor Trans Week of Visibility, and in collaboration with the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, Trans and Queer Commission, and Undocumented Student Services, we will be showcasing two series by Rommy Torrico: a queer, trans, and formerly undocumented artist born in Chile, and currently based out of NY. Along with infusing their art with powerful stories from their own life, Torrico's work consistently uplifts the experiences and identities of their communities. The Trans Awareness Month Series highlights trans folks of color who have been doing brilliant work and continue to create spaces for trans people of color. The Power Series is an on-going portrait series that features individuals who have been integral and inspirational to their own journey of learning, decolonizing, resisting, and creating
Cup of Culture
Rethinking the Apocalypse: An Indigenous Anti-Futurist Manifesto
Online
The goal is to create a space to read and unpack articles, PDFs, e-books, etc written by and for communities at the margins. There will be a specific focus on race/racism; colonialism and capitalism, (eco) feminisms from below, environmental justice, and coalition building/solidarity networks.
Participants will be asked to read the texts beforehand, and will be given a couple guiding questions; however, you can still join even if you have not read the material or answered the questions! Please email Abire Sabbagh, asabbagh@ucsb.edu , if you need access to the readings.
