Give as a gift
Join us in reflecting on the past through these contemplative short films. Here, filmmakers explore experiences in retrospect through thoughtful narrative and documentary film making.
This screening features 10 films. Toggle between film descriptions by scrolling and clicking on the buttons on the top right.
A famous Japanese American ballroom dance duo must choose between their passion or their lives as WWII concentration camps begin to rise in the U.S.
Director Biography - Benjamin To
Benjamin To is an award-winning writer, director, and founder of BAND WITH NO NAME Films.
He hit the ground running right out of university when his AAPI profile documentary miniseries, Life Stories, was picked up and produced by NBC News for a 20-episode run. His digital and scripted work has been featured on platforms like Activision, NBC, The Los Angeles Times, and Snapchat. His filmmaking journey has also taken him all over the United States, Europe, and most recently, Asia.
Director Statement
The bones of the story for INFINITY! came to me when I was taking Asian American History courses in college. I was enthralled by the real life accounts of these WWII era, AAPI dancers who were passing for another ethnicity — when in actuality they were of Japanese descent. They ended up fleeing in order to avoid incarceration, and their dance careers were unjustly never the same since that fateful decision.
I’ve always fantasized what their final performance would have looked like…
Their entire lives represented in a singular, storybook-esque dance sequence: from the beginning of their love affair up until the very moment when they lost everything in the war.
This is why I love art that holds a mirror up to society. I made this film because I believe in the social immediacy, emotionality, and timeliness of the story. It’s meant to be expanded into a feature where we can explore these characters’ internal turmoil and their external triumphs in a classically maximalist yet tenderly rendered way.
I seek to actualize our feature goals because I loved musicals growing up, but it was often a genre where I didn't get to see many faces that looked like mine. I thought this was a way to celebrate AND reclaim this space by making something authentically Asian American.
Join us in reflecting on the past through these contemplative short films. Here, filmmakers explore experiences in retrospect through thoughtful narrative and documentary film making.
This screening features 10 films. Toggle between film descriptions by scrolling and clicking on the buttons on the top right.
A famous Japanese American ballroom dance duo must choose between their passion or their lives as WWII concentration camps begin to rise in the U.S.
Director Biography - Benjamin To
Benjamin To is an award-winning writer, director, and founder of BAND WITH NO NAME Films.
He hit the ground running right out of university when his AAPI profile documentary miniseries, Life Stories, was picked up and produced by NBC News for a 20-episode run. His digital and scripted work has been featured on platforms like Activision, NBC, The Los Angeles Times, and Snapchat. His filmmaking journey has also taken him all over the United States, Europe, and most recently, Asia.
Director Statement
The bones of the story for INFINITY! came to me when I was taking Asian American History courses in college. I was enthralled by the real life accounts of these WWII era, AAPI dancers who were passing for another ethnicity — when in actuality they were of Japanese descent. They ended up fleeing in order to avoid incarceration, and their dance careers were unjustly never the same since that fateful decision.
I’ve always fantasized what their final performance would have looked like…
Their entire lives represented in a singular, storybook-esque dance sequence: from the beginning of their love affair up until the very moment when they lost everything in the war.
This is why I love art that holds a mirror up to society. I made this film because I believe in the social immediacy, emotionality, and timeliness of the story. It’s meant to be expanded into a feature where we can explore these characters’ internal turmoil and their external triumphs in a classically maximalist yet tenderly rendered way.
I seek to actualize our feature goals because I loved musicals growing up, but it was often a genre where I didn't get to see many faces that looked like mine. I thought this was a way to celebrate AND reclaim this space by making something authentically Asian American.
