First, a bit about my past - before I joined SDAFF in an educational capacity, I'd spent the last 15 years bouncing around newsrooms - from college to small market to big markets, and even some national stints. Every day I'd cover a story, and meet and interact with new people.

Often times in a situation like this, you are thrust into someone's life at one of its turning points. Think of a family where a soldier has been killed overseas, school walkouts, union strikes, major legislation, elections, traffic accidents, etc, etc, etc.

Sometimes when you start asking personal questions to people who are in a state of emotional flux, a certain bond forms between you - and they start sharing things they might not ordinarily share with a stranger. Life story kind of things. Deep dark secret kind of things. Really, really amazing things.

Sometimes those things are much more interesting than the story you're covering. (It's just that they're not newsworthy.)

I always wanted to do a series on the story behind the people we meet every day - but the pitch never got picked up. When we got the grant for Connect, I decided I'd work it in - and so I did.


This past weekend, myself and intern Kami set up a booth at the Linda Vista Multicultural Fair and asked people to tell their stories. People of all backgrounds, all colors, old and young, even a few who didn't speak a language we spoke!




My biggest fear was that we'd come home empty handed. That we'd set up all the gear, spend all the time, the effort, the resources... and we'd hear a bunch of empty stories.

No way. Everyone delivered. From the first body in the chair to the last, we heard incredible stories all day long. Escapes from concentration camps. Escapes from segregation. Lost loves. Lost wars. Dares taken and won. Dares taken and lost. Greatest fears. Native foods. Dangerous journeys.







At the end of the day, the man sweeping trash up in the street asked what we were doing, and I told him. He asked if we'd interview him. So I did. He had a pretty good love story. (We'll feature it here in weeks to come!) At the end of the interview, I asked him his passion. He thought about it, in silence. I just let the silence sit. He looked at me, and he told me that his passion was shining shoes.

I'm going to admit to you that I was immediately disappointed. It's not what I was hoping to hear. But not one to give up so easily, I asked him why. I mean... why on earth could your passion be shining shoes?

"Well... I guess 'cause I get to do what you do. I meet lots of different people every day, and I hear their stories. And when they walk away... they got great lookin' shoes!"

If the video biz doesn't pay out for me... maybe I'll go into shining shoes.

Stay tuned on this blog and the Connect San Diego page in the days and weeks to come, to hear stories of Linda Vista from this project!

Linda Vista Multicultural Fair

From Intern Kami:

The Saturday sun rose with a promise of a glorious day, and indeed it was. The San Diego Asian Film Foundation in partnership with the Bayside Community Center set-up their Connect San Diego booth, welcoming in participants of the Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Fair to share their stories. Complete with a T.V. screen, camera, and backdrop, passers-by were able to experience a live screening of their neighbors as they revisited their roots and their journeys that have led them to the multicultural fusion that is Linda Vista. From Cambodian refugees to Puerto Rican pilots each story intertwined beautifully with the previous, revealing a diverse foundation on which the community is built.

As the most unsuspecting faces revealed how their footprints remain in the sands of Linda Vista's time, it inspires a sense of universal story. Though each individual's path may be splattered with varying colors of struggles and achievements, it is our humaness that we must never forget. As people continued to bustle along the Linda Vista Road, Connect SD was able to freeze time for a select few, capturing moments and stories that have helped shape this community now and forever.

First Connect San Diego Class

After much preparation, Connect San Diego finally opened its classroom doors to members of the Linda Vista community. Beginning with an introduction to film analysis, the students quickly began to sink their teeth into the critical factors included in the composition of each piece. In hopes of provoking and inspiring each individual to think about stories within their own lives, we screened some documentaries, including "A Hand Up" by Jodie Hammond and select entries from the "Media that Matters" Film Festival, discussing the high and low points of each one. By the end of the class, those interested and dedicated to the idea of story-making began to do some preliminary brain-storming of moments and happenings that will serve as material to their future capturings. It was incredible to see the mental wheels begin to turn as such a varied group of people began to think about filmmaking in reference to their own worlds.