- Sponsor
- Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, Mortensen Center for International Library Programs
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- Registration
- mortenson@library.illinois.edu
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- Originating Calendar
- Mortenson Center for International Library Programs
Join us on Sept. 24th for a free film screening of "One Big Hapa Family" directed & produced by Jeff Chiba Stearns.
5:15-5:45pm Registration and light refreshments5:45pm One Hapa Family film screening (85min)
7:25pm Post-Film discussion with Jeff Chiba Stearns and Jason Finkelman (School of Music) and Audience Q&AAbout the Film:
After a realization at a family reunion, half Japanese-Canadian filmmaker, Jeff Chiba Stearns, embarks on a journey of self-discovery to find out why everyone in his Japanese-Canadian family married inter-racially after his grandparents' generation. This feature live action and animated documentary explores why almost 100% of all Japanese-Canadians are marrying inter-racially, the highest out of any other ethnicity in Canada, and how their children perceive their unique multiracial identities. One Big Hapa Family challenges our perceptions of purity and makes us question if mixing is the end of multiculturalism as we know it
-imdbAbout Jeff Chiba Stearns (Animation and Documentary Filmmaker, Author and Illustrator):
Born in Kelowna, BC, Jeff studied Film Animation at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, graduating in 2001, and soon after founded Meditating Bunny Studio Inc. in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Since then, Jeff’ seven short animations, such as Yellow Sticky Notes (2007), Ode to a Post-it Note (2010) and Yellow Sticky Notes | Canadian Anijam (2013), and two feature length documentaries have been screened around the world in hundreds of film festivals, broadcast on various major networks and have won dozens of awards and accolades, including a Webby Award and an Emmy® nomination.
Read more on his website.<><><>
Also, join us for the 36th Annual Mortenson Distinguished Lecture, by JEFF CHIBA STEARNS on
“Animation Meditation: 25 Years of Exploring Mixed-Race Identity and Japanese Canadian History Through Visual Storytelling“
September 26, 2026; 1pm CT, in person (I Hotel & Conference Center, Alma Mater Room; 1900 S. First Street, Champaign, IL) and online. Co-organized with the Youth Literature Festival (YLF) as the Keynote on YLF Community Day. [FREE Registration]