PBS to Offer Special Programming for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, May 1-May 31, 2007

    ARLINGTON, Va., April 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In honor of Asian
 Pacific American Heritage Month, celebrated each May, PBS will present a
 special line-up of new and encore presentations that focus on Asians and
 Pacific Islanders. From a history of Asian-American actors in film and
 television (THE SLANTED SCREEN) to young Cambodian refugees facing
 separation from their families through deportation (INDEPENDENT LENS
 "Sentenced Home"); from Pacific Islander and Maori dancers (BLACK GRACE) to
 the power of art to heal one man's life (INDEPENDENT LENS "The Cats of
 Mikiritani"), PBS presents a wide range of exciting programs made by and
 about Asian Pacific Americans year-round.
     Reflecting the diversity of ethnicities, experiences and regions with a
 breadth unlikely to be found anywhere else, these compelling programs
 examine the rich history, cultural contributions and absorbing heritage of
 Asian Pacific Americans.
     Press Preview Copies of Programs Available Upon Request
 
     New Programming
     INDEPENDENT LENS
     This anthology series showcases documentaries, and a small number of
 dramas, united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and
 unflinching visions of their independent producers. Encompassing the full
 spectrum of film -- from history to drama to animation to shorts to
 social-issue films -- INDEPENDENT LENS allows audiences greater access to
 powerful and innovative programs. Terrence Howard hosts.
     "The Cats of Mirikitani"
     Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 10:30-11:30 p.m. ET
     Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani has survived the trauma of internment
 camps, Hiroshima and homelessness by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens
 his life on the New York City streets and a local filmmaker brings him to
 her home, the two embark on a journey to confront Jimmy's painful past.
 This film is an intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the
 healing powers of friendship and art. By Linda Hattendorf and Masahiro
 Yoshikawa. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/catsofmirikitani/
     "Sentenced Home"
     Tuesday, May 15, 2007, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
     Raised as Americans in inner-city projects near Seattle, three young
 Cambodian refugees each made a rash decision as a teenager that irrevocably
 shaped his destiny. Now facing deportation to Cambodia years later, they
 find themselves caught between a tragic past and an uncertain future by a
 system that doesn't offer any second chances. By Nicole Newnham and David
 Grabias. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/sentencedhome/
     THE SLANTED SCREEN
     Thursday, May 10, 2007, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
     From silent film star Sessue Hayakawa to Harold & Kumar Go to White
 Castle, Jeff Adachi's film explores the portrayals of Asian men in American
 cinema and television, chronicling the experiences of actors who have had
 to struggle against ethnic stereotyping and limiting roles. Through a
 parade of 50 film clips spanning a century, the film presents a critical
 examination of Hollywood's image-making machine. The program includes
 interviews with actors Mako, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, James Shigeta, Dustin
 Nguyen, Phillip Rhee, Will Yun Lee, Tzi Ma and Jason Scott Lee; comedian
 Bobby Lee; producer Terence Chang; casting director Heidi Levitt; writer
 Frank Chin; and directors Gene Cajayon, Justin Lin and Eric Byler and
 features a new song performed by the San Francisco rock-punk band Say Bok
 Gwai. Presenter: Center for Asian American Media.
     BLACK GRACE: FROM CANNON'S CREEK TO JACOB'S PILLOW
     Thursday, June 21, 2007, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
     When Black Grace, a dance troupe of Pacific Islander and Maori men,
 first burst onto the New Zealand stage in 1995 they were a revelation.
 Fusing traditional Pacific and contemporary dance forms with athleticism
 and grace, they electrified audiences. Led by Artistic Director Neil
 Ieremia, Black Grace evolved from a crew of Neal's "mates" into one of New
 Zealand's national treasures and conquered the world's dance festivals,
 culminating with Jacob's Pillow in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
 This film follows Black Grace's journey from Cannon's Creek, a small town
 outside of Auckland, New Zealand, to the prestigious Jacob's Pillow Dance
 Festival, the oldest one of its kind in North America. Presenter: Pacific
 Islanders in Communications (PIC).
     KEEPERS OF THE FLAME: THE CULTURAL LEGACY OF THREE HAWAIIAN WOMEN
     May 2007 (check local listings)
     KEEPERS OF THE FLAME chronicles the lives of three Hawaiian women who,
 more than any other 20th-century figures, helped to revive the flame of
 traditional Hawaiian culture. Historian and author Mary Kawena Pukui,
 dancer and chanter 'Iolani Luahine, and kumu hula and teacher Edith
 Kanaka'ole kept their culture alive in a time when things Hawaiian were
 under threat. They were instrumental in the Hawaiian renaissance. Producer:
 The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation. Presenter: Pacific Islanders in
 Communications (PIC).
     TIME AND TIDE
     May 2007 (check local listings)
     Expatriates return to the tiny island nation of Tuvalu to find a place
 vastly different from the one they remember. As the locals and ex-pats
 struggle to cope with the dramatic effects of globalization on Tuvaluan
 culture, an even greater threat looms. Driven by global warming, a steadily
 rising sea level is stealing their precious land. TIME AND TIDE is a poetic
 and absorbing documentary about a land, its people and irreversible
 tragedy. Presenter: Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC).
     Encore Programming
 
     DANCES OF LIFE
     May 2007 (check local listings)
     This performance documentary reveals the cultural history and diversity
 of the Pacific Islands -- a vibrant and complex region encompassing 25,000
 islands, spread over 10 million square miles of ocean, in which 30 million
 people speak hundreds of different languages and dialects -- through their
 "dance stories," which for nearly 50,000 years have been an expression of
 Pacific Islanders' origins, their journeys, their struggles and their very
 existence. The program views dance through the eyes of the people who
 practice it as an art form and as a way of life. Keisha Castle-Hughes, the
 young star of Whale Rider, narrates. Producer: KQED San Francisco.
 Presenter: Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC).
     INDEPENDENT LENS "Vietnam: The Next Generation"
     May 2007 (check local listings)
     Eight young Vietnamese -- some born in the final days of the Vietnam
 War, others in the war's tragic aftermath -- are entrepreneurs and street
 kids, farmers and students, artists and engineers. Together they embody the
 hopes, dreams and frustrations of a new Vietnam. Through their stories,
 this groundbreaking program takes an in-depth look at modern-day Vietnam,
 where communism and capitalism are going head-to-head. Producer: Sandra
 Northrop. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/vietnam/
     TIME OF FEAR
     May 2007 (check local listings)
     In World War II, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were forced to
 leave their homes and relocate to military camps. This documentary tells
 the story of the 16,000 men, women and children who were sent to two camps
 in southeast Arkansas, one of the poorest and most racially segregated
 places in America. It also explores the reactions of the native Arkansans
 who watched in bewilderment as their tiny towns were overwhelmed by this
 influx of outsiders. With rare home movies of the camp and interviews with
 Japanese Americans and Arkansans who lived through these events, TIME OF
 FEAR is a tale of suspicion and fear, of resilience and of the deep scars
 left by America's long and unfinished struggle with race. Producer: Ambrica
 Productions.
     AN UNTOLD TRIUMPH
     May 2007 (check local listings)
     Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2002 Hawaii
 International Film Festival, this film documents and honors the 7,000 men
 of the 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments of the U.S. Army who fought
 in World War II. Even though they endured a racist prewar climate and
 weren't even considered U.S. citizens, Filipinos in America rallied to join
 the American war effort after the fateful bombing of Pearl Harbor. On
 January 2, 1942, President Roosevelt signed an executive order allowing
 Filipinos to join the U.S. Army and form a volunteer all-Filipino unit.
 These troops proved to be skilled fighters and an indispensable force in
 freeing the Philippines from the Japanese and, ultimately, in the winning
 of World War II. AN UNTOLD TRIUMPH imparts personal accounts of the men's
 contributions and sacrifices during the war. Lou Diamond Phillips narrates.
 Presenter: Center for Asian American Media.
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SOURCE PBS