As we've explored previously on our blog, APIDA representation in animation is still a work in progress. But beyond onscreen representation, what is the APIDA representation behind-the-screen? In her next blog post, our volunteer Veronica interviewed Gene Kim, a Korean-American writer, animator, storyboard artist, and filmmaker, who directed the animated short film, One Last Monster. In their conversation, Kim shared his filmmaking process, the challenges of strengthening diversity in the animation industry, and the the opportunities creators of color have in independent animation.

In our latest edition of Desi Innovators, our staff writer Saumya got a chance to interview the CEO of Brown Girl Magazine, Trisha Sakhuja-Walia. The digital media platform was the first of many South Asian focused publications and became well-known for its supportive community of South Asian creatives. Read on to learn more about Sakhuja-Walia's journey to create an inclusive, empowering space for South Asians.

For our second #KollabHeroes post, we are highlighting Desi Danganan, the Executive Director of @kultivatelabs

Danganan’s goal is to promote and support the Filipino community and entrepreneurs around Filipino Cultural District in SOMA Phillipinas. “We recently surveyed our network of entrepreneurs...some of them say they only have 2 months worth of cash to survive...as to support their businesses we started the #FilipinosFeedTheFrontLines in an effort to stabilize Filipino food businesses and to help those working to cure our communities.”

This month, we will be highlighting various organizations and people and the work they have been doing during the COVID-19 crisis. We also hope to provide you with resources that are available in your community. For our first #KollabHeroes story, we interviewed Max Leyoung, the co-founder of SF Peace Collective and founder of Frisco Cop Watch. 

Author Thea Lim explores themes of love and grief through a science-fiction time travel story, An Ocean of Minutes. The Toronto Star raves, “Lim comes into her own here, with prose that’s elegant and haunting, somehow managing to be both unsentimental and deeply moving at the same time. A devastating debut.” For #KollabSFGetsLit, we get the opportunity to talk to Lim. In the interview, we cover what trauma means in terms of being “Stuck in time,” being a 3rd culture kid, and being apart of Mariah Carey’s lambily.