DNA of a Donor (25 minutes)
by Christina Keller, MVA 2018
DNA of a Donor is a documentary film that explores the experiences, expectations, and motives of paid donors as they place themselves within the high cost fertility industry. This film follows the journey of filmmaker and researcher, Christina, as she experiences the complexities involved in donating her own eggs. The compensation involved in donating one’s eggs has led Christina to the egg donation industry where she questions the motivations of other donors. To better educate herself on this and the potential emotional and physical implications, she sits down with past egg donors to hear their experiences. Through these conversations, these donors have the opportunity to share their stories; discussing the reasons behind their decision to donate, the physical, mental, and emotional challenges they may have faced, and what their egg donation means to them.
Floating Raft (30 minutes)
by Chong Zhang, MVA 2018
Floating Raft takes an observational look at the life of a vibrant Chinese Buddhist monk Shi Yanyi and his Buddhist brothers in Los Angeles. The Shaolin Temple in China is famous for its 1500-year Buddhist Kung Fu tradition. The Shi Fu (a title of respect for a Buddhist monk) who grew up in China and trained in the skills of Kung Fu are now facing all kinds of identity challenges in the U.S., both in their personal lives and in their mission to promote Shaolin culture. As Buddhist monks, how do they negotiate the contrasts between the sacred world (religious and ascetic) and the secular world (the need to earn a living). As new immigrants in the context of China's booming economy, how do they adapt from their former lives in China to their new lives in the U.S. and how do they make a decision to stay or leave?
Ghost Tape #10 / Băng ghi âm ma (28 minutes)
by Sean David Christensen, MVA 2018
Created by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, "Ghost Tape #10" was one of many tapes engineered as part of "Operation: Wandering Soul," a psychological operations campaign designed to intimidate and demoralize the North Vietnamese Army. These audio tapes would echo throughout war zones, their soundtracks consisting of actors portraying grieving family members, or voices from the dead, longing to be reunited with their loved ones. Exploiting the traditional Buddhist belief that the dead must be buried in their homeland, lest they wander the world aimlessly if denied a proper burial, these recordings were originally conceived of as attempts to weaponize an opposing culture's religious beliefs against them. More than fifty years removed from its wartime role, Ghost Tape #10, the film, focuses on unearthing and re-examining this weaponization of belief through the context of modern day Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American religious practice. Through dreamlike visualizations and interviews in Northern Vietnam and Los Angeles, reactions to this obscure piece of American propaganda lead to larger discussions about how modern day relationships between the living and the dead are carried out, and what truths, if any, still echo within this recording.
Into Man's Country (30 minutes)
by Matthew Purifoy, MVA 2018
Gay men have long been persecuted for how they have sex. However, sex is but one aspect of a plurality of intersubjective identities gay men inhabit. While public/private saunas and baths have existed for centuries, the formation of gay baths in the United States in the mid 20th century played a critical role in providing a safe and private space for gay men to discover themselves. With the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the advent of social media platforms like Grindr, the number and influence of the baths has diminished today, yet their significance and influence on a generation of gay men persists. Through the voices of those with personal lived experience, Into Man’s Country delves into the secretive and intimate world of the gay bathhouse during the ‘70s, from the euphoric rush of a quick unfettered sexual encounter to the establishment of lasting personal relationships.
Perfecting the Body (27 minutes)
by Kevin Pobjoy MVA 2018
This film is a portrait of a woman whose life is entirely dedicated to pursuing fitness. It examines the daily grind of careful dieting and regular exercise, which is done in order to achieve a goal of “perfect” fitness. As this life is portrayed, the film asks what makes something, particularly the body, “perfect”? By asking that question, the film works to understand the reasons for choosing this kind of life. Perfecting the Body is a psychological portrait that delves into the life history that influenced this fitness-centered life.