MEET THE TEAM

Erica Tanamachi

DIRECTOR & PRODUCER

  • Erica Tanamachi’s latest film, WINN (2022), premiered at the 2022 Atlanta Film Festival and won a Reel South Shorts Award and a distribution deal with PBS. WINN also won "Best Short Film" in the 2023 PBS Juried Film Festival and the 2022 Justice on Trial Film Festival. Erica was Creative Producer for the feature documentary, MOTHERLOAD (2019). Erica is an MFA Cinema graduate of San Francisco State University (2007) and has been producing and directing films and commercial work for over 20 years which have received various awards and recognition, since her first documentary film, LIVING POETS (2005) shot on 16mm film. HOME COURT (2024) is Erica's first feature as director.

Jenn Lee Smith

PRODUCER

  • Jenn Lee Smith is an immigrant from Taiwan who grew up in Utah and has over 20 years of experience in social impact work. She is a queer filmmaker and supporter of underrepresented narrative and documentary films such as FOOD AND COUNTRY (2023), MIJA (2022), THE DILEMMA OF DESIRE (2020), JANE AND EMMA (2018), and LGBTQ+ films PRAY AWAY (2021) and FAITHFUL (2017). As part of Re-Present Media’s Re-Take Oakland program, Jenn directed a short documentary on one community activist’s decades-long work to bring tennis to the underserved. In research and writing, she was awarded grants from the Asia Institute and the Social Science Research Council, and is co-editor of the anthology, “I Spoke to You With Silence” published from the University of Utah Press.

Brandon Soun

PRODUCER

  • Producer Brandon Soun is a Cambodian American filmmaker born and raised in Long Beach, CA. He is a UCLA graduate in Asian American Studies and his personal work centers around the Cambodian American diaspora, addressing issues such as intergenerational trauma, displacement, and immigration justice. Brandon was a fellow of the 2022 Armed With A Camera Fellowship with Visual Communications. His most recent film, CONVERSATIONS AT THE REGISTER (2022), was a Grand Jury Award nominee and won the “Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Short” at the 2023 Seattle Asian American Film Festival.

Diane Quon

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

  • Executive Producer Diane Quon has produced Oscar and Emmy-nominated films such as MINDING THE GAP (2018), FINDING YINGYING (2020), WUHAN WUHAN (2021), BAD AXE (2022), and AKA MR. CHOW (2023). Diane is an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences member, a PGA member, and serves on the board of AMPAS. She is a recipient of the 2020 Cinereach Producer Award and is a Sundance Creative Producing Fellow, an IFP Cannes Producer Fellow, and a Film Independent Fellow.

Lisa Ling

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

  • Lisa Ling, an award-winning journalist and producer, joined CBS News in May 2023 after nine years as the executive producer and host of "This Is Life with Lisa Ling" for CNN, where her captivating approach to storytelling took viewers inside such issues as interracial families, sex trafficking, the alcohol epidemic, motorcycle gangs, religion, and the impact of artificial intelligence on relationships. In 2022, she also explored Asian American history and cuisine in the six-part HBO Max documentary series "Take Out." Before CNN, Ling spent six years as the executive producer and host of "Our America" for Oprah Winfrey's OWN. She also covered a variety of stories around the world as the host of "National Geographic Ultimate Explorer." Previously, Ling was a co-host on ABC's "The View" for three years and contributed to ABC's "Nightline."

Jean Kawahara

EDITOR

  • Jean Kawahara is a documentary film editor drawn to stories that explore identity, champion underdogs, and challenge the status quo. Her independent film credits include the feature documentaries, BELLY OF THE BEAST (2020), BLESSED CHILD (2019), T-REX (2015), POINT OF NO RETURN (2017), CITY OF BORDERS (2009), YANK TANKS (2002), OF CIVIL WRONGS & RIGHTS: THE FRED KOREMATSU STORY (2000), the short documentary, FUTBOLISTAS 4 LIFE (2018) and the narrative feature, NAIL POLISH. Her short documentary work has been featured in the New York Times and New Yorker. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley and a Master's degree in Ethnic Studies from San Francisco State University.

Brian Inocencio

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

  • Brian Inocencio is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and cinematographer who has worked on film projects for BBC, PBS, Discovery, Al Jazeera+, Netflix, Peacock, and more. He has recently worked as Director of Photography for the Chinese Historical Society of America's new exhibit film, Historian's Take (PBS 2022). Brian has also worked as a cinematographer on THE HIDDEN WOUNDS (2022) and DYKES, CAMERA, ACTION! (2018). His documentary short, ALEX (2017), was shortlisted for the 2017 BAFTA Student Film Awards and was part of the official selection for 60 Second Docs. Brian holds an MFA in Social Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts and a BA in Biology from Hunter College CUNY in New York City.

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