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Arts & Entertainment

Event: L.A.'s Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival

This free public event at the Japanese American National Museum brings together film and book lovers, innovative and emerging artists, and multiracial/multicultural families.

Have you been touched or inspired by the growing multicultural community in L.A.?  

Interested in stories that reflect mixed race or intercultural relationships, as well as transcultural adoptions and families?  

Look no further than the 5th Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival.

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It takes place June 15 to 17 at the Japanese American National Museum.

Produced by Heidi Durrow and Fanshen Cox, the 2012 edition will bring together innovative artists, film and book lovers, multiracial individuals and families for a weekend of writing and film workshops, readings, film screenings and live performances. 

Find out what's happening in Echo Park-Silver Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ms. Cox told Patch, "L.A. is a city where multicultural and 'mixed' communities more readily identify as such, and eagerly come together under the Mixed Festival umbrella."

City council member Jan Perry will present the Festival with a Loving Day Resolution June 15 at 10 a.m. at City Hall.

(Loving Day is officially June 12 and commemorates the 1967 Supreme Court decision that outlawed bans on mixed race marriages )

Later that day, the festival opens a the screening of the short film Why I Collect the Hair as well as the feature film, The Loving Story.

The festival continues all afternoon Saturday and Sunday:

Other highlights include:

  • Family Day features, readings and workshops by Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Dana Drucker-Solano, and entertaining children’s videos presented by Sweet Blackberry. Families can also enjoy interactive craft activities all day.
  • Mixed Unplugged, a live event with comedy, music, and spoken word performances—will be hosted by acclaimed TV and film actress Erica Gimpel (FameNikita) with comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele of Comedy Central’s Key & Peele, on Saturday, June 16, 2012, at 6:30 p.m
  • Loving Prizes will be presented as part of Mixed Unplugged, Saturday, June 16 at 6:30 p.m. and will honor scholar G. Reginald Daniel and actor/writer Kim Wayans and Kevin Knotts, authors of the popular children’s book series Amy Hodgepodge, based on their own mixed family. This annual award is given for inspirational storytelling.
  • Author readings by award-winning writers and professional filmmaker workshops including “Making the Microbudget Film: Pre-, Production, and Post- for Under $200,000” by Moviola (www.moviola.com).
  • A panel discussion on the difficulties of and the strategies for writing about the "mixed" experience in mainstream media.

Click through to see a complete schedule of events.

Japanese American National Museum is located on 369 East First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

(213) 625-0414

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