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| Truly CA: Our State, Our Stories: Grandma Has a Video Camera |
A new documentary from Truly CA on KQED Public Television 9
Premieres Sunday, September 9 at 6pm
August 22, 2007, San Francisco, CA -- Take an intimate look at how one family deals with each other amid the complicated issues of immigration with Grandma Has a Video Camera, the newest documentary in KQED's Truly CA series (www.kqed.org/trulyca). Using her family's home videos, filmmaker Tânia Cypriano tells a powerful and often humorous story of San Francisco immigrants struggling with questions of identity and culture as they settle in their adopted homeland. Grandma Has a Video Camera premieres Sunday, September 9 at 6pm on KQED 9.
Few seventy-year-olds would be willing to leave their native country to immigrate to a foreign land. Elda Rosa de Jesus, however, did just that when she braved the unlikely journey from Brazil to San Francisco to help raise her new granddaughter. To keep family ties strong with those still in Brazil, Grandma Elda began sending home movies in place of letters and photos. More than just a record of birthdays and holidays, the videos show family members struggling between enchantment and disillusionment, idealization and conformity. Through the notoriously watchful eye of a grandmother, these first-hand images and voices capture how one family sees their new world.
The Lalau-Cypriano family represents the different generations and different faces of immigration: those who never learn English, living solely within their immigrant community, as well as those who try to assimilate into their new culture. Some of the family members are born on American soil and struggle to fit their parents' culture into the society in which they live. Many live here with one foot in each country, or move back and forth as they are unable to commit to one home. Some have dual citizenship, while others have lived here for 25 years and still hold a green card.
A first trip to see snow, a tour to a supersized supermarket, or a video letter showing the latest motorcycle offers an intimate portrayal of the uncensored, the honest, and the amazed. What has emerged from thirteen years of videotaping is an incredible portrayal of people overcoming barriers: their desires, their loneliness, and their fears, to make a dream come true.
About Filmmaker
Tânia Cypriano, Producer and Director, has been working between the United States and her native Brazil for over 15 years. Her films and videos have won international awards including Best Documentary at the Joseph Papp's Festival Latino in New York, the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Art Institute Int'l Film Festival, Festival do Cinema de Gramado in Brazil and Fespaco in Burkina Faso. They have also been shown around the world in places such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival, Rock in Rio and the Berlin International Film Festival. Her television credits include working on documentaries for PBS, the History Channel, NHK in Japan, GNT in Brazil and Channel 4 in England. Tânia Cypriano has also been a grant recipient of the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Soros Documentary Fund, The Ford Foundation in Brazil, the Jerome Foundation, Experimental Television, and the National Latino Communication Center. Recently she worked as Line Producer on Lady by the Sea, a one-hour documentary about the Statue of Liberty, written and directed by Martin Scorsese and Kent Jones. She also works on the production for Premiere Brazil! at MoMA, an early showcase of contemporary Brazilian cinema curated by Ilda Santiago and Jytte Jensen.
About Truly CA
Truly CA is KQED's series of independent documentaries about life in the Golden State. It airs monthly on Sundays at 6pm on KQED 9. Truly CA is a KQED production presented in association with the Bay Area Video Coalition and Film Arts Foundation. Support for Truly CA is provided by The Campaign for the Future Program Venture Fund, by Ambassador James C. Hormel and Timothy C. Wu, The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, and the members of KQED.
About KQED Public Television
KQED Public Television 9 (www.kqed.org), a service of Northern California Public Broadcasting, Inc. (NCPB), is one of the nation's most-watched public television stations during primetime. KQED produces local weekly series in high definition and available on Comcast On Demand: The Josh Kornbluth Show; Quest; Spark; Check, Please! Bay Area and This Week in Northern California; and national series: Jacques Pepin: Fast Food My Way and Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures. KQED's digital television channels include KQED HD, KQED Encore, KQED World, KQED Life and KQED Kids, and are available 24/7 on Comcast. Download programs for viewing and video podcasts at www.kqed.org, featuring unique content on one of the most-visited station sites in public broadcasting.
About BAVC
The Bay Area Video Coalition is the nation's largest noncommercial media arts center dedicated to providing access to media, education and technology. BAVC is a production facility, an affordable training center, a pioneer in technology-based workforce development and a critical resource for independent filmmakers.
About Film Arts Foundation
Film Arts Foundation supports the creation and success of independent film and video makers by providing education, comprehensive information, state of the art facilities and equipment, financial support and exhibition opportunities. Film Arts Foundation is a catalyst and advocate for the diverse voices of the independent film community on the West Coast and nationally.
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