Ming Na Wen (L) Nicole C. Wong (R)

     Ming-Na Wen, whose credits include giving voice to the character Mulan in Disney's feature animated film and starring in The Joy Luck Club and Streetfighter, received the Anna May Wong award of excellence for her strong and positive portrayals of diverse and complex characters. The namesake was an actress who became so embittered about the seriousness of roles for Asians that she quit show business. "I wish she was around today to see what is happening in this industry and how she helped to pave the way," Wen said.

Lou Diamond Phillips

     Actor Lou Diamond Phillips, who starred in the 1987 film La Bamba and was honored with a Golden Ring Award, said Hollywood suffers from "ignorance or a lack of imagination" when it comes to casting for films.

     "They don't see (it as), 'You know, this role could be Asian, this role could be African American, this role could be Latino.' They don't think that way," said Phillips, whose multicultural heritage includes Chinese ancestry.

Tatyana Ali

     Tatyana Ali , an East Indian and Panamanian singer and actress who played Ashley Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, said she turned off her television set last year because the fall lineup didn't feature characters that represented her. "You are a consumer," said Ali, recipient of the Emerging Artist Award. "You can be in control of what you watch. That's really how things have to be changed."

     The lack of community support for Asian American actors and actresses is also partly to blame for their absence in prominent acting roles.

     "We would rather be scientists and engineers and lawyers and all those other things," Adachi said.

     Asian Americans need to band together in support of aspiring artists, the chairman said, because "art is so important to our everyday survival, to our self-dignity, to the image that we hold of ourselves, the image that our children will hold of who we are."

     Over the years, Asian Americans in film have been advancing that cause. Phillip Rhee, an actor and producer of the Best of the Best film series, has aimed to make movies with Asian American role models.

     "One of the reasons I got into the film business (was) because all the heroes that's been portrayed on the screen were everybody other than Asian Americans," said Rhee, a Golden Ring recipient. "Something was burning inside of my, saying, 'I need to change this.'"

Pearl Ubungen Chang Chen Yi

     Dancer and choreographer Pearl Ubungen received a Golden Ring Award for producing working with underprivileged communities in her art. An excerpt was performed from her work The I-Hotel/The Fall, which commemorated the 20th anniversary of the eviction of elderly Filipino and Chinese tenants from the I-Hotel.

     The Golden Ring Awards also honored Chang Chen-Yi, a Disney animator who supervised the character design in Mulan. Chen-Yi's parents wanted him to be an engineer, but he followed his love of drawing.

     Other honorees said their families have been pillars in their careers.
 

     Chris Chan Lee, whose movie Yellow won for the Best Asian American Independent Film, thanked his family for "their love and support and for letting me go to film school and for not becoming what they wanted me to be."

Ann Carli

     The Golden Ring Awards also honored music producer Ann Carli, whose claim to fame includes helping develop the careers of Will Smith and A Tribe Called Quest and producing the soundtracks for the films such as Men in Black. 

     Carli's mother, who grew up in Japan, gave advice that led Carli through her career: "You can do anything you want to. Different doesn't mean bad. It means special."

Janice Mirikitani

     Janice Mirikitani, a poet, writer and social activist, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Her books of poetry include We, the Dangerous, Shedding Silence, and Awake in the River. During her acceptance speech, Mirikitani highlighted the love and guidance she received from her husband, Rev. Cecil Williams, and her mother.

     "When my mother broke her silence to testify about the camps that imprisoned us during World War II, her voice commanded that I break my silence and always fight and write against apathy and dominion." 

Amy Hill

     Comedian Amy Hill hosted the show. Other notables on hand to present the awards included actor James Shigeta, actress Miika Taka, actor Robin Shou, actor Gedde Wantanabe, actor Dante Basco, model Rick Yune, writer Ben Fong-Torres and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

     The awards ceremony was punctuated with performances by hip-hop dancers Stylelements, rap artists The Mountain Brothers, alternative rock band Julie Plug, violinist Mia Wu , R&B vocalists One Voice, and singer Pat Suzuki. The show also paid tribute to Charlie Low and the Forbidden City Nightclub, the first nightclub to feature only Asian American entertainers.

The Mountain Brothers Mia Wu One Voice Pat Suzuki

All photographs are by permission of the Asian American Arts Foundation

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