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.
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Lou
Diamond Phillips
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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.
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Tatyana
Ali
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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.'"
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."
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."
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Janice
Mirikitani
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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."
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Amy
Hill
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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
