Research Guides: Celebrate APIDA Heritage Month! (May): Streaming videos

Selected streaming videos

Bad Axe
BAD AXE captures a real-time portrait of a closely-knit Asian American family, living in rural Michigan during the 2020 pandemic, as they fight to keep their local restaurant and American dream alive. With rising racial tensions, the family uses their voice and must unite as they reckon with backlash from a divided community, white supremacists, and intergenerational trauma from Cambodia's "killing fields."
Banyu Biru
Drama. 2005. 75 minutes.
Banyu Biru explores the idea that what we remember from childhood may not be the way it really happened. Banyu, a supermarket customer service representative, is obsessed with finding out why his father left the family after the accidental death of his little sister Biru. Banyu has not seen his father for ten years and decides to find him and confront him. On Banyu's road trip, he encounters some colorful characters. They challenge his reality and how he remembers his youth. Ultimately, Banyu must confront his father if he is to make peace with his childhood memories.
I Learn America
Documentary. 2013. 93 minutes.
In "I LEARN AMERICA," five resilient immigrant teenagers come together at the International High School at Lafayette and struggle to learn their new land. The International High School is a New York City public school dedicated to serving newly arrived immigrant teenagers, with more than 300 students speaking two-dozen languages from 50 countries.
The Orange Story
Drama. 2018. 18 minutes.
February 1942. President Roosevelt has just signed Executive Order 9066, which authorizes the forced removal of 120,000 ethnic Japanese from their homes and into incarceration camps throughout the U.S. The Orange Story is a 15-minute movie based on these historical events. It follows Koji Oshima, the proud owner of a small grocery store, as he prepares to abandon everything and report to an assembly center. His belongings, his business – everything must be sold or left behind, except what he can carry in one large duffel bag.
Pass or Fail in Cambodia Town
Documentary. 2014. 26 minutes.
Asian Americans are the best-educated and highest-income ethnic group in the United States. They are often referred to as the “model minority,” suggesting that all Asians are successful in school and in life. But Southeast Asian Americans have some of the lowest high school completion rates in the nation. Visit Long Beach, California—the city with America’s largest Cambodian community—to find out why this educational crisis is occurring and what people are doing about it.
Rising Against Asian Hate: One Day in March
Following the aftermath of the March 2021 mass shootings at three spas in Atlanta, this film chronicles how the Asian American community came together to fight back against hate. Offering a conversation about race, class and gender, the film takes a deep dive into this critical moment of racial reckoning, exploring the struggles, triumphs and achievements of AAPI communities.
Salesi: Hero to Love
Short. 2015. 30 minutes.
Salesi: Hero to Love is a story about the tragedy of power and unconditional love. This dance film is a collaboration of filmmakers, dancers, choreographers, and producers from Indonesia, Hawai`i, and the Pacific Islands. It is significant because of this collaboration. Both Directors are grounded in their own culture's myths and stories and came together for ten short days to make this film as a collaborative project. The collaboration included university students and faculty at the University of Hawai'i and Shangri La, Center for Islamic Arts and Cultures.
The Slanted Screen: Asian Men in Film and Television
Documentary. 2006. 55 minutes.
From silent film star Sessue Hayakawa to Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle, the Slanted Screen examines the portrayal Asian men in film and television, and how new filmmakers are now re-defining age-old stereotypes. Includes interviews with actors Mako, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, James Shigeta, Dustin Nguyen, Will Yun Lee, Phillip Rhee, Tzi Ma, comedian Bobby Lee, producer Terence Chang, casting director Heidi Levitt and directors Gene Cajayon and Eric Byler. The film contains over 50 film clips of depictions of Asian American male characters from Hollywood films spanning almost a century. It asks why and how stereotypic portrayals continue to persist, and why the roles for Asian American men are diminishing while the Asian American population is increasing.
Words, Earth & Aloha: The Sources of Hawaiian Music
Documentary. 2005. 58 minutes.
This subcollection contains the production materials and raw footage for the documentary Words Earth & Aloha : The Source of Hawaiian Music. In Hawaiʻi, music has always been much more than a form of entertainment. Through the centuries it has been a primary means of cultural continuity. This documentary pays tribute to a range of composers who flourished between the 1870s and the 1920s. The film explores the poetry and play of Hawaiian lyrics, as well as the places and features of the natural world that inspired songs still loved and listened to today.

Find more streaming videos in these databases

Academic Video Online (AVON) This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary collection of on-demand videos, including subject areas like anthropology, business, counseling, health, history, music, and more. Make video clips and build playlists.
Films on Demand (FoD) This link opens in a new window
FoD offers thousands of streaming videos online. It's like an academic version of your favorite streaming service. Subjects include art, biology, careers & job searching, criminal justice, CTE, history, mathematics, science, technology, and world languages.
Kanopy This link opens in a new window
On-demand streaming service offering more than 30,000 films, including award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie and classic films, and world cinema. CCC Library's Kanopy collection is small but mighty. CCC faculty may browse Kanopy's catalog and email lise.stephens@clackamas.edu with your requests. Please allow at least two weeks for activation of Kanopy streaming videos.