https://misashikuma.journoportfolio.comRSS Feed for Misa ShikumaenFri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0100http://moastories.tumblr.com/post/132477604869/the-sweet-lifeBy Misa ShikumaMe and Mom circa 1993.“What did your mom cook at home?”Cognizant of my Chinese American heritage, many expect me to wax nostalgic about stir fries, rice dishes and dumplings, yet what I remember most about my mom’s home cooking are baked goods: cookies with centers oozing with chocolate that my brother and I gobbled up just as soon as she’d transferred them from the baking sheets to cool; buttery cinnamon monkey bread for breakfast on special mornings; lemon bars with a simple sho...Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0100http://moastories.tumblr.com/post/132477604869/the-sweet-lifehttp://www.drunkmonkeys.us/2017-posts/2018/3/30/film-reinterpreting-the-lobster-as-a-cautionary-tale-about-online-dating-misa-shikuma“Now, the fact that you’ll turn into an animal if you fail to fall in love with someone during your stay here is not something that should upset you or get you down.” - Hotel ManagerThe premise of Yorgos Lanithmos’ 2015 film is simple: people who don’t find a long-term partner are turned into the animal of their choice, allegedly offering a second chance at companionship, though the hotel where the majority of the story takes place offers a rigidly structured opportunity to avoid that fate. It’s...Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0100http://www.drunkmonkeys.us/2017-posts/2018/3/30/film-reinterpreting-the-lobster-as-a-cautionary-tale-about-online-dating-misa-shikumahttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ultratravel/9869835/The-worlds-best-chocolate-shops.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0100http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ultratravel/9869835/The-worlds-best-chocolate-shops.htmlhttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/e32f0366-a0b7-4ee8-8961-be5fe34e888a.pdfFri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/e32f0366-a0b7-4ee8-8961-be5fe34e888a.pdfhttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/a5abb3fa-b07c-4611-83e3-b0af6eb43fb4.pdfFri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/a5abb3fa-b07c-4611-83e3-b0af6eb43fb4.pdfhttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/097a4d25-eacd-419c-9ac6-2837b65b57be.pdfFri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/097a4d25-eacd-419c-9ac6-2837b65b57be.pdfhttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/42b3b1a7-06b7-4ddf-b73b-c5b36b9bb3f2.pdfFri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/42b3b1a7-06b7-4ddf-b73b-c5b36b9bb3f2.pdfhttps://www.sanjose.com/2012/02/07/becoming_britney_stage_production/WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE HER: Molly Bell channels Britney Spears in a new revue at the Retro Dome.Inspired by the head-shaving incident of a certain pop star, Becoming Britney is not a typical musical. Featuring original numbers that pay homage to everything from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Annie, the show is essentially what would happen if the Britney Spears E! True Hollywood Story went to Broadway. Star and co-writer Molly Bell got her start with the Los Altos Youth Theater, where she co-star Kei...Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.sanjose.com/2012/02/07/becoming_britney_stage_production/https://thoughtcatalog.com/misa-shikuma/2018/02/some-thoughts-on-catcalling-body-image-and-being-a-woman-in-todays-world/I was in middle school the first time that it happened. My best friend and I were walking from another friend’s house to my parents’, which required passing by a green belt on a secluded and rarely trafficked street. This particular stretch always creeped me out, before this incident but particularly so afterward. It was late spring, maybe summer, and due to the warm weather we were wearing skirts. We were 11 or 12-years-old so, no, they weren’t mini skirts, not that it matters how long or short...Thu, 27 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://thoughtcatalog.com/misa-shikuma/2018/02/some-thoughts-on-catcalling-body-image-and-being-a-woman-in-todays-world/https://iexaminer.org/three-2023-siff-films-range-from-wistful-to-dystopian/This year’s Seattle International Film Festival got off to a resounding start with the world premiere of Past Lives at the Paramount Theater. Written and directed by Celine Song, the wistful drama stars Greta Lee and Teo Yoo as childhood sweethearts who reconnect as adults. Nora (played by Lee as an adult) and Hae Sung (Yoo) are grade school classmates in Seoul, competing with each other to be the top of their class and just beginning to acknowledge their mutual crush when Nora’s family emigrate...Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/three-2023-siff-films-range-from-wistful-to-dystopian/https://iexaminer.org/qa-gen-z-filmmaker-sarah-kambe-holland-makes-her-feature-debut-at-siff/Premiering in the New American Cinema program at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival, Egghead & Twinkie is a multi-textual, Gen Z-driven coming-of-age meets road trip movie. Centering on a recently out Asian American teen and her best friend in the weeks before they part ways for college, the film is a light-hearted yet heartfelt exploration of love, friendship, identity and self-expression. Multi-hyphenate Sarah Kambe Holland, who directed, wrote, produced and edited the film, an ex...Wed, 31 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/qa-gen-z-filmmaker-sarah-kambe-holland-makes-her-feature-debut-at-siff/https://iexaminer.org/qa-sudeshna-sen-on-her-return-to-siff/Local filmmaker Sudeshna Sen returns to the Seattle International Film Festival to unveil her first feature-length film. Anu, based on the novel Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerjee, follows the titular character in the aftermath of her beloved grandfather’s death. It’s a compact story that captures the nuance and complexities of grief and trauma processing, shot locally during the pandemic in places astute viewers are sure to recognize. Sen, who wrote, produced and directed the film, got on Zoom...Wed, 31 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/qa-sudeshna-sen-on-her-return-to-siff/https://iexaminer.org/paper-names-effectively-portrays-generational-trauma/I originally accepted the assignment of reviewing Susie Luo’s debut novel Paper Names on the basis of its title, expecting a narrative having to do with the so-called paper sons (including my great-grandfather) who immigrated to the United States during the Chinese Exclusion Act. Instead I received an advance copy of a drama centered around a family of three who leave behind modest stability in Dalian, China, and the adversity they face in rebuilding their lives from scratch in 1980s New York Ci...Fri, 19 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/paper-names-effectively-portrays-generational-trauma/https://iexaminer.org/hidden-letters-film-reveals-a-dark-glimpse-into-chinese-womens-lives/Hidden Letters from director Violet Du Feng examines the ancient, sororal language Nushu through the eyes of two young women in modern-day China trying to preserve it. By juxtaposing past and present, the film unflinchingly peels back the layers of sexism and internalized misogyny that have and continue to support the patriarchy. Equal parts fascinating and uncomfortable, Feng challenges viewers to look beyond the facade of contemporary gender equality and examine the still problematic roots of...Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://iexaminer.org/hidden-letters-film-reveals-a-dark-glimpse-into-chinese-womens-lives/https://iexaminer.org/hong-sang-soos-the-novelists-film-is-a-cheeky-meditation-on-art-and-the-creative-process/Prolific South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo returns with The Novelist’s Film, a cheeky meditation on art and the creative process through the eyes of a cynical writer yearning for fresh inspiration. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, this meta-feature is Hong’s most personal film to date and offers a suggestive glimpse into the filmmaker’s psyche. Lee Hye-yeong stars as Junhee, a successful writer whose career has plateaued. Perhaps driven by loneliness or a longi...Sat, 17 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://iexaminer.org/hong-sang-soos-the-novelists-film-is-a-cheeky-meditation-on-art-and-the-creative-process/https://iexaminer.org/talking-with-ke-huy-quan-on-his-triumphant-and-endearing-return-to-the-big-screen-in-everything-everywhere-all-at-once/People of a certain age probably remember actor Ke Huy Quan for his roles in two of the most iconic ‘80s films: as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies. But in the years that followed his debut, Quan’s thespian ambitions were sidelined by Hollywood’s whiteness. Leveraging his martial arts expertise and film degree from the University of Southern California, he turned his attention to working behind the scenes as everything from stunt coordinator and fight c...Thu, 07 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/talking-with-ke-huy-quan-on-his-triumphant-and-endearing-return-to-the-big-screen-in-everything-everywhere-all-at-once/https://iexaminer.org/omoiyari-combines-music-documentary-style-interviews-and-historical-footage-in-exploring-former-japanese-american-incarceration-sites/Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi (reviewed in the IE here, scroll down) is a unique documentary that blends live music performance, interview, history and archival footage, centering on the legacy of Japanese American incarceration during WWII. Co-directed by Kaoru Ishibashi (known professionally as composer and songwriter Kishi Bashi) and Justin Taylor Smith, the film is as much about the present as it is the past. In 2017, Ishibashi was commissioned to compose a multimedia piece about Exec...Wed, 06 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/omoiyari-combines-music-documentary-style-interviews-and-historical-footage-in-exploring-former-japanese-american-incarceration-sites/https://iexaminer.org/documentary-film-director-ahsen-nadeem-seeks-enlightenment-on-mt-hiei-in-japan-in-crows-are-white/Ahsen Nadeem’s directorial debut, Crows Are White (review in the IE here, scroll down), chronicles his personal journey to bridge the gap between him and his parents while seeking enlightenment from the secluded Buddhist monks who live on Mt. Hiei outside of Kyoto, Japan. Having grown up in a traditional Muslim household, first in Saudi Arabia and then in rural Ireland after the start of the Gulf War, the adult Nadeem struggles to reconcile who he is with the version of himself that his parents...Wed, 06 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/documentary-film-director-ahsen-nadeem-seeks-enlightenment-on-mt-hiei-in-japan-in-crows-are-white/https://iexaminer.org/its-a-family-affair-in-the-documentary-bad-axe/When the film industry ground to a halt in March 2020, director David Siev left New York for his hometown of Bad Axe, Michigan, to ride out the pandemic at his parents’ house. When he first picked up the camera to film his family, no one could have predicted the turn that events would take in the months to follow, nor how they would affect the Siev clan. Over the past two years, the filmmaker shaped hours of footage into the documentary Bad Axe (reviewed in IE here, scroll down) which debuted at...Wed, 06 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/its-a-family-affair-in-the-documentary-bad-axe/https://iexaminer.org/dispatches-and-movie-reviews-from-the-2022-sxsw-festival/Everything Everywhere All At Once Directors: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schreinert USA From directing duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schreinert comes a fresh take on the multiverse concept. Anchored by a strong cast of veterans (Michelle Yeoh, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis), emerging talent (Stephanie Hsu) and reemerging talent (Ke Huy Quan, back onscreen after two decades behind the camera), Everything Everywhere All At Once asks some of life’s big questions and finds answers in surprising, delightful...Fri, 18 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://iexaminer.org/dispatches-and-movie-reviews-from-the-2022-sxsw-festival/https://iexaminer.org/saaff-film-documentary-the-six-works-to-uncover-the-mystery-of-six-chinese-men-who-survived-the-sinking-of-the-titanic/It’s hard to remember a time before the 1997 juggernaut that broke box office records The Titanic launched the careers of its two leads, and forever cemented the tragedy of the British passenger liner within public consciousness. Writer and director James Cameron’s fictional story about an ill-fated love affair captured the hearts of millions, yet perhaps the most historically accurate detail of the film is relegated to a deleted scene, in which a lifeboat trawls the wreckage to rescue a Chinese...Tue, 22 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://iexaminer.org/saaff-film-documentary-the-six-works-to-uncover-the-mystery-of-six-chinese-men-who-survived-the-sinking-of-the-titanic/https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/86d253b3-5937-4556-9684-ffd5e4404617.pdfWed, 19 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/86d253b3-5937-4556-9684-ffd5e4404617.pdfhttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/52276938-fb4e-4877-bb4a-40a01da9a43e.pdfWed, 05 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/52276938-fb4e-4877-bb4a-40a01da9a43e.pdfhttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/d0887053-dc29-4cf4-99d6-bc382fd9b813.pdfWed, 20 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/d0887053-dc29-4cf4-99d6-bc382fd9b813.pdfhttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/0c8593fa-9db0-4840-86fe-967610705574.pdfWed, 06 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/520013/uploads/0c8593fa-9db0-4840-86fe-967610705574.pdfhttps://iexaminer.org/we-are-little-zombies-is-a-punk-coming-of-age-story-that-could-achieve-cult-favorite-status/Two years after winning the Short Film Grand Jury Prize for And So We Put Goldfish in the Pool, director Makoto Nagahisa returns to the Sundance Film Festival (held in January) with his debut feature-length film, We Are Little Zombies, a punk coming-of-age story whose vibrant palette and quirky soundscape complement its emotionally devoid protagonists. Four newly orphaned Japanese youths (their average age is 13) meet at a crematorium, bonding not only over their recent parental losses, but also...Thu, 31 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://iexaminer.org/we-are-little-zombies-is-a-punk-coming-of-age-story-that-could-achieve-cult-favorite-status/https://iexaminer.org/documentary-shows-the-rise-and-fall-of-elizabeth-holmes-her-cult-of-personality-in-silicon-valley/Director Alex Gibney, whose previous works include Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, debuted his latest deep dive into corporate fraud and the tragic CEO at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival held in January. Centered on former startup ingenue Elizabeth Holmes, whose now-dissolved company Theranos had proposed revolutionary blood-testing technology, The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley explores how a novel idea with little to no grounding in scien...Thu, 31 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://iexaminer.org/documentary-shows-the-rise-and-fall-of-elizabeth-holmes-her-cult-of-personality-in-silicon-valley/https://iexaminer.org/searching-starring-john-cho-is-a-triumph-for-representation-and-original-storytelling-and-filmmaking/“Someday, someone will write a thesis on this film,” said the Q&A moderator following the world premiere of Aneesh Chaganty’s groundbreaking debut Searching, which won the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize. Taking place entirely on computer screens with the characters interacting through voice calls, texting, and FaceTime, the film is the first of its kind, succeeding where others have failed at trying to convey modern use of technology by its all-out yet realistic approach. The open...Fri, 24 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/searching-starring-john-cho-is-a-triumph-for-representation-and-original-storytelling-and-filmmaking/https://iexaminer.org/the-third-murder-plays-this-weekend-only-at-siff-cinema-uptown-aug-24-25-26/The Third Murder opens with the visceral shot of a burning body. Unfortunately, what follows over the course of the next two hours is much less interesting. Koji Yakusho stars as Misumi, a previously convicted criminal who does not contest his involvement in the titular murder. However, as his legal team soon discovers, Misumi is simultaneously too compliant and wholly unreliable. Each time they visit prison to question him, his story shifts slightly. Something is clearly amiss, but with a suspe...Thu, 23 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/the-third-murder-plays-this-weekend-only-at-siff-cinema-uptown-aug-24-25-26/https://iexaminer.org/film-documentarian-li-shin-yu-issues-about-race-and-everything-that-is-on-fire-today-traces-back-to-the-chinese-exclusion-act/For all the atrocities that the current administration is committing – the systematic purges of immigrants, the ban on individuals from certain countries entering our borders, the cruel severing of family units – most have precedence in a dark, forgotten part of American history. Between 1882 and 1943, the Chinese Exclusion Act, a policy rooted in xenophobia, fear and racism, curtailed immigration from China. Ric Burns and longtime collaborator Li-Shin Yu co-directed a documentary for PBS by the...Fri, 20 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0100https://iexaminer.org/film-documentarian-li-shin-yu-issues-about-race-and-everything-that-is-on-fire-today-traces-back-to-the-chinese-exclusion-act/