RAMEN SALON

It’ll also be live on Naomi Ko’s Facebook and the Event Facebook Page.

@konaomie #RAMENSALON

Featuring:

5.11.2020 - 30% Effort: Funny Asian Women Kollective’s Saymoukda Vongsay, May Lee-Yang, and Naomi Ko

Saymoukda Vongsay is a Lao American poet, playwright, and general badass. She is known for her kick-ass play Kung Fu Zombies Vs Cannibals and her wonderful children’s book WHEN EVERYTHING WAS EVERYTHING. She has recently been awarded a National Playwright in Residence in partnership with Theater Mu. It is a program of The Andrew Mellon Foundation and the a,ward comes with a $200,000 stipend.

May Lee-Yang is a Twin Cities-based Hmong American writer, performer, and teacher. Her theater-based works include The Korean Drama Addict’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity, Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman, and Ten Reasons Why I’d Be a Bad Porn Star. She is also a former Playwright Center McKnight Fellow, a Bush Leadership Fellow, and a co-founder of FAWK (Funny Asian Women Kollective).

Naomi Ko is tired.

5.18.2020 - Our amazing feature about the Hmong community in Montana was supposed to shoot this summer: Vera Brunner-Sung, Ki Jin Kim, Melissa Vang, and Yeej Moua

Vera Brunner-Sung is an award-winning filmmaker. Her work has been presented at numerous festivals, museums, and galleries in the U.S. and abroad. Vera’s latest film, Character, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. She is currently developing her second narrative feature and is an assistant professor at Ohio State University.

Ki Jin Kim is an award-winning producer, cinematographer, and director. His body of works includes: Columbus (2017 Sundance Film Festival) Spa Night (2017 Independent Spirit Award Winner, 2016 Sundance Film Festival), and more.

Melissa Vang is a Hmong American filmmaker, visual artist, and teaching artist. Her most recent solo exhibit, F R I D G E S premiered this March at Second Shift Studio Place. She is 2019 Forecast Public Art Early Career Project grantee.

Yeej Moua is a Hmong American singer, actor, and filmmaker. His most recent credits include The Korean Drama Addict’s Guide to Losing Your Virginity.

5.25.2020 - The funniest Asian American comedians of Los Angeles: Atsuko Okatsuka and Kevin Yee

Atsuko Okatsuka is a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director. She was named a 2018 Vulture and 2019 TimeOut LA “Comedian To Watch.” She is also the creator and host of Let’s Go, Atsuko! a (woke) Japanese Game Show, which will premiere on Quibi sometime after the pandemic.

Kevin Yee is a comedian and can currently be seen on the comedy series DICKINSON on Apple TV plus! His original comedy songs have been featured on the hit podcast 2 DOPE QUEENS (WNYC), on THE GONG SHOW (ABC), and his first hour comedy special recently streamed on HULU. He is a recovering Broadway chorus boy (MARY POPPINS, WICKED tour, and MAMMA MIA Canada), and a former member of Quincy Jones’s boy band YOUTH ASYLUM.

6.1.2020 - Smart and Horny Korean Americans: Hye Yun Park, SJ Son, and Naomi Ko

Hye Yun Park is a writer/director and actor based out of New York City. She has written for HBO’s High Maintenance, Freeform’s Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, and Hulu’s Shrill. She is also the creator, writer, and star of BKPI. You can see Hye Yun’s recent episode in High Maintenance starring herself and Margaret Cho (Season 3, Episode 5).

SJ Son is a writer, actor and filmmaker, currently developing a show with HBO Max and Automatik Entertainment. Her short film SOOJEONG DREAMS OF FIJI produced by Amazon and Funny Or Die won the Audience Award at the Asian American International Film Festival. As an actor, she recurs on the Apple TV series, SERVANT, guest starred on TBS’ SEARCH PARTY and the latest NIKE commercial opposite Ilana Glazer.

Naomi Ko really should be editing her upcoming short film, Sweet 18.

6.8.2020 - Shit! Our jobs: Tommy Sar, Blongsha Hang, and Melissa Vang

Tommy Sar is a Cambodian American with Congenital Muscular Dystrophy and is hard of hearing. With a strong passion for community service and advocacy for accessibility and social justice, Mr. Sar currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Minnesota Museum of American Arts’ IDEA committee, Arts Midwest’s Professional Development Committee, and on the Metropolitan Council’s Equity Advisory Committee. Mr. Sar was the Coordinator of Community Programming at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Mr. Sar worked with individuals and organizations throughout the Twin Cities to engage them with the arts as a tool for self-expression, discovery, and activism. He also coordinated Ordway’s Sally Awards, an annual awards program recognizing the remarkable contributions of individuals and organizations that impacts Minnesota’s thriving arts community. Mr. Sar has presented and participated in discussion panels and talks for the Coalition of American Leaders, Nexus Community Partners, Points of Light Volunteer Conference, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and Arts Midwest Conference.

6.15.2020 - Our feature film was supposed to premiere at Tribeca: Carolyn Mao and Kate Tsang

Carolyn Mao is a creative producer based in Los Angeles. She produced Nice (Tribeca 2018) and is the producer for the forthcoming feature film Marvelous and the Black Hole that won the AT&T Untold Story $1 million grant in partnership with Tribeca Film Institute. She is a Film Independent Fellow and is currently in pre-production for her second feature, You and Me Both, with writer-director Jennifer Cho Suhr.

Kate Tsang is an artist, writer, and director based in LA. Her feature film, Marvelous and the Black Hole, won the AT&T Untold Story $1 million grant. She has written for Steven Universe and is currently writing for Adventure Time: Distant Lands.

6.22.2020 - Did you watch my feature yet?: Andrew Ahn (Driveways, Netflix’s Gentefied)

Andrew Ahn is an award-winning writer/director. His first feature film, Spa Night, won a 2017 Independent Spirt Award. He directed the first season of This Close on Sundance Now. His most recent film, Driveways, will premiere on Thursday, May 7. It stars Golden Globe nominated actress Hong Chau and the acclaimed late Brian Brian Dennehy (Golden Globe and Tony winner).

Johnson Cheng is an award-winning Chinese American writer/director hailing from the SGV of L.A. County. His narrative short film, IRON HANDS, had its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, Canadian premiere at the 2018 TIFF Kids International Film Festival, was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick, and was acquired by Topic Studios. Johnson is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award (Cary Grant Film Award) and is an alumnus of the NYFF Artist Academy, Telluride Student Symposium, Reykjavík Talent Lab, Short to Feature Lab, Armed With a Camera Fellowship, and Columbia University’s M.F.A. Film Directing/Screenwriting program. Most recently, Johnson wrote and directed the narrative short film, LONELY BLUE NIGHT, starring Diana Lin (THE FAREWELL) as a 2019 Film Independent Project Involve Writer/Director Fellow.

This project is generously funded by the Headwaters Foundation for Justice. Thank you for supporting Asian Pacific Islander Desi Americans and artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.