SDAFF: Jurors 2007

Festival Award Jurors judge the best films entered into competition and choose the top film in each category along with a Grand Jury Award winner.

MARK ARBITRARIO, Professional Film and Video Editor and Founding SDAFF Programmer, Los Angeles
Mark Arbitrario is a second generation Filipino-American artist and filmmaker. Mark received his BA in Studio Art from the University of California at Santa Barbara and then received a fellowship for his MFA at the University of California at San Diego in film. Mark exhibited his films and video installations internationally throughout film festivals and art exhibitions. Mark was one of the founding board members of SDAFF. He is devoted to increasing the awareness of the creative talent within Asian America. Mark wrote articles for the National Asian American Telecommunications Association's PUSH Magazine as well as an ethnographic journal called Field Methods. Mark recently taught film and video production courses at Visual Communications in Los Angeles, and he currently works as an editor for the NBC reality show, THE APPRENTICE.

Dr. LEEVA C. CHUNG, Associate Professor, Communication and Ethnic Studies Departments, University of San Diego
Born and raised in San Francisco, Leeva received her BA, MA, and Ph.D in Intercultural Communication at San Francisco State University, California State University Fullerton, and the University of Oklahoma. As a founding board member, Leeva has been very active with SDAFF by serving as the liason between SDAFF and the University of San Diego campus and student population. She has published several articles and recently published a book, "Understanding Intercultural Communication" with Dr. Stella Ting-Toomey.

HELIE LEE
Helie Lee is the author of the United States bestseller Still Life With Rice (Scribner 1996), and In The Absence of Sun (Harmony Books 2002), memoirs in which she chronicles her family's experience in war-torn Korea from the 1930s to 1997. Her second book , In The Absence of Sun specifically details her Korean-American family's risky attempt to rescue her uncle from North Korea. Her courageous story led Cosmopolitan Magazine to select Lee out of thousands of women nominated for their "1999 Fun Fearless Female" competition as a "Freedom Fighter."

As a bestselling author, Lee has been featured on Nightline, CNN, the Associated Press, NBC Nightly News, NPR, The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, People Magazine, Life & Times, Today Show, and Oprah. She has spoken as a guest lecturer at Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Northeastern University, Amherst, the Korean American Coalition, KASCON, The Museum of Tolerance, and many over venues.

Lee has also been published in Mademoiselle, Essence, and KoreAm Journal. Lee is currently working on a documentary titled "Macho Like Me." It highlights her six-and-a-half month journey living as a man to explore the dynamics of how society treats men and women differently. Ms. Lee has adapted "Macho Like Me" into a one-woman performance piece.

Lee is the co-director of The Korea Academy For Educators (KAFE), an honorary board member of the San Diego Asian American Film Festival, a board member of the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, a member of the Asian American Writers Workshop, and PEN, a community of writers defending freedom of expression and building a literary culture.

MARK SISSON, Assistant Professor of Telemedia in the School of Arts & Communications at Southwestern College
Mr. Mark W. Sisson currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Telemedia in the School of Arts & Communications at Southwestern College in Chula Vista California. Originally a native of San Diego, Mr. Sisson has spent most of his adult life working as a media specialist around the world. His most recent service was as a consultant in Zambia for the Education Development Center (EDC) based in Washington D.C. While in Zambia he served as a trainer assisting technical staff of the National Department of Education to produce curriculum based radio programs to replace teachers that were lost to the ravages of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Before Zambia, Mr. Sisson was in China where he produced an educational training video for the East-West Institute for primary school teachers teaching English as a second language. As Director of Educational Television in Papua New Guinea, Mr. Sisson produced over seventy radio and television programs for the Ministry of Education and established the countries first multi-million dollar Media Center providing both video and radio programs to support K-12 and teachers in-service curriculum. While in Papua New Guinea, he produced programs for various UN agencies including United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), and United Nations Development Program (UNDP), as well as a host of other development organizations.

In Los Angeles, Mr. Sisson worked in the film and television industry on such programs as The Jefferson’s, One Day At A Time, Good Times, and The Glory Show, he worked for a variety of production companies including; Stephen Cannel Productions, Tandem Embassy Productions, KNBC, and a whole host of independent productions companies and commercial houses. He has won various film / video awards and acclaims including the SONY Grand Prix award for best international film.

Mr. Sisson Graduated with a Master of Fine Arts Degree (MFA) in Film Directing from the University of Los Angeles California (UCLA) and a Bachelors Degree in Television and Radio Broadcast from San Francisco State University.

Now back in his native homeland, Mr. Sisson tries to share with young up and coming filmmakers, and media artists, and development specialist his wealth of experience and knowledge. He continues to develop and perfect his skills as a filmmaker and remains active in the film and television community.

ARNOLD MARQUEZ
One of the founding members of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation, Arnold Marquez served as programming director of the SDAFF for four years. His career in nonprofit administration began 10 years ago as Managing Director at Asian American Repertory Theater (AART), where he was responsible for securing and operating the company's own first and only bricks-and-mortar venue, MMPAC. At Keeping The Culture Arts Foundation, Arnold served as Artistic Director, producing and presenting Filipino American performing and visual arts events, notably THE VOICE SESSIONS and Alec Mapa's I REMEMBER MAPA, earning KGTV's 10Leadership Award with his colleagues.

He has worked in organizational development, communications, and fundraising capacities for the Family Violence & Sexual Assault Institute and Walden Family Services; and his social service interests led to executive producing SILENT SACRIFICES: VOICES OF THE FILIPINO AMERICAN FAMILY, a video distributed by the Center for Asian American Media (formerly NAATA).

Arnold recently supported formation of the Filipino American Caucus of San Diego County, a nonpartisan Political Action Committee; became a member of the board at Common Ground Theatre, San Diego's leading African American theater; has joined the House of the Philippines, supporting the board there in marketing and public relations; posts community events to YouTube as "marquezarnold"; and explores podcasting as a commentator at FILAMFOCUS.com.

He is proudest of his daughters: Alexis is a graduate of Barnard College working in Manhattan, and Schuyler graduated from High Tech High this year and will attend Mount Holyoke College in the fall.