Discrimi*NATION
A multi-disciplinary showcase of stories based on narratives from victims, witnesses and perpetrators to anti-Asian hate and bias crimes from across the country. Discrimi*NATION was co-created by Jennifer Betit Yen and Ray Lanuza and funded, in part, by the Asian American Arts Alliance “What Can We Do” grant. The program, designed to fight bias through the building of cross racial coalitions, will air nationwide on CrossingsTV . Connect with the VIEWING PARTY here ! More on IMDb . Special thanks to the cast and crew:
KEISUKE HOASHI has over 200 credits (“Bob’s Burgers,” “Perry Mason,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”) and was a narrator for national best-selling audiobook “How High We Go in the Dark” by Sequoia Nagamatsu. A native of NYC, he co-founded the New York Summer Music Festival, where he hosted 500 live performances and produced 120 original musicals and films. Keisuke was a writer/graphic designer at IBM, NCR, AT&T, and in state government. He holds an MS in Technical Communications from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and a BA in English from SUNY Potsdam. He lives in Los Angeles.
JENNIFER BETIT YEN, co-founder of the Discrimi*NATION project, is an actor (New Amsterdam (NBC), Search Party (TBS), Royal Pains (USA) , Film Lab Presents , The Beacon Street Girls) and writer/producer (The Opposite of a Fairy Tale ). She has received mentions from The New York Times, Broadway World and Backstage Magazine , among others, for her acting work. A graduate of Cornell University and Boston University School of Law, Jennifer also has the distinction of having a day named after her in New York City. In her spare time, she enjoys boxing, advocating for animal welfare, fine vegan dining with her husband, and running with her beloved rescue mutt. Jennifer is the President of the Film Lab, a nonprofit promoting equality in the arts.
Born in Ottawa, TYLER HAM PONG first appeared onstage as Lorenzo in “The Merchant of Venice” at the National Arts Centre in Canada. He would later move to New York City to further his acting career where he wrote and starred in “Moony Mercury” Off-Off-Broadway. He also wrote and produced “Two Days ’til Dawn” at the Gene Frankel Theatre, NYC. Tyler relocated to Los Angeles to pursue various film and television roles. He produced “Leap” and “CLUB RAT$” which screened at numerous festivals, including (Academy Award Qualifying) LA Shorts Fest and Amazon Prime Video’s first ever online film festival, All Voices Film Festival. His most recent film “The Real McCoy” won the Grand Prize and Best Actor Award at the Asian American Film Lab’s 72 Hour Film Shootout, also winning mentorships with NBC Talent Development Executives. Tyler would go on to co-ordinate the 2020 72 Hour Film Shootout, facilitating these opportunities for other diverse and emerging filmmakers. Aside from acting and filmmaking, Tyler is currently a travel host for Visit the USA, and has been an Assistant/Associate Producer on several scripted and unscripted shows including, “BIZARRE MURDERS,” “TEXAS CAKE HOUSE,” and “TODDLERS AND TIARAS.” He is based in Los Angeles and is the proud owner/operator of Kill the Pig Productions.
ERIN QUILL holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in Performance. As an actress, she has been seen on the stage (OBC Avenue Q, 50th Anniversary Production of FLOWER DRUM SONG as Madame Rita, King & I Tour as Lady Thiang, Original cast of Broadway Bound musical, DAVE ), on the small screen (HBO’s The Other Two, HBO’s PPL: Original Sin, Netflix John Mulaney & The Sacklunch Bunch, CBS’s The Blacklist, CBS’s The Following, SHO’s Nurse Jackie and more ) and the large (The Mikado Project, Man on a Ledge and others). Most recently, her short film that she wrote and appears in, QUEEN BESSIE’S GAL, directed by Kaye Tuckerman, has been accepted as part of the larger project, ENTANGLEMENT into the Cannes International Film Festival – as well as several more. QBG was an Australian/American collaboration and was made possible by Voices of Women.
RAY LANUZA, co-founder of the Discrimi*NATION project, is a well-known sound designer and editor who has worked on a wide range of productions from Arianna Huffington projects to the Harry Potter movies. He currently works for Warner Brothers Media and serves on the Board of the Asian American Film Lab.
LISA BARCELO STORY is a Clinical psychologist and Buddhist Reverend, based out of Marietta Georgia. She is a teacher at Roswell insight meditation community, and received lay ordination in 2022. This is her first experience with voiceover work, and she is thrilled to be a part of the Discrimi*NATION anti-bias project.
YUMI LAWLOR is a Korean American technology lawyer based in Brooklyn, New York. She was born and raised in Orange County, California and thrives on stories to strengthen love in our communities.