Nemeth Narratives

In 1997, Kathi co-founded Survivors of Torture, International (SURVIVORS). SURVIVORS’ mission is to facilitate the healing of torture survivors and their families; educate professionals and the public about torture and its consequences; and advocate for torture survivors and the abolition of torture. She served as SURVIVORS’ first board chair before becoming its first executive director. In 2022 she announced her retirement.

She had extensive experience in health care, human rights, refugee resettlement and higher education. She received from San Jose State University her M.A. in Counseling and from the University of the Pacific her B.A. in International Relations with an emphasis on Latin America. She studied in Mexico and worked in Costa Rica.

Kathi still serves as an elected member of the Denmark-based International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims’ governing board and was one of the co-founders and officers of the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs. She also currently serves on the advisory board for the Barbara Chester Award of The Hopi Foundation.

Previously, she founded Lutheran Social Services of Idaho as well as served on the national boards of directors of Amnesty International and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service as well as numerous local boards of directors. Kathi has twice testified in Congress, met with foreign ministry and United Nations officials, presented in national conferences and guest lectured locally, nationally and internationally. In 2020, she was inducted into the San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame.

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Facilitating the conversations are award-winning filmmakers and SDFC co-founders Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista, and Alicia de Leon Torres, Deputy Director of the Nemeth Foundation and SDFC Board Member. Sound design and edit by SDFC Technical Director, Miko Aguilar. Key art design by SDFC Communications & Social Media Manager, Tiara Liz Deriquito.

Nemeth Narratives is presented by The Nemeth Foundation in partnership with San Diego Filipino Cinema and New Americans Museum

sdfilipinocinema.org

Eva Pacheco barely spoke English when she volunteered at her children’s school in El
Cajon, California. She and her husband were firm believers that being bilingual was
important; they enrolled their children in schools where they were assured they would
receive bilingual education. They soon found out that that was not true. Her children’s
education and self-esteem suffered. Pacheco found out there were many other families
in the same situation. She soon organized other parents, informed them of their parental rights, and together they advocated for quality education for their children. Today, she is the Founder, Trustee, and Director of Facilities Expansion of Excellence and Justice in Education Academies – a model charter school in El Cajon. Pacheco credits her husband, family, the other parents and families – as well as her 13-year experience as an elementary and middle school teacher in Leon, Guajanto, Mexico for success. Here is her story…

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Eva Pacheco, the founder of EJE Academies is an experienced educator of over 30 years who has been advocating to ensure all children have access to quality bilingual education. She was born and raised in Mexico. When she moved to the United States, she quickly recognized the challenges the American education system posed for bilingual learners like her own children, especially those with limited resources.  She was the Executive Director of EJE Academies Charter School since its founding over 15 years ago. Starting with just 110 students in makeshift facilities, the academy has grown to serve over 800 students today. EJE Academies (EJEA) is a TK-8th grade school that provides high-quality dual-language (English & Spanish) educational instruction, a nurturing learning environment, and a supportive community to its students. 

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Nemeth Narratives Season II: Hidden Stories are voices of communities and individuals who've had unique yet connected global, state, or local events, past and/or present. Most have impacted history in San Diego county in a positive manner but often unknown to the general public.

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Facilitating the conversations are award-winning filmmakers and SDFC co-founders Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista, and Alicia de Leon Torres, Deputy Director of the Nemeth Foundation and SDFC Board Member. Sound design and edit by SDFC Technical Director, Miko Aguilar. Key art design by SDFC Communications & Social Media Manager, Tiara Liz Deriquito.

Nemeth Narratives is presented by The Nemeth Foundation in partnership with San Diego Filipino Cinema and New Americans Museum

sdfilipinocinema.org

Susan Hasegawa is a professor at San Diego City College and teaches U.S. history and Asian American history. She is also the past chairperson of the History and Political Science Department. Susan has researched and wrote on the Japanese American experience in San Diego for the past twenty-five years and curated numerous exhibits locally. Based on oral history interviews and archival photographs, her community history, Japanese Americans in San Diego, was published in 2008.

In 2021, Susan co-curated Call to Serve: Clara E. Breed & the Japanese American Incarceration for the San Diego Public Library. Susan serves as the resident historian for the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego (JAHSSD) and is a former vice president of the organization. She has also written articles for the Japanese American National Museum and consulted on numerous projects concerning the Japanese American experience for Oxford Publishing, University Press of Colorado, and The Old Globe Theatre. 

She has a master’s degree in history from SDSU and a master’s degree in International Affairs from UCSD. She grew-up in Hana, a small town in East Maui, but has called San Diego home since moving here for graduate school in 1989. 

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Nemeth Narratives Season II: Hidden Stories are voices of communities and individuals who've had unique yet connected global, state, or local events, past and/or present. Most have impacted history in San Diego county in a positive manner but often unknown to the general public.

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Facilitating the conversations are award-winning filmmakers and SDFC co-founders Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista, and Alicia de Leon Torres, Deputy Director of the Nemeth Foundation and SDFC Board Member. Sound design and edit by SDFC Technical Director, Miko Aguilar. Key art design by SDFC Communications & Social Media Manager, Tiara Liz Deriquito.

Nemeth Narratives is presented by The Nemeth Foundation in partnership with San Diego Filipino Cinema and New Americans Museum

sdfilipinocinema.org

“My podcast is a teeny exploration of a stream-of-consciousness-turned-film that magically reached and resonated with audiences across the world.” - Kayla Galang

Born in Olongapo City, Philippines, and raised in San Diego, California, and Houston, Texas, Kayla Abuda Galang is a second-generation Filipino American filmmaker exploring themes of home, family, and belonging. She lives with her partner and two cats in Austin, Texas, where she works as a producer and editor at the University of Texas in the College of Liberal Arts.

Her latest film, When You Left Me on That Boulevard, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and won the Sundance 2023 Short Film Grand Jury Prize. Her film Learning Tagalog With Kayla (2021) premiered at SXSW, received an Audience Award, and went on to screen at festivals such as Palm Springs, Indie Memphis, Encounters, and Reel Asian. She is currently developing two feature films: ‘06-’07, a coming-of-age comedy set in mid-2000s southeast San Diego, and On Earth as it is in Heaven, a comedy about familial grief set in present-day Houston.

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Facilitating the conversations are award-winning filmmakers and SDFC co-founders Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista, and Alicia de Leon Torres, Deputy Director of the Nemeth Foundation and SDFC Board Member. Sound design and edit by SDFC Technical Director, Miko Aguilar. Key art design by SDFC Communications & Social Media Manager, Tiara Liz Deriquito.

Nemeth Narratives is presented by The Nemeth Foundation in partnership with San Diego Filipino Cinema and New Americans Museum

sdfilipinocinema.org

This episode is a 20-year close retrospective look back at a singular moment that forever changed my life.”
- Edrian Pangilinan

Listen now to the content creator and filmmaker, Edrian Pangilinan’s personal immigration story as he creates a relatable and empathetic experience for listeners. While the details may be unique to his own life, the underlying themes of resilience, identity, and the search for belonging resonate with individuals who have undergone similar transitions or faced significant upheavals in their lives. This episode provides a space to explore not only the challenges, but also the triumphs and personal growth that can arise from such experiences.

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Facilitating the conversations are award-winning filmmakers and SDFC co-founders Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista, and Alicia de Leon Torres, Deputy Director of the Nemeth Foundation and SDFC Board Member. Sound design and edit by SDFC Technical Director, Miko Aguilar. Key art design by SDFC Communications & Social Media Manager, Tiara Liz Deriquito.

Nemeth Narratives is presented by The Nemeth Foundation in partnership with San Diego Filipino Cinema and New Americans Museum

sdfilipinocinema.org

I AM MAGIC, TOO is about how my journey with grief and spirituality led to self-discovery and healing. I chose this particular story because i wanted to show the power and magic that comes with digging into your roots and understanding who you are. - Pauline Scully

Pauline Scully is your friendly neighborhood storyteller. She’s a small business owner, a director and a video producer. She has a deep appreciation for how one small story can make a massive impact. She believes that communication through narratives has the power to initiate change and shift perspectives. As a lifelong creative, she is grateful that everyday she gets to help others tell stories of all shapes and sizes and is finally learning how to begin telling her own. 

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Facilitating the conversations are award-winning filmmakers and SDFC co-founders Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista, and Alicia de Leon Torres, Deputy Director of the Nemeth Foundation and SDFC Board Member. Sound design and edit by SDFC Technical Director, Miko Aguilar. Key art design by SDFC Communications & Social Media Manager, Tiara Liz Deriquito.

Nemeth Narratives is presented by The Nemeth Foundation in partnership with San Diego Filipino Cinema and New Americans Museum

sdfilipinocinema.org

Explore the vibrant culture of Filipino fishermen and their deep connection to the sea. "Margarita Island'' retells ancestral Filipino wisdom about the relationship with "buwayas" or crocodiles. Through the artful use of audio, Marion Aguas captures the essence of the tradition of sharing our Filipino culture, in the same way that these myths and customs have been shared for centuries.

''I made 'Margarita Island' to continue the practice of sharing our Filipino myths and customs through oral storytelling. Through the audio in the film, I am able to pass down a piece of ancestral Filipino knowledge the same way that the protagonist hears about the story of buwayas from their father." - Marion Aguas

Marion Aguas (he/they) is a photographer and filmmaker based in New York. They cut their teeth in the streets, documenting and organizing with the Filipino National Democratic movement and the W.O.W. Project, a women, queer, and trans-led community initiative that uses art and activism to protect NYC Chinatown’s culture. In 2017, they started a portrait project of queer Asian-Americans, which inevitably led them into the QTBIPOC nightlife and drag scenes in New York. Informed by their own experience as a trans person of color, Marion uses their camera to immortalize queer joy as a form of liberation. They have shown work at The Wing Luke Museum, Red Hook Labs, the San Diego Filipino Film Festival, and MoodRing. 

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Facilitating the conversations are award-winning filmmakers and SDFC co-founders Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista, and Alicia de Leon Torres, Deputy Director of the Nemeth Foundation and SDFC Board Member. Sound design and edit by SDFC Technical Director, Miko Aguilar. Key art design by SDFC Communications & Social Media Manager, Tiara Liz Deriquito.

Nemeth Narratives is presented by The Nemeth Foundation in partnership with San Diego Filipino Cinema and New Americans Museum

sdfilipinocinema.org

Most Filipino women who grew up in a predominantly white community have always felt the pressure to conform to certain beauty standards. This not only affects one's self-esteem but also perpetuates the idea that one's worth is tied to their proximity to these unattainable beauty standards. In Isabel Adamos' episode titled "Whitewashed", she sheds light on colorism and conformity and explores the plights of those who are affected by these harming belief systems in hopes of opening a conversation and creating a space for marginalized voices to be heard. 

Isabel Adamos is a filmmaker and aspiring film editor based in San Diego, CA, whose filmmaking talents have been recognized through top honors and nominations at festivals such as the iVIE Awards and the All-American High School Film Festival. Having obtained associate degrees in Film, TV, and Electronic Media, alongside Language Arts and Humanities, she is now working toward a bachelor’s degree in Television, Film, and New Media with an emphasis on Production at San Diego State University. Her projects have been featured in exhibitions such as SDFC’s 2020 Lokal Shorts, alongside on television through MyxTV’s Filipinx Film Week.

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Facilitating the conversations are award-winning filmmakers and SDFC co-founders Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista, and Alicia de Leon Torres, Deputy Director of the Nemeth Foundation and SDFC Board Member. Sound design and edit by SDFC Technical Director, Miko Aguilar. Key art design by SDFC Communications & Social Media Manager, Tiara Liz Deriquito.

Nemeth Narratives is presented by The Nemeth Foundation in partnership with San Diego Filipino Cinema and New Americans Museum

sdfilipinocinema.org

Asians are known to come from traditional communities that perpetuate honor in their family, ethnicity, and culture. When one fails to do so, it leads to what we call “Asian shame”. Consequently, individuals who feel that they have disgraced their kin hide and isolate themselves physically and emotionally from society to deal with it. Get to know more about “Asian shame” as San Diego choreographer and filmmaker, Trixi Agiao, talks about how secrets and shame have shaped her life in this week’s episode of Nemeth Narratives podcast. 

Trixi Anne Agiao is a socially conscious choreographer and filmmaker using the digital guise of The Thoughtful Beast. Trixi creates work centered on fighting the stigma against mental illness and mental health. Utilizing visual storytelling experience as a dancer and choreographer, Trixi sets out to make videos that kinesthetically connect with her audience.
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Facilitating the conversations are award-winning filmmakers and SDFC co-founders Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista, and Alicia de Leon Torres, Deputy Director of the Nemeth Foundation and SDFC Board Member. Sound design and edit by SDFC Technical Director, Miko Aguilar. Key art design by SDFC Communications & Social Media Manager, Tiara Liz Deriquito.

Nemeth Narratives is presented by The Nemeth Foundation in partnership with San Diego Filipino Cinema and New Americans Museum

sdfilipinocinema.org

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Facilitating the conversations are award-winning filmmakers and SDFC co-founders Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista, and Alicia de Leon Torres, Deputy Director of the Nemeth Foundation and SDFC Board Member. Sound design and edit by SDFC Technical Director, Miko Aguilar. Key art design by SDFC Communications & Social Media Manager, Tiara Liz Deriquito.

Nemeth Narratives is presented by The Nemeth Foundation in partnership with San Diego Filipino Cinema and New Americans Museum

sdfilipinocinema.org