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U of M report

So the screening at the University of Michigan went very well. I sent out press releases to the local papers and both the Detroit News and Free Press wrote up the event. I came in the Friday before so I got to spend some quality time with my family. Good thing too, with my sister nursing a broken ankle. I visited with her as often as I could.

The day of my screening I had arranged to meet some old friends at Pizza House before the event. Martin is an old high school buddy of mine. He was a year ahead of me and we both majored in Aerospace at Cass Tech. He went on to Michigan where he met his wife, the lovely Helen. They both work on campus and reside in Ann Arbor. Ironically enough (as it relates to my movie) he’s Black and she’s Asian! I went to their wedding and ended up helping my boy Chris videotape the event. The night before the ceremony, we had a rehearsal dinner at the very same Pizza House in Ann Arbor! (I can’t shake this place.)

So after scarfing a couple of slices and talking about everything from high school to the mayor of the city of Detroit’s troubles, it was time for me to go meet my sorority contact in the nearby East Hall. Martin led the way.

ChiChi, one of the sorority members, was as nice in person as she was in her e-mails. She was a gracious host and welcomed me and my crew (my mother came up with me and there was the aforementioned Martin and Helen). I met the other gals of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Incorporated and they were all bright, charming young ladies.
The women of Theta Nu Xi, Inc.
Joe poses with the ladies of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. “Chi Chi” is 3rd from the left.

We waited until around 7:30 to actually roll the film, but even then we had some late arrivals. It started snowing on my drive up from Detroit and continued well into the night. It’s been nearly a year of me going around and showing the film, but this night was special because I was in my hometown! I had family and many friends in the audience. People enjoyed the film and laughed in the right places.

After the screening, I talked about how “Akira” had come about and fielded quesitons from the sorority before opening it up to the audience. We had a lively discussion and since the event was part of Asian Heritage Month there was a mixed audience of Blacks, Whites, Asians and Latinos. The discussion involved dating outside of your race, campus politics, preferences vs. fetishes, and the state of race relations in Michigan as opposed to other parts of the country. It was pretty lively with many different viewpoints represented.

The University of Michigan recently abolished affirmative action regarding their admission policies and was the subject of much debate.

Joe D. speaks. Photos courtesy of Christian Twothunderclouds.

I had a great time and look forward to taking the film to other schools. The only thing that could have made it better is if some of my cast was in attendance. Afterwards we went back to (where else) Pizza House and had more food and drinks. Then I had to drive back to Detroit in the middle of a snowstorm which made for an interesting trip.