Colorvision, hosted by Daisy Fuentes, is a groundbreaking new series that showcases the works of independent filmmakers and producers. As a multicultural showcase of media, dialogue and music, COLORVISION creates a cross-cultural community while providing a new vision of a diverse world. COLORVISION, airing on American public television stations beginning on January 2, 2004 (check local listings), is a six-episode series comprised of 23 short films, 16 of which have won awards at domestic and international festivals, and 10 originally produced segment reports. Each episode tackles issues close to the minority experience, such as cultural identities, political realities and viewpoints on the American experience while incorporating humor, music, art and animation.

The segment reports within each episode explore issues of ethnicity, culture and tradition. Lisa Ling (ABC’s, The View and National Geographic Television’s, Ultimate Explorer) investigates the building of golf courses on sacred Hawaiian burial grounds in “Hawaiian Power.” Comedian and radio host Dan Ho (Home With Dan Ho: The Radio Show about Life in a House) profiles El Vez, the Chicano Elvis and explores Marvel Comics’ attempts to establish more ethnically-diverse super heroes. Musician Marc Anthony Thompson, a.k.a. “Chocolate Genius,” reports from a real Dudette ranch as well as at the scene of a New Orleans jazz funeral in “The Mortician’s Stomp”. Actress Jill Momaday (Lucky Luke, The Desperate Trail) explores the mysteries and effects of the Polynesian aphrodisiac in “Kava Dreams.” Actress/comedian Kate Rigg (Law & Order and Chink-O-Rama) illuminates the ins-and-outs and final results of an interracial dating service in “The Date” and “The Date Revisited.”

Episode Descriptions

EPISODE 1: “Heroes”
Host: Daisy Fuentes
Film: I AM ALI by Dream Hampton
18:20 (Narrative)
A young man’s obsession with Muhammad Ali leads to madness.
Segment A: “Blue Suede Sombrero” Reporter: Dan Ho 6:17
El Vez, the Chicano Elvis, celebrates at his quincenero (15th anniversary party).
Film: YOUNGHAWK SEVEN by Anthony Deiter
6:25 (Animation)
Modern Native-Americans keep tradition alive despite their changing
culture.
Film: BUS 44 by Dayyan Eng
10:15 (Narrative)
A Chinese woman bus driver is raped and beaten by bandits. Only one passenger tries to rescue her. After the attack, in a strange twist of events, she confuses her rescuer by throwing him off the bus.
Segment B: “Affirmative Action Heroes” Reporter: Dan Ho 7:00
Marvel Comics leads the way in establishing more racially diverse
super heroes.
Film: PROFILES IN SCIENCE by Wes Kim
4:50 (Mock Documentary)
This homage to high school science films provides a quirky profile of Dr. Albert Chung and his work with time-lapse photography.

EPISODE 2: “Dreams”
Host: Daisy Fuentes
Film: PEEPING TOM by Jason Todd Ipson
11:15 (Narrative)
A pre-pubescent boy makes a wish to see his neighbor naked. Instead he is cursed with seeing everyone in the buff for a day.
Segment A: “American Dream Gone Crazy” Reporter: Dan Ho 7:40
An attempt to build a dream home in the Black Hills of North Dakota is dashed by the spirit of Chief Crazy Horse.
Film: DIRTY LAUNDRY by Cristina Ibarra
13:50 (Tele-novella)
A young Mexican girl in Ol’ El Paso spins tele-novella fantasies
and longs for her first menstrual cycle.
Segment B: “Kava Dreams” Reporter: Jill Momaday 7:00
The Polynesian aphrodisiac, Kava, is put to the test and viewers are taken behind its mystery.
Film: TALL GIRL by Amalia Zarranz
13:30 (Narrative)
A Watusi-looking, basketball-playing, teenage woman has got game, but dreams of becoming a sexy Latina who wins the hearts of men.

Episode 3: “Identity”
Host: Daisy Fuentes
Film: DIWALI by Nick Sivakumaran
17:15 (Narrative)
An Indian-American struggles to woo a woman from the homeland.
Segment A: “Dudette Ranch” Reporter: Marc Anthony Thompson 8:32
Marc rides west to an all-women rodeo in Kauai, Hawaii.
Film: I SCREAM, FLOATS, AND SUNDAYS by Leah Kihara
9:00 (Experimental)
Three vignettes explore Hawaiian female relationships with the physical,
natural and spiritual world.
Film: THE SATELLITE SHOOTERS by Annemarie Jacir
15:25 (Narrative)
A young Palestinian in Texas lives out his western cowboy fantasy.
Segment B: “That’s My Flag” Reporter: Marc Anthony Thompson 6:46
New York Puerto Ricans show viewers how to wave the flag.
Film: WHY AM I A THREAT? by Jahmani Perry with Ice Cube
4:10 (Narrative)
Based on a poem by Ice Cube, this short follows the rapper through
an urban landscape as he expresses the feelings of many young blacks in America.

EPISODE 4: “Love”
Host: Daisy Fuentes
Film: MOUSE by Greg Pak
9:45 (Narrative)
A couple’s efforts at communication are interrupted by a persistent rodent.
Segment A: “The Date” Reporter: Kate Rigg 3:00
This segment takes viewers on a trip to an interracial dating service.
Film: ESTHER, BABY, AND ME by Louis Taylor
19:05 (Experimental Documentary)
An interracial couple is having a baby. This film is a sometimes-dark meditation on impending fatherhood.
Film: MORNING BREATH by Brin Hill and Sir Mums
15:30 (Experimental Narrative)
A man struggles with taking a chance on true love.
Segment B: “The Date Revisited” Reporter: Kate Rigg 3:00
This segment follows the results of the interracial dating service in Segment A.
Film: GUILELESS GUILE by Wil Lin
2:00 (Animation)
A budding romance between a woman and her boyfriend is challenged by the appearance of a handsome cowboy.

EPISODE 5: “Rage”
Host: Daisy Fuentes
Film: SNAPPED by Joie Lee
5:25 (Narrative)
New Yorkers lose their tempers in a parking lot.
Film: DREAMER by Ray Spiess, Jr.
8:55 (Experimental)
An ancestor on a vision quest sees the future.
Film: SHANGRA-LA CAFÉ by Lily Mariye
17:55 (Narrative)
A Japanese girl in post-war Las Vegas learns about various forms of racism in her parents’ Chinese restaurant.
Segment A: “Hawaiian Power” Reporter: Marc Anthony Thompson 9:00
Native Hawaiians preserve their culture and traditions.
Film: BIG HEAD PEOPLE: VACATION by Monteria Ivey & Stephen Dweck 8:35 (Animation)
An African-American couple relives American history when they visit
colonial Williamsburg.
Film: YADA YADA by Bennie Klain
7:50 (Narrative)
A talk radio host and a Native-American caller are silenced by a shocking news report.

EPISODE 6: “Death”
Host: Daisy Fuentes
Film: A PIECE OF EARTH by Jorge Gaggero
19:50 (Narrative)
An aged Mexican revolutionary has his grandsons take him across the border to die and be buried on the site of his old ranch in Southern California.
Segment A: “Golf Bones” Reporter: Lisa Ling 9:15
Golf courses are built on Hawaiian burial grounds.
Film: O TAMAITI by Sima Urale
11:00 (Narrative)
A boy cares for his younger siblings and takes on the role of the adult.
Segment B: “The Mortician’s Stomp” Reporter: Marc Anthony Thompson 8:20
A look at the life of a jazz funeral mortician in New Orleans.
Film: HASTA LOS HUESOS (DOWN TO THE BONE) by Rene Castillo
9:50 (Narrative)
A man descends to hell and finds a “Day of the Dead”