'Oakland Shorties:' 5 Tales Of The Town At The New Parkway

'Oakland Shorties:' 5 Tales Of The Town At The New ParkwayFilmmaker Tony Nguyen (center). | Photo: Facebook
David-Elijah Nahmod
Published on June 23, 2017

Filmmaker Tony Nguyen is originally from Indiana, but Oakland is where he says he found community.

Even as gentrification and income inequality remake the city, Nguyen told Hoodline that there are still many stories to be told about his adopted home. 

"I like Oakland," he said. "I've lived here over a decade. It's a great town, though I can remember the cost of living being slightly more reasonable. Now, pockets of the city have been completely transformed."

A still from "Fresh Frozen." | Via Tony Nguyen

On Sunday, his' ten-minute film, Fresh Frozen, will be screened at the New Parkway Theater as part of Oakland Shorties, a shorts festival that Nguyen has curated. A discussion moderated by filmmaker/media maker and Oakland native Pendarvis Harshaw will begin after the five films are screened.

This isn't the first time Nguyen has produced a screening of short films. "I curated a program of autobiographical shorts," he said, which included Giap's Last Day at the Ironing Board Factorya film about his mother's last day on the job in his Indiana hometown, which recently aired on PBS.

Oakland Shorties will include stories about residents who are struggling to keep up with the changes as gentrification continues to reshape entire neighborhoods. In Fresh Frozen, Nguyen points his camera at Teena Johnson, an African-American woman who owns what he calls a "hole in the wall" sandwich shop.

"It's a one-person operation," he said. "But now Uber is moving in up the block. How will this affect her?"

Though Johnson remains in business for now, there is a very real fear that Uber's move into the neighborhood could send her rent skyrocketing, forcing hers and other small businesses out of the area.

Nguyen feels that there's a need to tell stories like Johnson's to preserve the histories of people who create the fabric of Oakland neighborhoods.

"I identified a few other films which I thought the public should see," he said. "I approached the New Parkway Theater, and they were very supportive. There's not a lot of chances for Oakland residents to watch films about The Town and the people in The Town, and how important they are."

Rob Riutta's "Donut Shop." | Via Rob Riutta

Besides Nguyen, other filmmakers include Rob Riutta (Donut Shop), Jun Stinson (Futbolistas 4 Life) Alsanosi Adam (Losing Oakland) and Candy Guinea (Que Siga La Cumbia).

Nguyen said he hopes the audience will feel a connection to the city's residents, shops and neighborhoods portrayed on screen. "There already exists a rich tradition of local residents who are proud of where they're from," he said. "They don't often get to shine."

Oakland Shorties begins at 3pm on Sunday June 25 at the New Parkway Theater. Each film in the festival has a running time from 8 to 23 minutes, and the entire program will run for 120 minutes.