Spirited

Team Update - From late Spring 2022 to end of year (December 2022), the Impact Campaign team identified collaborators and partners for the project. We engaged in an introductory meeting with leaders at institutions like the Shaman and Herb Healing Center, Wilder Foundation, Hmong Museum and BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota. The team grew with the new addition of an Impact Co-Producer, Tou Ger Lor, a Master Shaman who is supporting the development of the Shaman Kit and Curriculum for the campaign.

Feedback Session - We held our first feedback session on Saturday, September 10th, at In Progress (St. Paul). The team invited a handful of trusted community members to watch six scene drafts from the film. We engaged them in a three hour conversation to pull feedback to further develop the film in a culturally competent way. A lunch was served and participants received stipends for their participation. The conversation was robust and very helpful to the production team to further develop the film.

Social Media - The team created social media platforms to enhance our digital presence and community engagement and reach. Social media pages include Facebook public page, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Twitter. As we are in the quiet phase of our campaign, there has been little activity with the social media pages. We anticipate active engagement when the campaign is publicly launched in mid-2023.

Impact Campaign - We developed our goals for the impact campaign both with these funds and beyond. We started the groundwork for the learning materials through conversations with our new Impact Co-Producer. We also purchased learning items that would be included in the impact kits. This includes joss paper, boat money, incense, twine, yarn, stickers, and more.

Community Screening - We purchased several items for the screening in advance, wanting to use our funds before the end of year. These items include plates, utensils, napkins, drinks, and brochure holders.

Community Engagement - As part of this project, to build up interest in the impact campaign, Joua and Billy have been engaging in community speaking and screening opportunities to start introductory conversations about Hmong spirituality. By doing so, we are garnering interest, support and a following for the Impact Campaign. ; Outcome 1 - Documentary

We did not receive the full requested funding to assist with completing Spirited, the feature documentary. We were able to find other funding from other sources, so while the film is not yet completed, it has made significant strides this year. We have had various progressing versions of the film that we screened for feedback at various points. The community has responded with overwhelmingly positive responses (below).

In March 2023, we were invited to screen a sample of our film to the public for feedback and sit in a panel discussion to talk more about the film and impact campaign post-show with Theatre Mu at Mixed Blood Theatre. An estimate of about 75 people were in attendance at the post-show screening and panel discussion, with an estimated 90% being Hmong American.
In April 2023, Public Functionary hosted a feedback screening for Spirited. The audience of about 30 was 99 percent non-Hmong. A majority of the group was BIPOC.

In September 2023, two partner organizations hosted feedback screenings for us: Kartemquin Films and Docuclub Minnesota. The first event garnered about 15 participants who offered great constructive feedback about how to strengthen the film itself. The second event garnered about 20 in person attendees and 8 virtual attendees.

Outcome 2 - Community Screening and Discussion

The Shaman Education Event took place on Sunday, November 12th, 2023 at Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN). 77 people registered via Google registration, and an estimated 60 people attended the event with 90% in the age range 18-44 years-old, 68% women, and 92% of Asian/Asian American descent. 71% identified as community members and a mixed percentage of shamans, students, parents, educators, and healthcare providers.

The 3-part event started with a short clip screening highlighting Joua's documentary-in-progress, Spirited, a photography series Joss Trilogy, and pilot series episode Modern Shaman - all creative media works about and inspired by Hmong shamanism. There was a break and lunch intermission for audiences to mingle, submit questions for the Q&A session. Lastly, Joua moderated a panel discussion with Modern Shaman creator, Gregory Yang, and shamans Billy Lor and Sally Chang. The conversation focused on storytelling and spirituality, representation, and the ways Hmong traditions are shifting in America. Following the discussion, the panel answered questions submitted by the audience.

Audience members were able to review and take home the draft curriculum and kit. Audience members were encouraged to submit feedback about the event and draft curriculum and kit per an evaluation link and QR code. Attendees told us how surprised they were that we were giving them these kits and how thankful they were for the resource. Many shared that they had struggled to find information about Hmong spirituality, and this was a valuable kit for them to learn from and share with others.

Outcome 3 - Impact Campaign Plan

The team built relationships with key community leaders and organizations who have vocalized a lot of support for the project. Many invited the team to participate in community events. These events included:
Speaking: Shamanism Workshop at University of Wisconsin Stout, about 50 attendeesSpeaking + Tabling: Hmong New Year celebration in Menomonie, WI, about 150 attendees, Speaking: A panel discussion hosted by Hamline University's Hmong Student Association, about 20 attendees Screening The Twin Cities Media Alliance PROLOG group, about 10 attendeesTabling and showcasing the impact kit materials at the Hmong Qeej Festival, estimated 1000 attendees.
We have been in conversations with various organizations who are eager to partner with us to host future events upon the completion of the film. These organizations include but are not limited to Asian Media Access, the Hmong Shaman and Herbal Center, Hmong Museum and Transforming Generations. Local Hmong charter schools have expressed interest in partnering to bring the learning materials to their schools. National organizations like the Center for Asian American Media and ITVS have education wings and have expressed interest in helping us get the materials to a national education audience upon broadcast.

The impact Campaign team posted occasionally, pro-capacity, throughout 2023. As of November 2023, Spirited has gained 105 followers on Facebook and 231 followers on Instagram with 1,045 post engagement and 8,865 post reach consisting of audiences from midwest (i.e. MN, WI), west coast (i.e. CA, WA), east coast (i.e. NYC, MA, NC) and international regions (i.e. Thailand, Laos). Demographics of actively engaged audiences via social media report 75% women and 25% men, with 80% between the age of 25 to 44 years old. Additionally, the Spirited email list has grown to 79 subscribers.

Changes

We spent less on the Impact Kit than anticipated. The extra funds were moved to cover food and event expenses for the Shaman Education Event. This includes paying an artist stipend to Cha Lor to showcase her photography inspired by Hmong spirituality, to be included in the conversation about Hmong spirituality and storytelling. It also allowed us to spend a little bit more money on food to create a sample of a spiritual tray that people could grab treats from. We were also able to buy some portable containers to help package the food individually to decrease the spread of COVID or other illnesses.

We also moved the remaining $228.62 to pay our Producer/Director Joua Lee Grande, as encouraged by the MHC earlier this year. She was willingly the least paid team member as the lead of the project.