Joseph Carranza: Community and Cinema

As any regular reader of this column knows, I’m a film festival fanatic. They’re such a great way to see films that don’t always make it to the big screen, especially the short films that can pack a big punch when done right. The 19th Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (PAAFF) is happening Nov. 5-15. I took a moment to speak with the festival’s creative director, Joseph Carranza, about his work in the festival world. Where do you originally hail from? Well, my dad was in the military, so the question, “Where are you from?” has always been like, “What do I say?” I’m from everywhere. I’m from wherever my friends and family are. My ethnicity is Filipino, but I’ve learned to find home wherever I plant myself. What did your parents do? My dad was a computer engineer. My mom was a military wife. She was the support system. What were the good things and the bad things about being part of a military family? The good things were things that really speak to my career now.

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