Join The CJM and LUNAR for a screening of two episodes of the LUNAR project—a series of short films that explore the intersection of Jewish and Asian heritage. Through exploration of topics ranging from cultural inheritance to the model minority myth, LUNAR sheds light on the diversity of the Jewish and Asian American experiences. After the screening, cast members and LUNAR organizers stick around for a conversation about the films.

Discover more about the LUNAR project and other episodes in the series here.

This program was originally presented via Zoom on March 4, 2021.

Episode 3: "Cultural Values or Cultural Trauma? Unpacking What We've Inherited"

From family heirlooms to generational trauma, the objects, stories, and histories we inherit from our ancestors impact our own lived experiences.In this episode, Jewish Asian Americans discuss the cultural values passed down in our families—including positive values that continue to be meaningful, and harmful values that we wish to unlearn.

Episode 4: "Racism in the Jewish Community: Asian American Jews Get Real"

As two communities who are both stereotyped as "model minorities,” American Jews and Asian Americans are seemingly well-positioned for mutual understanding and solidarity. However, as is common for Jews of Color, many Asian American Jews experience feeling excluded, tokenized, or fetishized in Jewish communities. In this episode, Jewish Asian Americans share our experiences with racism, anti-Semitism, and the model minority myth, in hopes of broadening the dialogue about inclusion in the Jewish community and beyond.

Jenni Rudolph is a Los Angeles–based songwriter, and musician, and is the Creative Director of LUNAR: The Jewish-Asian Film Project. A 2020 graduate of Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Songwriting, Rudolph has written music for Silk Music, Revelation Records, non-profit The Canales Project, television series The Young and the Restless, and virtual reality video game Audica. She is currently developing a collaborative music video project celebrating mixed identity, drawing from her own experiences as a mixed race, secular Jew of Color (Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish). Rudolph approaches all of her creative endeavors with a passion for diversifying representation and a hunger for impactful, authentically human experiences.

Gen Xia Ye Slosberg is a Jewish non-profit professional currently working at Jewish Youth for Community Action (JYCA), and was formerly the Executive Director of Mixed @ Berkeley. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley in December 2020. Slosberg was born and raised in Southern China and moved to the United States as a teenager. Getting involved with mixed-race and Jews of Color communities have greatly impacted her identity development, and she is excited to build an affirming community through LUNAR. She hopes to foster a sense of shared identity among participants in LUNAR and increase visibility of Asian-Americans in the Jewish community.

Public Programs at The CJM are made possible thanks to generous support from Grants for the Arts and the Walter & Elise Haas Fund.