San Diego has been called many things – including a paradise. It’s also a refugee city, a cluster of neighborhoods, a militarized zone, a border town. And Asian American. This collection of four short documentaries, commissioned on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the San Diego Asian Film Festival, maps many such San Diego’s – across ethnicity, geography and history. At the same time, they hold on to some notion of paradise, however illusory: a haven from war, the dreams of an immigrant, precious teenage reminiscences, solace in the afterlife, and spaces for creative expression.

The Paradise We Are Looking For

A short film and a documentary, it explores the stories of a handful of CCP's staff, some of whom have stayed for decades working as stagehands, flyers, and lighting crew. Working tirelessly throughout each production, they embody the persevering heart of the theatre, with some of them clocking into the CCP as early as four in the morning to complete a task or get a head start.

Backstage Pass: Life Behind the Curtain

A glimpse of the backstage work of the Center’s draftsman, modelmaker, and scenic painter. The 32-minute documentary features CCP’s master scenic artist, tracing his early beginnings up to his retirement through conversations with his mentees.

Backstage Pass: Portrait of a Scenic Artist

A documentary that examines the peculiarities of religion, labor, capital and gender all intersecting at a Catholic figurines factory in the Philippines, where devout LGBTQ workers and outcasts pray to the same items they make.