American feature films often portray the Chinese as exotic and devious characters—or simply the “other.” An award winning documentary by Cinema alumnus Arthur Dong chronicles the full gamut of Chinese representation in Hollywood. “Hollywood Chinese” premieres on PBS’ “American Masters” series at 9pm May 27.

Jonathan Dauermann is among 10 members of SF State’s class of 2009 who will be honored on stage at Commencement. The Bachelor of Music degree recipient is a hood recipient—receiving the symbolic investiture of the hood on behalf of his fellow graduates in the College of Creative Arts—and will sing the national anthem at the event.

The latest production of the Shotgun Players, “Faust, Part I,” is another debut adaptation by alum Mark Jackson. It just so happens that nearly half of the cast and crew are either Theatre Arts students, faculty or alumni.

Faculty and students in the Design and Industry Department recently helped elementary school students in San Francisco envision a remote control that would be accessible to everyone.

The latest short film by Cinema alumna and Lecturer Anjali Sundaram is part memoir, part fiction. Set against the first Persian Gulf War in 1990, “Canada” is the story of a young, half-Indian girl named Jaina and her broke, free-spirited, flaky mother as they attempt to move from Northern California to Vancouver in a Volkswagen bug.

Actor Jeffrey Tambor has been named SF State’s 2009 Alumnus of the Year.

Since honing his craft on campus stages, Tambor has enjoyed a successful career as an actor and teacher, earning six Emmy nominations.

Professor Emeritus of Art Don Worth is honored posthumously in an exhibition at the Scott Nichols Gallery in San Francisco, on display through May 30.

Check out the May 2009 edition of the Creative Arts E-Lert, the official e-mail newsletter of the SF State College of Creative Arts. This issue highlights upcoming events including the Generations Jazz concerts at Yoshi’s, the design exhibition ”Stream” and the annual Film Finals. The newsletter also includes news on three faculty who won national radio awards, a student who has created a public art installation in Washington, D.C., and more.

Graduate student Oscar Bucher followed Toshio Hirano on a journey to the heartland of America, driven by a lifelong love of bluegrass. Bucher’s documentary of this journey, “Waiting for a Train,” is traveling nationwide itself, landing most recently at the San Francisco International Film Festival.