Cultural Sharing & Community Projects
Yale Sharing Event
Yale University’s Southeast Asia Studies Department, New Haven, CT
October 2026
On October 27, I screened my documentary Sacred Isolation at Yale University’s Southeast Asia Studies Department. Afterward, I shared my experience with Yale students about my time with the Baduy community in Indonesia.
Middletown Sharing Event
ne Muni Community Center, Middletown, CT;
GateWay Community College, CT
May 2026
I curated an afternoon around the screening of Sacred Isolation, the first public event held at Middletown’s new community center. I designed the program, from an introduction to Indonesia’s geography and cultures and a traditional Javanese dance performance to a discussion panel and a Q&A I led after the screening. We closed by teaching every guest to play the angklung, a bamboo instrument, and learning a song together.
More than 100 students and community members attended. GateWay Community College later adopted the film as course material. The event was featured on Wesleyan University’s Wes and the World blog.
Giving Back to the Communities I Filmed
Filming taught me that the people who let me into their lives were giving me something I could not repay with a camera. After each project, I asked the communities what they needed most, and worked with them to make it happen.
Chairs for the GKII Church, Sungai Bawang
Sungai Bawang Cultural Village, East Kalimantan
September 2026
When I asked community leaders in Sungai Bawang how I could give back, they told me the village church, a gathering place for the Dayak Kenyah community, needed chairs. My sister Elizabeth and I organized a fundraiser to meet that need.
210 new chairs were handed over to Gereja Kemah Injil Indonesia (GKII) in a ceremony with church and village leaders.
Leuwi Pokol Bridge, Baduy
Lebak, Banten
September 2026
While filming Sacred Isolation, I noticed how little outside support reaches the Baduy compared with more visited communities such as those around Mount Bromo. I reached out to our local coordinators to ask what would truly help. Inner Baduy residents travel only on foot, and the river crossing toward Outer Baduy was difficult and unsafe. Working with the community and local partners, we planned a bamboo bridge built in keeping with Baduy custom, and Elizabeth and I secured the funds to build it.
The Leuwi Pokol Bridge was completed and handed over to the Baduy community, giving Inner Baduy villagers a safer path between the two sides.
