Jeff Chiba Stearns

About me:

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Filmmakers Biography:

..I am an internationally award-winning animation filmmaker working in traditional and computer-based techniques. In 2001, I founded Meditating Bunny Studio. Based in both Vancouver and Kelowna, I have enjoyed creating works aimed at children and adults that combine different philosophical elements together to create humorous, inspiring, and entertaining stories. After graduating from the Emily Carr Institute with a Bachelor of Media Arts majoring in Film Animation, I went on to obtain a Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia. Currently, I am the head classical animation instructor at the Center for Arts and Technology Kelowna, as well as the Vice President of the Okanagan Film Festival.

My previous short animated films, The horror of Kindergarten (2001) and Kip and Kyle (2000) have both screened at film festivals around the world and have been bought and aired by the CBC for their show ZeD. My latest award winning classically animated short, What Are You Anyways? looks at my life growing up half-Japanese and half-Caucasian in a small Canadian town, and how I dealt with being typecast as a minority and overcame my struggle for self-identity.

My cultural background is actually a mix of Japanese, English, Scottish, Russian, and German, which is also known as Hapa. Hapa has become the buzzword used to describe people of mixed racial heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry. After creating What Are You Anyways? the first animated film that explores Hapa issues, I have become an international spokesperson for Hapa advocacy. The film has screened at over 35 international film festivals and won 7 awards. I have also written articles for national publications and lectured around the world at conferences, universities, and workshops about mixed-race identity, cultural awareness, and Hapa issues. I have received a substantial amount of international publicity from my work by appearing in various print, radio, and television sources, including MTV, Global, CBC, Channel M and Ricepaper Magazine. I coined the term Hapanimation after my unique blend of North American and Japanese animation styles. My style is a fusion of cultures, much like my blended cultural background.

Continuing to focus on issues of diversity and identity in my work, my next film, One Big Hapa Family, is a 44 minute animated documentary that explores the lives of children of all ages who are a product of mixed-race marriages and how they perceive themselves as global citizens. Watch for the film to be released 2009. My latest award-winning film, Yellow Sticky Notes, winner of the 2008 CAEAA for Best Animated Short Subject, was animated with just a black pen on over 2300 sticky notes and is currently traveling on the international film festival circuit. It has currently just played the Tribeca Film Festival and continues to win accolades at various film festivals around the world.

Yellow Sticky Notes Synopsis:
After realizing that yellow sticky note “to do” lists were consuming his life, animation filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns decided to visually self-reflect on his filmmaking journey by animating on the same sticky notes that caused him to ignore major world events for the last nine years. Animation meditation is blended with image, text, and an original musical score by Genevieve Vincent through the creation of a classically animated experimental film that was drawn straight ahead with only a black ink pen on over 2300 yellow sticky notes. Watch the film at www.pangeaday.org or Order a Yellow Sticky Notes DVD today for $12 by emailing meditatingbunny@hotmail.com - DVD included high resolution film, bonus commentary tracks, Kip and Kyle and making of slideslow!

“Yellow Sticky Notes, a funny, lively and insightful look at the life of a working artist and activist – all told through thousands of yellow sticky notes. An original idea, impeccably executed, and all those years and pieces of paper were well spent.” - Glenn Sumi, Associate Entertainment Editor at Now Magazine - Toronto Reel Asian International Jury statement

"What Are You Anyways?" Synopis:

The first animation dealing with Hapa issues. Follow the adventures of the Super Nip as filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns explores his cultural backgrounds growing up a mix of Japanese and Caucasian in a small white-bred Canadian city. This short classically animated film looks at particular periods in Jeffs life where he battled with finding an identity being a half minority - from his childhood origins to the epic showdown against the monster truck drivin redneck crew. What Are You Anyways? is a humorous yet serious story of struggle and love and finding ones identity through the trials and tribulations of growing up.

A must for any Hapa household. The first ever animation dealing with Hapa issues. Great for all ages, especially both youth and adults! Order your full 11 minute version of the film today on DVD for $12 by emailing meditatingbunny@hotmail.com or from www.nfb.ca

Watch the trailer on MySpace!

"'What Are You Anyways?' is a really nice work ... funny, poignant, and well done." - Kip Fulbeck author of Part Asian - 100% Hapa