The City of Tampa Mayor’s Asian American Pacific Islander Advisory Council proudly presents Tampa’s first-ever Asian Film Series on Sunday, May 19th, 2024. The event is being held at Tampa Theatre in celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Month. The film series will showcase two films this year: At 3 pm, the family-friendly Kung Fu Panda 4, then at 7 pm, a new documentary by Filipino American, Emmy award winning, celebrity Chicago restaurateur Billy Dec.

In his new documentary Food Roots, Billy Dec adventures through his mother’s native 7641 Islands of the Philippines to learn recipes from his last living elders, confronting culinary and cultural treasures and family secrets.

Food Roots gives viewers the opportunity to accompany Dec by plane, boat, motorcycle, jeepney, and foot as he searches through bustling metropolitan cities, tiny remote islands, and hidden cloud-scraping mountain villages to find his family members. He climbs a mountain to meet with a 103-year-old tribal tattoo master, who blesses him with a tattoo related to his ancestral connection. Through the ups and downs of the trip, Dec gains a deeper understanding of his family history, along with an elevated appreciation for how food has shaped their view of the world.

Red carpet and media interviews with Filmmaker Billy Dec will be available between 6 pm and 6:45 pm.

The 7 pm showing will be followed by a filmmaker Q&A with Billy Dec, whose ties to Tampa include the Sunda New Asian restaurant in Midtown (3648 Midtown Dr, Tampa, FL 33607).

For media inquiries or additional information, please contact Mayor’s AAPI Council Member Nerissa Lamison at nlamison@hccfl.edu or (813) 486-7446.