Yuriko Lee

The production day was a success! And everyone had a great time. We’re moving forward to the editing process! Thank you for your support!

Sing Freedom Project: “Rooted Together” Phase II - "The Shoot" Volume up the video to check out the song! The song, “Rooted Together” has transformed and so has the band. The journey starting from reaching out to the music community, interviewing, trials, and actually getting together for the first rehearsal was not an easy one. Some dropped and some joined, and now we have new band members with unique and diverse talents to bring their musical styles into this project. The band dynamic changed literally a few days before the rehearsal day, June 28, 2026, but we still proceeded with it and was a success! Thank you all the supporters and contributors for your generous donation of $1000! That was well spent for crew/musicians’ compensation, gas, and crafty. On a side note, we stick with this common martial arts philosophy of being like a dragonfly: “We only move forward!” With that in mind, our perseverance is paying off. We are now joined by Rosario’s third sister, Jayline (mariachi vihuela player), and a Portland native Kendell (vocalist). We are keeping this momentum and will be shooting and recording on August 27, 2026 as scheduled at My Voice Music (MVM) studios in Portland. MVM and their Program Director and professional musician is on our side and will help us shoot the play and record the music. MVM is a local non-profit musical organization for youth and young adults. Although our team consists of people at different ages, we all come from different ethnic, professional, and artistic backgrounds. MVM and our team share the concept of “expressing our voices through making and playing music.” https://myvoicemusic.org/ Our vision remains the same: While we still keep witnessing so much injustice, brutal killing of immigrants, violence, wars, lack of healthcare and jobs, pubic funding being cut, and more, we must keep our communities strong. "Rooted Together" is an original song written by G Wallis and being crafted and performed by Pacific Northwest musicians and singers. Together, we will share our commitment to keeping our roots in the land we call home through music and arts and to stand solid against the violent power who tries to separate or even destroy us. The project needs additional funding to complete the shooting! Funds go to: Compensate the five musicians and three crew members. Four of the musicians will be driving from the Seattle area to Portland in the middle of the week to complete this project that will be a long hard-working day. Please join us in supporting the local and emerging musicians and artists! Bios: performers and crew G Wallis, Songwriter, Piano They are a composer for award-winning Pacific Northwest independent films, including Paranormal Investigators, Once Upon a Time in the Wasteland, Big Trouble in Seattle, Blade of Vengeance and Spirit Moves: Me and Gee Gee Willie (That’s my short film!). Having the privilege to win awards for Best Score on multiple occasions, it is her pleasure to continue to work in the vivid, imaginative space that is the Pacific Northwest filmmaking scene. https://www.gracewallisstudio.com/ Ruby Rosario-Méndez & Lizbeth Rosario-Méndez, Vocal Jayline Rosario, Vihuela Ruby and Lizbeth are a vocal duo with Jayline, the vihuela player from Mariachi Hermanas Rosario, based in Washington. Having sung together for several years, they blend their voices through strong harmonies and emotional delivery, creating a sound rooted in both tradition and connection. As part of Mariachi Hermanas Rosario, they bring passion, authenticity, and experience to every performance. https://www.facebook.com/HermanasRosarioMusic https://www.instagram.com/mariachihermanasrosario/ Kendell McCrary, Vocal Kendell was born and raised in Portland, Oregon where she has performed with local Pop, R&B, Folk, and Americana artists. She currently works at the nonprofit, Youth Music Project, where she teaches private piano and voice lessons. Kendell recently graduated with her Bachelor’s in Music Education from Portland State University, where she served as co-president of the PSU Chamber Choir for the 2025-26 academic year. Currently, Kendell is pursuing graduate studies with the goal of continuing her career in music education, where she hopes to foster learning environments that are guided by the pedagogical philosophy of author, educator and activist, bell hooks, that embraces education as a practice of freedom. Cye M Semrau, Director of Photography, Colorist Cye is an emerging cinematographer based in Portland and Seattle, whose work captures individuals and communities finding common ground through art, music, conversations, and shared spaces. Their camera focuses on light shaped portraits, layered landscapes, and intersecting stories. In this film featuring a song about human connections Cye collaborates with the director Yuriko to bring their vision to the screen. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11128835/?ref_=ext_shr_sms Samabaran Chatterjee, Assistant Camera, Editor Sambaran was born in India and moved all around the world during his childhood, living in such places as London, Switzerland, and Japan before settling in the United States. He followed his passion for filmmaking by going to film school at USC, and has since been making films in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. He enjoys movies, books, comic books and art. https://vimeo.com/sambaran Nicholas Decker, Sound Mixer Sound mixer, drummer, amateur photographer, and friend of cats, Nicholas was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. A lifetime spent in the Pacific Northwest has led him to a deep appreciation for all the region has to offer. When he isn’t on set recording dialogue you will be most likely to find him outdoors taking pictures and capturing field recordings in one of the PNW’s wealth of incredible natural areas. https://nicholascdecker.com/ Yuriko Lee, Director, Producer Yuriko was born and grew up in Osaka, Japan, where great cuisine and comedic conversations are in people’s everyday lives. Toward the end of her twenties, she transplanted herself to the Arizona desert, then lived in Atlanta, GA for a few years. She calls Oregon home since 2010. She is a nurse practitioner, grant writer, martial artist, cat mom, and the owner of Everything Birds Productions, LLC. https://everythingbirdsproductions.com/ https://www.instagram.com/everythingbirdsproductions/

Join Sing Freedom Project! “Rooted Together” The idea of making music for justice with like-minded local creatives rather spontaneously sprouted in the darkest time when hardworking immigrants were brutally mistreated and good-hearted American citizens were being killed by ICE. As a non-white immigrant, I had experienced and witnessed unfairness, prejudice, and racism, and sadly, it was nothing new. But seeing our own government killing its American-born citizens hit me so hard. And somehow, it turned my contemplation to leave this country for a less threatened life into a stronger desire to keep my transplanted roots in this land. I didn’t want to leave the people I love in the community. There is no cure for ill-hearted humans, but I believe arts and music can empower good-hearted people and keep our community strong. A song is born! Rooted Together is an original song written by my good friend and songwriter G Wallis and will be crafted and performed by Pacific Northwest musicians and singers. Together, we will share our commitment to keeping our roots in the land we call home through music and arts and to stand solid against the violent power who tries to separate or even destroy us. Will you join the movement? Funds we raise will go to: Build a stronger community to fight against injustice. Help emerging music artists grow. Pay the local filmmakers for their work. We are proud to be a team of eclectic artists. We didn’t start as an established music band, but we mindfully crafted our own for one purpose; play the song and make a film. Each performer and crew member brings their best ability to the project, so that we can create a beautiful and empowering piece of music art. Performers G Wallis, Songwriter, Piano They are a composer for award-winning Pacific Northwest independent films, including Paranormal Investigators, Once Upon a Time in the Wasteland, Big Trouble in Seattle, Blade of Vengeance and Spirit Moves: Me and Gee Gee Willie (That’s my short film!). Having the privilege to win awards for Best Score on multiple occasions, it is her pleasure to continue to work in the vivid, imaginative space that is the Pacific Northwest filmmaking scene. https://www.gracewallisstudio.com/ Selena Li, Vocal, Band Leader Selena rained on classical piano as a child and then picked up violin in middle school. Around that time, she also started covering pop songs that she liked and then went to university for music production. She enjoys being a songwriter and a Production Assistant for films. She has two cats, and she loves to boulder. She sang the ending theme song for my short him, Spirit Moves: Me and Gee Gee Willie. Victor Le, Drummer Day to day, Victor works in the biotech industry. While growing up southern California, he nurtured a passion for music to embrace community, connection, pageantry, and performance. Now based in Vancouver, WA with his partner and two dogs, he continues to pursue the discipline and write new chapters in his musical journey. David Lu, Guitarist David is based in Portland, Oregon, where he works in cybersecurity research after previously teaching philosophy and computer science at the university level. He grew up playing violin and more recently picked up guitar following the COVID pandemic. He lives with his two cats and is excited to keep building his musical skills while exploring collaboration, creativity, and the joy of making music with friends. Ruby Rosario-Méndez & Lizbeth Rosario-Méndez, Vocal Ruby and Lizbeth are a vocal duo from Mariachi Hermanas Rosario, based in Washington. Having sung together for several years, they blend their voices through strong harmonies and emotional delivery, creating a sound rooted in both tradition and connection. As part of Mariachi Hermanas Rosario, they bring passion, authenticity, and experience to every performance. https://www.facebook.com/HermanasRosarioMusic https://www.instagram.com/mariachihermanasrosario/ Cye M Semrau, Director of Photography, Colorist Cye is an emerging cinematographer based in Portland and Seattle, whose work captures individuals and communities finding common ground through art, music, conversations, and shared spaces. Their camera focuses on light shaped portraits, layered landscapes, and intersecting stories. In this film featuring a song about human connections Cye collaborates with the director Yuriko to bring their vision to the screen. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11128835/?ref_=ext_shr_sms Samabaran Chatterjee, Assistant Camera, Editor Sambaran was born in India and moved all around the world during his childhood, living in such places as London, Switzerland, and Japan before settling in the United States. He followed his passion for filmmaking by going to film school at USC, and has since been making films in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. He enjoys movies, books, comic books and art. https://vimeo.com/sambaran Nicholas Decker, Sound Mixer Sound mixer, drummer, amateur photographer, and friend of cats, Nicholas was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. A lifetime spent in the Pacific Northwest has led him to a deep appreciation for all the region has to offer. When he isn’t on set recording dialogue you will be most likely to find him outdoors taking pictures and capturing field recordings in one of the PNW’s wealth of incredible natural areas. https://nicholascdecker.com/ Yuriko Lee, Director, Producer Yuriko was born and grew up in Osaka, Japan, where great cuisine and comedic conversations are in people’s everyday lives. Toward the end of her twenties, she transplanted herself to the Arizona desert, then lived in Atlanta, GA for a few years. She calls Oregon home since 2010. She is a nurse practitioner, martial artist, cat mom, and the owner of Everything Birds Productions, LLC. https://everythingbirdsproductions.com/ https://www.instagram.com/everythingbirdsproductions/ Why do we believe in this project? I know many people are frustrated seeing what’s happening to this country. Good people are being abused and killed by ICE, hardworking immigrants are being mistreated, funding for good causes is being cut, etc… I also know many of us are even threatened by our own government working against us, yet, do not know what we can do to change. Some go on to the street to join a protest, some decide to leave the country, and some hope it will pass. I believe our team of music artists can make a difference in people’s heart and actions. We represent many others who work hard everyday not only to support themselves and families, but not giving up their passions in art and expressing themselves. We are creating positive changes: Crafting our own song with deep messages will encourage more people to voice their voices through their arts. By showing what we, as everyday people, can do through art of music and filmmaking, we can empower like-minded people in our community to do the same; start with something small we can do to change within their community. Why matters to our community? We live in a community of natural-born and immigrant Americans. As our songwriter puts, “If we don’t connect with the people around us now, we are doomed.” What else is happening? We’ve been working with a local non-profit musical organization for youth and young adults, My Voice Music (MVM). Although our team consists of people at different ages, we all come from different ethnic, professional, and artistic backgrounds. MVM and our team share the concept of “expressing our voices through making and playing music.” This project can excite their young musicians and very potentially, recruit more donors to sustain their wonderful programs. ​​https://myvoicemusic.org/home Can we go beyond the project? If the project inspires other musicians or any type of artists, we can multiply projects such as this and spread to one community to another! Why do we need funding? All of us are hardworking people and most of us have 9-5 jobs (and second, third jobs). Everyone deserves compensation for their art work and time. Here’s our game plan: We have set up a date for a rehearsal on June 28, 2026. Some of us will meet each other for the first time in person. We come together from Portland, Tacoma, Seattle, and Everett to put the music together. We need funds for fuel for our vehicles with musical instruments and camera/audio equipment and fuel for our hungry stomach. The shooting is set on August 27, 2026 at My Voice Music (MVM) studios in Portland and meanwhile, we continue artistic planning, promoting the project, and more practicing. MVM is kindly opening up for us to shoot the play and record the music. Three performers will come from the Seattle area (yes, the Seattle traffic to Portland traffic). We’d like to accommodate them as much as possible. Part of the funds will go to their transportation and one night stay in Portland. 80% of the funds will go to the performers and crew. Again, that is because their time and talents do not come for free. The community must support the emerging artists and hardworking people in the society. They are our feature. Thank you for your support! Yuriko Lee

"The concept of kendo is to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the katana (sword)" ~ All Japan Kendo Federation Our super fun Kendo Tournament in the Seattle area unfortunately didn't end with a perfect smile on our face. On November 1, 2025, my kendo friend and I had a great time at the tournament and decided to have a little dinner in downtown Tacoma before we headed back to Portland. We had a good dinner and conversation and were ready to go home for a good rest and sleep. We got in my car parked near the restaurant. As we slowly pulled away, we were stunned to see my Subaru's rear glass shattered. Someone busted it while parked. And worse, my friend's bag of the entire kendo equipment was stolen! The cost of these protective gear pieces varies, but never cheap. And, stating the obvious, if we don't have a full set of equipment, we can't do full practice. It is absolutely heartbreaking for those who practice this Japanese martial art, like when a samurai lost their sword... While we are so grateful that no harm was done to us, we need a new set of gear for HER. Villains can break the glass and steal a bag, but they can't steal our kendo spirit! I'd like to humbly ask you to join me in helping my passionate kendoist friend to purchase a new set of kendo gear! Photo credit: Kendo Photography with permission