Rob Buscher
- Writer
- Music Department
- Producer
Rob Buscher is a film and media specialist, educator, arts administrator, and published author who has worked in non-profit arts organizations for over a decade. As a person of biracial Japanese American heritage who is deeply involved in his community, Rob also has an expertise in cultural sensitivity training, community organizing, and advocacy issues related to the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
Rob's expertise is Japanese and AAPI Diasporic Cinema although he has worked as a professional film programmer, critic, and lecturer across a variety of fields. Some of his career highlights include growing Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival into an internationally recognized leader in the film festival circuit, developing the Japanese Cinema and Asian American Studies curriculum at Arcadia University, and co-founding Zipangu Fest - the United Kingdom's first Japanese Film Festival. Rob lectures at University of Pennsylvania, and is a contributing writer at Pacific Citizen and Gidra Magazine.
Rob serves as Board Chair at Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, having previously served as Festival Director from 2014-2019. A few recent highlights of Rob's programming outside of PAAFF include the 2020-2021 Tadaima! Virtual Pilgrimage Film Festival and Pearl Harbor National Memorial World War II Film Festival. Other programs include the Artist Bash Salon Series 2017-current and 2016 APA Heritage Month Performance Showcase at The Barnes Foundation, 2015 Japanese film series accompanying the Kano School Exhibit at Philadelphia Museum of Art, and 2013 Japanese American film series during Free Library of Philadelphia's One Book One Philadelphia program.
Rob's expertise is Japanese and AAPI Diasporic Cinema although he has worked as a professional film programmer, critic, and lecturer across a variety of fields. Some of his career highlights include growing Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival into an internationally recognized leader in the film festival circuit, developing the Japanese Cinema and Asian American Studies curriculum at Arcadia University, and co-founding Zipangu Fest - the United Kingdom's first Japanese Film Festival. Rob lectures at University of Pennsylvania, and is a contributing writer at Pacific Citizen and Gidra Magazine.
Rob serves as Board Chair at Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, having previously served as Festival Director from 2014-2019. A few recent highlights of Rob's programming outside of PAAFF include the 2020-2021 Tadaima! Virtual Pilgrimage Film Festival and Pearl Harbor National Memorial World War II Film Festival. Other programs include the Artist Bash Salon Series 2017-current and 2016 APA Heritage Month Performance Showcase at The Barnes Foundation, 2015 Japanese film series accompanying the Kano School Exhibit at Philadelphia Museum of Art, and 2013 Japanese American film series during Free Library of Philadelphia's One Book One Philadelphia program.