In 1970, Nakamura, Ohashi, Wong, and Kubo, who were influenced by the civil rights and anti-war movements, produced a photographic exhibit on Japanese American internment as VC's first project. In 1971, VC became an independent non-profit organization, which allowed it to receive funding for its programs through the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA), and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). VC helped create over fifty independent film productions in the 70s and 80s, including "Chinatown 2-Step", a documentary on the suburbanization of Chinese American community in Los Angeles and the role of the Chinatown Drum and Bugle Corps; "Manong", a film on the first generation Filipino American immigrants; and "Wataridori", a documentary on early Japanese American immigrant pioneers. VC published three books, "In Movement: A Pictorial History of Asian Pacific America", "Little Tokyo: One Hundred Years in Pictures", and "Moving the Image: Independent Asian Pacific American Media Arts".