Skipping school, sneaking out, falling in love, finding yourself … Our Spirit of Youth shorts program reminds us of the complicated nature of youth, both full of both wonder and fear. The whole world lies ahead of us, yet we can never quite get a grasp of where we are or where we’re going.
Some of the filmmakers from this program chatted with us about their films, their artistic roots, and their dreams.
A Peacock Dance
Director: Emily Eng
Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less.
Eng: Uncovers acceptance with yourself and your community
Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome?
Eng: The production phase was my favorite memory in making “A Peacocks Dance”. I was fortunate enough to find the time and space to collaborate with the people I worked best with, which made the production phase very memorable to me. Seeing my cast and crew come together with equal excitement to make my story come to life was a wonderful experience. The most challenging part I had to overcome was fighting for the world I wanted to create. During a few table reads and feedback from colleagues, most were unfamiliar with the suburban Chinese schools and how they function. Due to this unfamiliarity, it was a challenge for me to be able to have this world and the characters be able to translate well to other readers.
What do you hope to see in the future for the film industry? How do you see yourself and your work playing a role in this future?
Eng: I hope to see more Asian screenwriters who are able to bring their unique perspectives to a wider audience to disrupt the narrative works we see today in the film industry. Majority of my cast and crew were all young growing Asian American artists and I hope the story itself and their experience will be impactful on how they see themselves fit in the entertainment world.
What’s next for you?
Eng: I’m currently finishing up my MFA at Columbia University in Creative Producing and hope to help other Asian creatives have their stories come to life.
Valley
Director: Allan Zhang Tran
Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less.
Tran: Ditch day in the San Gabriel Valley.
Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome?
Tran: The entire production of VALLEY has been nostalgic for me. I grew up in SoCal’s San Gabriel Valley and it’s where I first became interested in filmmaking as a teen. My friends and I would run all over town with a MiniDV camera (remember those?) and film some pretty juvenile stuff. VALLEY, being about a pair of Asian American youths running around the SGV, essentially recreates those wonder years. We filmed a lot of the scenes on the very same streets I ran around back in the day. And I’m happy to say that some of the crew members who worked on VALLEY are the very same friends I made films with from that formative time. As far as challenges, we shot a lot of VALLEY in the dead of summer, with 90% of the scenes taking place outdoors. As one can imagine, it was very hot, with constant location changes, and we had the cast for just 3 shoot days. So the real challenge was to shoot lean and efficiently to stay on schedule while creating a film that felt, at heart, carefree and spontaneous—two seemingly clashing ideologies, but we made it work due in large part to the incredibly talented cast and crew.
What do you hope to see in the future for the film industry? How do you see yourself and your work playing a role in this future?
Tran: There are so many specific stories within any given cultural diaspora that have yet to be told. And I really do hope to see more of these stories given the opportunity to be told, particularly from filmmakers and storytellers who are descendants of said culture. Speaking as an Asian American, there are themes specific to the Asian American experience that I haven’t quite seen explored on film yet. My role as a filmmaker and storyteller is to hopefully shed light on some of these experiences, particularly those I can speak to as a Chinese and Vietnamese American, and to contribute in deepening the well on those narratives, regardless of genre. After all, Asian Americans are not a monolithic group, and representation matters in highlighting this actuality.
What’s next for you?
Tran: I’ve been writing a few things, including a feature. But the next short I’m prepping is a horror film. I’m particularly excited about this because horror is a genre I’ve not quite explored as a filmmaker (yet), but it’s a genre I really love, so there’s that “uncharted territory” element that makes me a little nervous to tackle but is also a source of excitement. It also happens to be Asian American-centric, so would thematically align with the types of stories I want to tell.
Sixteen
Director: Nicole N. Nequinto
Cast: Tita Pambid & Melanie Anne Padernal
Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less.
Lee: Vignettes of domesticity and chaotic K-Pop fantasies.
Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome?
Lee: My favourite memory (and challenge) working on Sixteen was actually in pre-production. As a 1.5 generation Korean-New Zealander who grew up entirely in New Zealand, my written Korean isn’t the strongest. With the Korean parts of the script, I enlisted my mum to help me translate and it became a bonding experience between me and my mum in real life.
What do you hope to see in the future for the film industry? How do you see yourself and your work playing a role in this future?
Lee: I’d like to create a future in the film industry with stronger gender parity in traditionally male roles like directing, and for key creatives behind the camera to also represent the communities the film is about. I hope that the process in which films get made can uplift and upskill the careers of underrepresented communities and I hope to be a part of this change.
What’s next for you?
Lee: I’m working on an anthology feature which is near production and writing another feature in development. I’m also writing my debut play for a late 2020 playreading in Covid-free Aotearoa under companies Proudly Asian Theatre and a writer’s table for Auckland Theatre Company. Details are all a bit secret, but exciting things are happening behind the scenes!
To watch this short film program, Spirit of Youth, you can purchase access here. This program is available from November 5th – 15th.
Watch the recorded Q&A here, conducted on 11/8 at 9:00pm EST over livestream with the featured filmmakers of this program.