Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival

interview

Goodbye Mother still

Coming Home and Coming Out: Director Trinh Dinh Le Minh on Creating Vietnamese LGBTQ representation

Interview /

PAAFF’s Centerpiece Narrative film, Goodbye Mother, starts with Van, who is returning to Vietnam for the first time  after 9 years away for the moving of his father’s tomb. Although, he has a few other things in mind, namely coming out to his family and telling them about his boyfriend, Ian, who also is along on the trip. In our interview with Director Trinh Dinh Le Minh, Minh talks about creating a Vietnamese LGBTQ film outside of the usual cannon, the film’s emphasis on relationships, and more. Tell me about what drew you to this story. Trinh Dinh Le Minh: The theme of individual choices versus family expectations is one of my main interests and obsessions. Furthermore, choosing this story for my feature debut offers me a nice balance between what’s inside and outside my comfort zone. What surprised you in the process of creating this film? What did you learn? Trinh Dinh Le Minh: The greatest challenge of working in this film is keeping the balance between the intimacy of 2 and 3 character scenes and the complexity of group scenes. And the cast really inspired me! Lanh Thanh and Vo Dien Gia Huy showed their passions, sensitivity, determination, and great chemistry in their debut feature film. And Hong Dao, who played the mother in the film, surprised me everyday on set. She has been known for years as a comedian in TV shows, and this can be considered as her comeback in films in a drama role. What did you find challenging in creating LGBTQ Vietnamese representation? What was important for you to get right? Trinh Dinh Le Minh: Vietnamese audiences have been familiar with LGBTQ films as tragedies, or homosexuality as a topic of fishing with hot scenes or ridiculous laughs. In my take, Goodbye Mother was made with a calm, natural and emotional perspective. I chose to explore the family relationships over a turbulent love story. And I want to look at an LGBTQ relationship in correlation with family, especially in a traditional three generation Asian household entailing a lot of dependence and expectations between family members. The relationships are a huge focal point – between secret lovers, between mother and son, and more – and your scenes do a lot to capture and depict these. Can you tell me about this? Trinh Dinh Le Minh: We are all surrounded by different relationships in our lives. We live in relationships and the relationships define us. I tried to look at a secret, even ‘forbidden’ love on a larger whole, that is family, to see more clearly the problems young people have in balancing personal choices and family expectations. Many reviews have talked about how “Goodbye Mother” holds space both for comedy as well as drama. Tell me about the decision to do so and how you balanced those two elements? Trinh Dinh Le Minh: It was a big challenge for me not to fall for either melodrama or comedy in this film. I feel it matches the tone of every family. We all feel warm and suppressed, happy and sad being a part of a family. I always had to find a point of being humorous, bittersweet or wistful in this film. The grandmother is in the  early stage of Alzheimer’s and she’s a great actress herself in this film. Her love for Van is always  unconditional. Her relationship with Ian is both lovely, humorous and poignant. On the other hand, Van and Mrs. Hanh’s relationship is much more serious with love and secrets. Once they can confide to each other, their relationship can heal and last. Tell me about your favorite scene from the film. Trinh Dinh Le Minh: My favorite scene of the film is the ending scene of the film. For those series of shots, the production had spanned 8 days. I felt the pressure directing the ending as it’s hard to balance and keep the consistency of performance, visuals and emotions.  It played out really well with plans, improvisation, creativity and emotions on set. And finally the editing and music articulate them! “Goodbye Mother” has topped Netflix Vietnam as one of the 10 most watched programs. Why do you think it’s had this strong of a response from audiences? Trinh Dinh Le Minh: I think it’s because the audience had a personal connection with the film. We all have mothers, grandmothers, a family, a lover, we all have conflicts over personal choices and family expectations… Somehow, I hope the movie will make us understand our parents more, our family, our home which are both noisy, and peaceful, but also full of pressure. I also hope the audience will fall in love with the women in the movie, and realize the beauty of imperfections in individual choices. What have been some memorable reactions from fans that you’ve seen? Trinh Dinh Le Minh: I was touched by the fact that some fans have watched it more than 10 times in cinema. And there were some who watched it with their moms and families as a way to confide. What do you hope different audiences take from this film? Trinh Dinh Le Minh: I hope they will feel the dilemma of the characters as well and the beauty of imperfect solutions which our characters face in the film. To watch “Goodbye Mother,”  you can 1) pre-order a single rental pass, 2) purchase a Features Pass for access to all features, excluding opening and closing or 3) purchase a Features and Shorts Rental Pass which additionally includes access to shorts. You can purchase tickets here. Watch the “Goodbye Mother” team’s Q&A live on 11/4 at 8:00pm EST.

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Felt Love film still

Short Reflections: Small Moments

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The experiences of childhood and youth unfold in small moments. This collection of animated shorts in our program Small Moments, reflect the tense & tender, lonely & liberating, and embarrassing & empowering moments that shape our intimate selves and family relationships.  Some of the filmmakers from this program chatted with us about their films, their artistic roots, and their dreams. Yuan Yuan and the Hollow Monster Director: Catherine Chen Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less. C. Chen: childhood, turtle, hurricane, redemption, surreal, heroic, cute Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome? C. Chen: My favorite part is working on this with my close team, especially towards Post-Production when it became more collaborative. I met with my sound designer Alesia Williams and composers Aki Cao and Emiliano Mazzenga for months during post-production. We didn’t have the equipment necessary for the best work due to quarantine, but that didn’t faze us! The challenge was that I was trying to learn storytelling while making the film. So I spent most of my time in pre-production— storyboarding, writing, and development. I was adamant about getting better at it and as a result, production was squeezed into 4 months. I was able to complete the film because my team did a lot of the heavy lifting. During production, my animator Yuyuan Chen helped animate eight character acting shots, despite all of her class assignments. My mom, Donghui Shi learned watercolor painting specifically to help create the foundation for many backgrounds I needed and even recruited help from her friends. My sister Rosaline Chen, who was 9 at the time, voiced the main character and brought along her friend Raina as well. And a shout out to right-hand man, editor Diego Yanez, who spent tens of hours every week to make this project happen. That is 10 months of the entire year! Put simply, this film would not be complete without him. 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? C. Chen: I hope to see the film industry completely changed, where people of every race and ethnicity are satisfied with their representation on screen. An industry like this would create an educated populace and humbling culture… where one day, our voice is no longer limited by our skin. Before this, I wanted to be one of the forerunners of Chinese American representation and voices in the entertainment industry. But I am not. And I see that many other minority Americans (Asian, Black, Hispanic, etc) have paved the way before me. Because of that, I can create freely by being myself, finding my voice, and not be limited by what is “Asian American”. I recognize that I am already standing on the shoulders of giants. But I will continue to push mainstream culture into a more inclusive direction. I will keep creating animation and stories that are authentic to me. By honing on my craft and uncovering my voice, I hope to break stereotypes and show that Asian Americans are not limited in the kind of stories that we tell. What’s next for you? C. Chen: I’m trying to make it as a writer for film and animation. I specialize in writing surreal family stories focused on children. That has been my focus. I’m also storyboarding a new 1-minute short film segment for the Yuan Yuan brand. The goal is to make it better than Yuan Yuan and the Hollow Monster in every way possible. In The Shadow of the Pines Director: Anne Koizumi Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less. A. Koizumi: Childhood shame of having a working class immigrant father Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome? A. Koizumi: Making the sets and props was probably one of my favourite memories of making this film. I think that had a lot to do with the fact that I was re-creating actual objects from my childhood memories in miniature form. That process was challenging and cathartic for me because it allowed me to grieve for my father and also my lost identity. 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? A. Koizumi: I hope for a more diverse representation in film. More BIPOC filmmakers and filmmakers from marginalized communities. Film is such an expensive medium to work in and it’s expensive to go to film and animation school.It’s hard to find funding to make film which makes it so much more inaccessible to those who don’t have money or networks which then leads to stories about marginalized communities being made by those outside of those communities. We just need to be asking who’s telling this story? I want to see more films made by working class people especially if they’re about working class people. What’s next for you? A. Koizumi: I would love to make another short animated film about my mother who was a huge fan of former NHL defenseman, Paul Coffey. But this is just a seed right now and I’m not sure how much my mom wants to participate in a doc. I’m interested in the relationship between sports and immigration. The Kitchlets Director: Clarisse Chua Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less. C. Chua: Lonely old lady and three tiny guys. Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome? C. Chua: My favourite memory would be figuring out what the Kitchlets sound like. I made a few popping noises and increased the pitch by a bit and voila! It was a fun moment to finally see and hear the Kitchlets. Friends would stare at

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Unmothered film still

Short Reflections: Self Determination

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Sometimes what we want and what others want for us completely contradict one another. Other times, they align perfectly. The shorts in this program, Self Determination, explore the internal and external motivations that determine how we live our lives. Some of the filmmakers and actors from this program chatted with us about their films, their artistic roots, and their dreams. Magic Kingdom 夢樂園 Director: Nelson Ng Chak Hei Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less. Nelson: Father son story about their American dream Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome? Nelson: It’s a great feeling when an unintended moment becomes better than what was originally planned. There was a scene that was supposed to take place inside a bus during sunset. The bus came late so we shot the scene at the bus stop instead. I was glad we did that since the timing and the location made the scene even better. Our concern coming into this project during pre-production was being able to cast a Cantonese speaking boy locally in LA. It was out of sheer luck and help from our casting director Kara we were able to find Trevis. Despite it’s his first time acting, his natural talent and calm demeanor made it so much easier for us. 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? Nelson: Over the last few years, we’ve seen a growing trend with more Asian American films and TV shows being produced, yet there are so many more Asian American experiences that haven’t been told on screen yet. I hope the trend continues providing filmmakers like myself to continue to explore these stories. What’s next for you? Nelson:There’s a couple of projects I’m working on right now. One of which is a period piece, exploring the experiences of the first Chinese Americans who came to the US during the California Gold Rush. Unmothered Director: Urvashi Pathania Cast: Sharayu Mahale Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less. Urvashi: A funny family tells a serious lie. Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome? Urvashi: As a USC film grad, I know Hollywood’s production style, but shooting in India was a whole new beast. For example, one of our locations was a designated holy site, which did not allow filming. We had to convince multiple priests who run competing temples at the site. Luckily, I cast my actual grandmother in this film and she was also incredibly helpful in the Priest Negotiations. In India, age and respect are synonymous, so having an 85-year-old on our team was a boon even beyond the obvious joy of making a movie with my grandma. Sharayu: One of my favorite memories is from our last filming location in Pushkar, India by a lake where the final scene of the film occurs. The smell of incense, the incredible view of the temples spilling into the lake, and the sounds of prayer were so surreal that I couldn’t believe I was actually filming in India- what a dream come true! I distinctly remember that final breakfast with our director, Urvashi, and producer, Ayesha, sitting cross legged on pillows thinking to myself how grateful I was to start off 2020 filming in a place like this surrounded by company like this. One of the biggest challenges I faced on this shoot was that I was very sick on day 1 and got progressively sicker, to the point where I lost my voice in the final couple of days! It was a challenging shoot because of the demanding schedule, cold weather, and adjusting to India’s atmosphere but I’m grateful to have been surrounded by such a dedicated team. 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? Urvashi: A therapist friend recently told me about the concept of Asian Sadness. “When we get together, there’s often this heaviness to the experience,” she said as she picked at her fingernails. “This collective weight and awkwardness.” I nodded enthusiastically, realizing Asian Sadness is why I started writing stories. I was twelve and nobody had asked me to the middle school dance. “But if someone DID,” I wrote, “it would go like this…” In retrospect, I can’t blame my classmates. Hairy Indian girls didn’t get asked to dances in the movies we were watching. Other than in “Bend it Like Beckham,” hairy Indian girls weren’t depicted at all. Stories are the way we humanize each other, so without good Hollywood representation, of course I was forgotten. I was awkward. I was sad. So I wrote to fill in the gaps for myself. I would not have survived my Asian Sadness otherwise. As I’ve grown older, however, I also think about how I benefit from my Asianness. How my proximity to whiteness has allowed me to move through the world with relative ease. As an adult, I write about Asian Americans’ diasporic angst, our immigration issues, our self-hatred, our anti-blackness, but I also write about our love stories, our sick dance moves, our varied music, and how damn funny we are. Nuanced representation is our antidote to Asian Sadness, and I feel honored to work towards that noble pursuit. Sharayu: As the conversation around diversity grows and more corporations are financing diverse projects, I hope to see stories that go beyond tokenization and really explore the nuances of each culture. I’d like to see diversity in the whole cast, in the writer’s room, in the C suite of a TV network, the crew members, and more. One of my personal goals is to be a part of and create more projects that don’t simply bring existing stereotypes to

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Djembe in the 13 Streets film still

Living in a Global Village – On Documenting Human Relationships between Africa and Hong Kong

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In recent decades, Africans have settled in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong natives have shown a keen interest in African culture. Djembe in the 13 Streets takes us on the journey of four African and Hong Kong natives who have immersed themselves in this long-distance cultural exchange. Director Kwong Yin Brian Hung spoke to PAAFF about the origins and significance of this China-Africa exchange and how it shapes out understanding of living in a global community. How did you learn about the relationship between Africa and Hong Kong, China? Why did you decide to document these relationships and cultural exchanges? Kwong Yin Brian Hung: After 2000, there were more Africans settling in Hong Kong. There were also more marriages between African and Hong Kong people. I started talking to Africans in Hong Kong and then I met Kaze, the djembe player from Africa. I encountered the Hong Kong African Association and got to know Camy and Szeto there, and I already knew Cassie through an academic occasion. I wondered about how there are so many relationships between Hong Kongers and Africans even though the majority population in Hong Kong is Chinese. I decided to make a documentary to explore this topic to capture the interactions between these two places. What is significant about connecting these different parts of the world? Kwong Yin Brian Hung: As we live in a global village, we should take more chances to get to know different ethnicities in the world. For Hong Kong people, we don’t know much about Africa. I believe that we can learn from different cultures and that’s why it is significant. Did the global Black Lives Matters protests and the continued protests against the Chinese Communist Party in Hong Kong impact the storyline or production process of Djembe in the 13 Streets? Kwong Yin Brian Hung: The documentary was completed before the Black Lives Matter movement. There was not much impact on the storyline. (Editor’s Note: We talk more about BLM and policing in Hong Kong in the recorded Q&A linked at the bottom of this interview.) What challenges did you face while filming the documentary? Kwong Yin Brian Hung: The most difficult part was at the beginning because it was difficult to find Africans who were willing to share their life in front of the camera. The documentary was made possible thanks to  Professor Man, Camy, Kaze, Cassie, and Szeto’s help. How did you decide to make the djembe, a West African musical instrument, a central part of your documentary? Kwong Yin Brian Hung: I think art is the most powerful form to connect people in different cultures. And djembe is a well-known African instrument in Hong Kong. The name of the djembe is very meaningful, that is “everyone gathers together in peace”. It is exactly the same as the goal of making this documentary. That’s why Djembe became the central part of the documentary. It connects all the characters in the film. There has been a lot of criticism of the Chinese government’s presence in Africa. Did this impact your documentary filmmaking experience? Has this impacted the reception of the film in Hong Kong, Africa, and elsewhere? Kwong Yin Brian Hung: When I conducted research, some Africans also had the same view. In the documentary, the main filming part of Africa is Zanzibar, a beautiful island and semi-autonomous region of Tanzania. It seems that they are quite positive towards Chinese. I heard about the Tanzanians having a good friendship with the Chinese, especially the last generation. The relationship between Tanzania and China began in the 1960s. China participated in various developments in Tanzania such as Tazara Railway. When I shot the documentary, there were some Tanzanians speaking with me in Chinese and they intend to study in China. It seems that they are quite positive towards China. What stories do you want to tell next? Where do you see yourself going forward? Kwong Yin Brian Hung: I will further explore various ethnicities in Hong Kong. I think there are lots of things that can be learned from other cultures. It is worth telling these stories. Djembe in the 13 Streets was awarded the Vijay Mohan Social Change Award, which is given to the film that best embodies late PAAFF staff member Vijay’s sprit of transformative change through media. You can purchase access to watch Djembe in the 13 Streets on our website here. Watch the recorded Q&A here, conducted on 11/6 at 9:30pm EST over livestream with director Brian Hung. 

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Yai Nin film still

Short Reflections: Southeast Asian Tracks

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Determination. Perseverance. Dedication. Survival. From child soldiers to factory workers, this collection of shorts curated by PAAFF Programming Coordinator, Kacia Hyunh, uncovers the different tracks followed by those who contribute to the varied Southeast Asian experience. Filmmakers featured in our Southeast Asian Tracks short film program chatted with us about their films and their dreams. YAI NIN Director: Champ Ensminger Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less. Ensminger: Ninlawan is a Thai boss lady. Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome? Ensminger: Watching my grandmother take charge of our shoot locations was a treat – in another life she could have easily been a line producer! It’s inspiring watching her take charge of a room and bark orders at her age. 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? Ensminger: As much as I enjoy and have grown to love Asian American stories in film, I hope to not be confined to stories directly about the Asian American experience. People contain multitudes, and there are many Asian / Asian American storytellers that can approach the telling of genre stories – science fiction, period drama, horror, etc. – with the same values of representation that we apply in our cultural stories. What’s next for you? Ensminger: I am continuing my education with the intention of expanding into a new role in a creative agency, and excited to be mentored by a long time hero! Mama Yen Director: Jiale Hu Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less. Hu: Disarming the “refugee” construct 50 years later Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome? Hu: Interviewing Yen at her kitchen alone until 1  in the morning was certainly one of my favorite and intimate memories, even more than the joyful party scene. It was a journey that I would otherwise never naturally encounter, and one that disarmed my own heart. Although it was my first project, the challenges are few despite my amateur role. Yen was the most cooperative and loving subjects to film; and I had over two semesters to polish it under wonderful mentorship. 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? Hu: I hope to see a future where more films can reawaken people to our sense of collectiveness and true poverty in this given life, where cognitive, financial, and legal alienation should be alien to our culture. I hope my work would be able to stay true to this objective, and whether/how/when it would reach another person is what I’ll leave to the Mystery. What’s next for you? Hu: I have been working back in Shanghai as a video journalist since graduating from Notre Dame. This new context, being in China, has shaped my interest in postcolonial encounters and I am excited to embark on many more disarming journeys through the path of documentary filmmaking. Journeys to Freedom Producer: Melodee Mercer Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less. Mercer: Vietnam War from a whole new perspective Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome? Mercer: As someone who grew up watching the Vietnam War on television, these personal stories put history in perspective. In any documentary, you walk a line between wanting the audience to learn the full story and not wanting to push your subjects too hard. This was particularly difficult with these interviews as they still bring up such raw emotions. I will forever be grateful to the people who bravely told their stories, and for their understanding that telling their stories could make a difference in the way both Vietnam Veterans view their legacy, and how the younger Vietnamese and American generations will view the war. 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? Mercer: I see the film industry reinventing itself, as all of us are doing during the pandemic. In particular, I would like to see documentaries be viewed by more mainstream audiences. Most reality TV is staged and has huge viewership; documentaries are the real “reality” and should draw a regular following. I’m hoping to expand the stories told in Journeys to Freedom to a mini-series. What’s next for you? Mercer: I’ve had a 38-year career in communications. My hope is to retire from my full time job in two years and devote time to producing more documentaries, including creating a library of mini-documentaries to tell the story of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial, whose motto is, “A Duty to Remember.” In This Land We’re Briefly Ghosts Director: Chen-Wen Lo Without spoiling anything, describe your film in 7 words or less. Lo: The forgotten voices of Burmese child soldiers Do you have a favorite memory from making this film? Were there any challenges that you had to overcome? Lo: We encountered an extraordinary number of challenges in both pre-production and production stages. Because of the political sensitivity of the subject matter, it took us more than five months to find our lead actress. One of our locations was burnt by a wildfire just a few weeks before the shoot and it took a lot of effort to find a replacement location and we even had to revise the script due to those restraints. It took us more than 18 months to finish the short. Despite all the difficulties, I’m very proud of the lead girl and boy; both of them pulled out incredible performances as non-actors when they were cast. Working with them was the most memorable part of the experience. What do you hope to see

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