The rumbling of a passing F train. The chatter and footsteps along Canal Street. The sizzle when oil hits the wok. This is the everyday music of New York City, and these filmmakers have a song to sing about each borough. (Image Credit: Cindy Chu) BAYAR ...
‘The Accidental Getaway Driver’: Song of Diaspora
Note: Parts of the interview were edited for clarity of content. When asked about the form of his debut feature film “The Accidental Getaway Driver,” director Sing J. Lee answered that the thriller-drama is at its truest a song; more specifically, a folk ...
Capturing the World’s ‘Forward Momentum’
In one part of the world, the country breaks into revolution. At the same time in another, a young woman gets elected as the first Asian American to hold her political title. Wherever something is happening, and whatever that something is, someone’s life ...
‘Leading from the Front’ of Asian American Identity
The zeitgeist of Asians in the United States is defined by questions: How do we bear the sacrifices of our families who decided to stake our futures on this land? With whom do we connect as a nationality defined by the world’s ethnicities? And as we look ...
International Fame through Faith: “Singing in the Wilderness”
“Singing in the Wilderness” is a documentary about a Miao ethnic Christian choir group in China. After a century of living in the mountains, this choir group gets a chance to sing on the world stage. Their faith is questioned as they try to find success. ...
Iris Yamashita: extraordinarily under-appreciated screenwriter
The Woman Who Penned 'Letters from Iwo Jima' Has Never Stopped Writing “If our children can sleep safely for one more day, it would be worth the one more day that we defend this island!” So declares General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, played by Ken Watanabe ...
Finding the universal in ‘It’s a Mad Mad Multiverse’
Dreams, reality, folklore, and everything in between: “It’s a Mad Mad Multiverse” encompasses it all. The collection of shorts traverses unique universes but the themes are universal, covering guilt, trauma, grief, longing, nostalgia, and friendship. Here ...
No New Wave
A movie about filmmaking dreams in its lowest tide This article may contain spoilers. New York City – a sight that gives optimism, especially when your point of view is from the outside looking in. “No New Wave,” the debut feature film by Ziwei Yao, open ...
‘We Don’t Dance For Nothing’: How do you escape the inescapable?
An ode to the dignity of overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong They dance to celebrate. To remember. To forget. To take up space in a world that demands they give up their individuality in exchange for a meek, submissive existence. In Stefanos Tai’s film ...