My friend Joel Quizon posted a list on his blog a few weeks back on "How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Asian American Independent Films". It's pretty funny, kinda sad and very true. The list should probably be much longer. Volumes, perhaps.
I have some problems with the term "Asian American film" as I do with the term "independent film" (they're both outdated and each is too small of an umbrella to cover everything that people hope to push under it; I could go on for a while). My biggest pet peeve with "Asian American independent film", though, is the fact that no one seems to do their homework. Why isn't there greater breadth in films made by Asian Americans? Why is everything seemingly about the same topics: internment, immigration, identity, food, etc.?
I don't think a lot of filmmakers take the time to see what's been addressed before they write their mini-masterpieces. If they did, then maybe they could gain some insight, stand on the shoulders of those earlier films and build upon the discourse. Move the conversation forward instead of wallowing in self-important, thinly-veiled autobiography.
If people care about what's left of Asian American cinema, then shouldn't films be challenging one another? Shouldn't we be raising the bar (however you may define it) for both art and entertainment and calling each other out, instead of holding our hands over our ears and chanting the same tired cries over and over again to people who long ago stopped listening?
You can't just keep top rockin. It's true for short and feature films, the ethnic-specific and the mainstream. Eventually, if you want to get noticed, you're going to have to step in the arena and do something fresh.
A man comes to terms with a critical part of himself.
–
Shot on 16mm with an Eclair NPR.
Briefly featuring Hadrian Santos.
I went to a panel with the above title at the VC Film Fest today hosted by my man Tad Nakamura and old school Asian American doc maker, Spencer Nakasako.
It was a colorful, informal chat, but in the end two issues seemed to bubble up to the surface:
1) the fact that it's difficult to get Asian Americans to support Asian American films,
2) the fact that, while there are more Asian American films than ever before, many of them are bad.
Cross out the word "Asian American" (or even just "Asian") and both of these read as truisms about film and media today in general. Nothing new. I think the added problem for Asian American film, however, is that the phrase technically covers a lot of disparate groups that don't necessarily feel the need to support each other. It's a blanket label that in these times might be stretched too thin.
Watch Mr. Sadman
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