Written By: Saiya Floyd The first glimpse we get of Tera — the protagonist of “Take Out Girl” — is of the back of her head. More specifically, the baseball cap that says “Never Compromise.” And neither Tera or the movie does. When we meet T ...
‘Aswang’ is a bold and refreshing take on the Philippines drug war
Written By: Michelle Ahn According to Amnesty International, an average of 34 people died a day in the Philippines during President Rodrigo Duterte’s first six months in office. This year, the United Nations released a report stating, “The most con ...
Asian American filmmakers talk about “online distribution for shorts”
Written By: Huizhu Pan Many filmmakers deem short films as the stepping stone to features or potential opportunities in the industry. At the same time, some may wonder how to connect their works with other people amidst the emergence of multiple di ...
‘Twilight’s Kiss’ highlights an often-forgotten LGBT story
They could be anyone’s uncles Written By: Demi Guo Before the pandemic, “Twilight’s Kiss” (released as “Suk Suk” outside of North America) had already been well-received by its Hong Kong audience. Director Ray Yeung awaited its international releas ...
Learning is a labor of love in Shuling Yong’s ‘Unteachable’
Written By: Kano Umezaki Singapore’s centralized education system is known for yielding high test results, but it often fails to give support to its most vulnerable, low-income students. Shuling Yong’s “Unteachable” documents Meixi Ng’s four-year journe ...
Real ‘90s kids remember the ‘Death of Nintendo’
And the volcano eruption. And the American occupation. And the — Written By: Demi Guo Valerie Castillo Martinez looks back on her childhood in the Philippines, to the first great change she experienced. “The Death of Nintendo,” produced by Martinez an ...
‘Export My Love’ touches on women’s dilemmas in a patriarchal culture
Written By: Huizhu Pan A woman’s status in her family has long been a controversial topic in China. Given the hundreds of years of feudal history during which “A man can have multiple wives, but a woman cannot marry twice” (“Lessons for Women,” Zha ...
‘Definition Please’ spells more than just the winning word
Written By: Michelle Ahn Like her protagonist in her feature film debut, Sujata Day of “Insecure” fame won the Spelling Bee in fourth grade. “ sounds really exciting and like a big accomplishment but there were only ten people in my grade.” Althoug ...
Academic integrity versus ‘Stealing School’
Written By: Saiya Floyd On its surface, “Stealing School” is about the academic trial of an undergrad student accused of cheating on her final paper. But the film — writer/director Li Dong’s feature debut — is made stronger by the various subplots ...