Last week marked the official end of #AsianAugust, the historic month that witnessed the critical and commercial success of three high-profile screen projects showcasing Asian American voices: Crazy Rich Asians, Searching, and To All The Boys I鈥檝e Loved Before.
It鈥檚 a far cry from 2016 when actors in two of the three projects became the faces of a social media campaign that highlighted the lack of Asian American representation in Hollywood: #StarringJohnCho and #StarringConstanceWu.
The excitement 鈥� for on-screen representation of an underserved community; for screen stories that go beyond stereotypes 颅鈥� extended into Labour Day weekend, when Crazy Rich Asians continued its reign at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing Hollywood rom-com in nearly a decade.
Audiences are happy. Studios are taking notice. And, in Vancouver, our are ramping up their efforts with the knowledge that the crazy awesome success of Crazy Rich Asians could lead to more: more funding, more opportunities, and more representation on screen.
#AsianAugust might be over, but its impact on Hollywood 鈥� and Hollywood North 鈥� has only just begun.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been here,鈥� says actress and filmmaker Andrea Bang. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all talented and we鈥檝e got amazing, interesting stories to tell 鈥� and now, hopefully, they鈥檒l be funded.鈥�
Andrea stars on CBC鈥檚 hit sitcom Kim鈥檚 Convenience, itself an outlier in an otherwise homogenous Canadian TV landscape.
With her sister, fellow Vancouverite Diana Bang (an in-demand actress in her own right who turned in a scene-stealing performance as a North Korean official in 2014鈥檚 The Interview), Andrea co-wrote and co-directed Karaoke Mamas. The digital short is one of 40 short films that premiere Sept. 6 鈥� and one of three that feature Korean Canadians in leading roles.
Karaoke Mamas tells the story of Sang-Mi, a recently divorced 62-year-old Korean Canadian woman in Surrey who enters a karaoke contest with her two friends in order to win a new television. The 10-minute comedy stars Eun-Sook Choi as Sang-Mi and Soon-Ja Hwang and Mi-Young Yu as Sang-Mi鈥檚 BFFs. 听听听听听听听听听
鈥淎 lot of women in my mom鈥檚 community 鈥� Korean immigrants, now Korean Canadians 鈥� they鈥檝e lived a life, and we wanted to humanize them and put them at the centre of a story, because for the most part, they normally play someone鈥檚 mom,鈥� says Diana.
The sisters wanted to showcase the women that they grew up with.
鈥淲e want people to fall in love with these women and see that they鈥檙e funny, they鈥檙e charming, and they鈥檙e strong,鈥� says Andrea.
If they happen to energize traditionally marginalized actors in the process? All the better, Diana says.
鈥淪o far we鈥檝e seen that the lead actors 鈥� one of whom is a non-actor; the other two have only done local Korean community theatre 鈥� are already feeling really empowered and seen, and that is awesome,鈥� says Diana.
Karaoke Mamas听had its unofficial premiere last week as part of a cast and crew screening for three Storyhive films that amplify Asian Canadian voices: Gong Ju, directed by Jerome Yoo and written by Yoo and Lawrence Le Lam, about a violent teen who is expelled from school in Korea and sent abroad to change her ways; and The Day We Met, Mayumi Yoshida and Nach Dudsdeemaytha鈥檚 moving film about a Korean Canadian adoptee (portrayed by the film鈥檚 screenwriter, Lee Shorten, mining his own experience) who must weigh the consequences of meeting his biological mother after deciding to start a family of his own.
鈥淭hey can all be considered Korean Canadian films, and they鈥檙e all so different,鈥� says Diana. 鈥淚t just goes to show you that there are all kinds of Asian stories, and Asian Canadian stories, and there are so many more stories that need to be told and want to be told.鈥�
And those stories will come from a filmmaking community that understands that when one of them succeeds, they all succeed. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not in competition with each other,鈥� says Diana. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to elevate each other鈥檚 work and we鈥檙e lifting each other up, and that I鈥檓 grateful for. For the past couple of years, I鈥檝e been looking for a creative community, and I鈥檝e found one with the Asian Canadian filmmaking scene in Vancouver. It鈥檚 feeling more and more like home to me.鈥�
Karaoke Mamashits Storyhive鈥檚 YouTube channel and Telus Optik on Sept. 6. Follow @Storyhive @KaraokeMamas @thedianabang @iAndreaBang.听
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Sabrina Furminger chronicles Vancouver's film and television industry every week in the 麻豆传媒映画Courier. She is also the editor of .
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