Asian American Shorts: Generations

These 7 shorts examine the wide range of intergenerational interactions within the Asian American community. The ways we show love, the desire to honor and document our past, cross-cultural miscommunications, and the remorse and self-reproach as a result.

Saturday, May 20th, 2023
1:00 PM

Gene Siskel Film Center
164 N State St, Chicago, IL 60601

Tickets

Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó

Directed by Sean Wang
https://www.seanwangfilm.com

Nǎi Nai (奶奶) is my grandma. Wài Pó (外婆) is also my grandma. Together, they are a grandma super team that dances, stretches, and farts their sorrows away.

Produced by Sean Wang, Sam Davis
Cinematography by Sam Davis
Edited by Sean Wang
Sound Design by Bijan Sharifi
Music by Giosuè Greco
Starring Chang Li Hua, Yi Yan Fuei

The Return

Directed by Hena Asraf
https://henaashraf.com/

A writer-director struggles with her profound sense of loss after the sudden death of her father, who dies while visiting his homeland of India. Hena wrestles with coming to terms with their strained relationship, by the only way she knows how: making a film.

Edited by Georgia Fu, Esther Shubinski
Additional editing by Hena Ashraf
Original score by Dhruv Goel

Closing Dynasty

Directed, Written by Lloyd Lee Choi
https://www.lloydleechoi.com/

Queenie, a precocious 7 year-old, brims with confidence and swagger. She fearlessly scours the subways and streets of New York City searching for ways to make a dollar. From basketball charity schemes to peddling roses, Queenie is relentless and unstoppable. As we follow a day in her life, we ultimately wonder what Queenie's true intentions are and why this little girl is working so hard on a school day.

Executive Produced by Nina Chaudry, Paula Weinstein, Michelle Hamada, Alex Ingber
Produced by Jon Hsu, Lloyd Lee Choi
Cinematography by Christopher Lew
Edited by Ashley Ingbretson, Lloyd Lee Choi
Production Design by Chen-Wei Liao
Sound Design by Bobb Barito
Music by Charles Humenry
Starring Milinka Winata, Eleven Lee, Allen Chen, Joe Chan, Maggie Law, Amie Cazel, Khadijah Muhammad, Christopher Chan, Greg Kritikos

Missile

Written and Directed by Christopher Hwisu Kim
https://www.christopherhwisukim.com

When Alison Cho gets an emergency alert on her phone warning of an imminent missile attack, she calls her mom in a panic—only to struggle to explain the situation because she doesn't know the Korean word for "missile."ut guilt, depression, and the feeling of stasis.

Produced by Samantha Skinner
Associate Producer Kayla Abuda Galang
Starring Amanda Suk, Borah Ahn, Deb Kim

Lunchbox

Directed, Written by Anne Hu
http://www.annehu.com/

When a Taiwanese American woman prepares lunches from her childhood, she struggles to forgive herself for pushing away her immigrant mother.

Produced by Anne Hu, Gilana Lobel, Oliver Brooks, Rachel Liu, Chenney Chen, Gabriella Murillo
Starring Anne Hu, Dawn Ying Yuen, Elizabeth Gao, Audrey Liao
Cinematography by Zach Kuperstein
Production Design by Nicholas Tong

In Living Memory

Directed by Quyên Nguyen-Le
https://www.quyennl.com/

After the closure of their mother’s nail salon at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a queer filmmaker works with their mother to recover and articulate the legacy of the salon for their refugee family.

Cathy’s Nails was shuttered during the pandemic. Weaving documentary, performance, installation, sculpture, and an archive of home videos, this film presents a living practice of memory between Cathy’s Nails’ intrepid entrepreneur, her child, and their chosen family.

Produced by Kristy Choi
Director of Photography: Corey Cao Nguyen
Supervising Sound Designer & Editor: xen nhà
Edited by Nancy Nguyen & Quyên Nguyen-Le

Dear Corky

Directed by Curtis Chin
https://www.curtisfromdetroit.com/

For over fifty years, Corky Lee photographed New York’s Chinatown, and Asian American communities around the country. With a strong sense of social justice, he captured activists, celebrities, and everyday heroes. Sadly, Corky fell to COVID. Through his own words and pictures, Dear Corky reveals the man behind the camera.

Writen by Curtis Chin, Adam Wolman
Produced by Curtis Chin, Kenneth Eng, Adam Wolman
Executive Produced by Cynthia Lin
Director of Photography Kenneth Eng
Edited by Kenneth Eng
Composed by Matthew Wang