“The world of mental illness is hidden behind a curtain,” says Kazuhiro Soda. The Japanese filmmaker’s second feature documentary, MENTAL, is a fascinating peek behind that curtain. Mental illness is terrifying for anyone who suffers from it. But mental patients in Japan have even more to contend with, as society shuns them and the government politicizes their care. Sit in on my talk with Soda, and have your consciousness raised.

Mental recently won Best Documentary at Pusan Film Festival and Dubai Film Festival, and is slated to play at Berlin Film Festival the first week in February. Mental is cinema verite—a filmmaking method whereby the director finds and records actual events, without prompting or scripting the participants. It was the ideal means to meet the variegated personalities of Chorale Okayama, an outpatient mental clinic in Japan. Soda interspersed observation and interviews of mental patients, staff, volunteers, and home mental health aides. He elaborated on his process in the Director’s Statement:
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Tags: Berlin Film Festival, Dubai Film Festival, film, Japan, Kazuhiro Soda, Kiyoko Kashiwagi, Mental, mental illness, Pusan Film Festival

With Children of Invention, Tze Chun gives a whole new meaning to “Sundance Kid.” His first feature, premiering at Sundance Film Festival this week, is a unique Asian-American story that draws on his own life. But it’s carried by Michael Chen and Crystal Chiu, its two child stars. Whether you’re kicking it in Utah or not, check out my convo with writer/director Tze Chun.
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Tags: Children of Invention, Cindy Cheung, Crystal Chiu, Filmmaker Magazine, Lucy Liu, Michael Chen, pyramid schemes, Sundance, Tze Chun

Amid all the New Year’s Eve options out there, my husband and I picked a good one. While the ball was droppin’, our eyes were poppin’—at the final, climactic scene of the modern Korean classic Oldboy. Wow. We were so into it, we forgot to switch over to the TV countdown as we had planned. Will the real Asian film geek please stand up? And does this auspicious beginning to 2009 foretell a great year for Asian film?
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Tags: Addicted, Ang Lee, asian, Asian film, Free Food for Millionaires, Geling Yan, Joan Chen, justin lin, Korean, Min Jin Lee, Never Forever, Oldboy, Stephen Chow, sung kang, Tian yu

Holy Tokyo Drift! That’s Sung Kang—bigger than life. This mural’s on the wall of Taiwan-based Jump Shoes’ flagship store in SoHo. But how did it get there? Meet David Foox—a New Zealand artist with an eye for Asian symbolism. Plus, see Sung Kang’s last three short films with Jump Shoes and Arowana Films.
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Tags: Arowana films, art, Daivd Foox, Fashion, Jump Shoes, marketing, mural, painting, sung kang

I left Kentucky a decade ago, but news of southern redneck shenanigans seems to follow me. I first heard about this on local news radio—JapanToday.com has a full write-up. O.C. Welch, owner of a Ford dealership in Hardeeburg, South Carolina, has taken out a one-minute radio spot to deride Japanese cars and everyone who buys them. “They’re rice-ready…they’re not road-ready.”
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Tags: bailout, cars, Honda, Japan, JapanToday.com, O.C. Welch, Toyota

The world over, in every village and street corner, millions of kids want to make it big in music. Every country has its own “pop machine,” but making the ultimate name (and royalties) for yourself invariably means success in the U.S. market. A few from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Australia have crossed over, but why aren’t there more Asian stars on the U.S. charts?

They have the looks, the talent, the cutting-edge fashion and dance moves. In recent years, they’ve been coached by some of the same producers and talent-shapers behind big U.S. acts. So why are Americans not buying? People who know the music industry have a variety of theories.
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Tags: america, apop, asian americans, crossover, english

Hey, Americans, Happy Thanksgiving. That means stuff your face and watch some movies! I’m catching up on film, including The Namesake from 2006. One scene got me thinking about relationships between Asians and non-Asians–how their cultural navigations are portrayed in film. Here’s just a few that stick out–add a few of your own.

In The Namesake, Mira Nair’s adaptation of the Jhumpa Lahiri novel, Gogol (Kal Penn) takes his white girlfriend Max (Jacinda Barrett) home to meet his very traditional Indian parents. Max ignores many of the politely-given instructions on cultural taboos to respect. I cringed. But the real kicker was when she asked to attend a family mourning ceremony. “I wanna go to India with you to spread the ashes!” Good Lord! Gogol’s in mourning, and she’s gripping his arm, wheedling her way into a trip abroad. I know what the white girl wanted….the trip to India would “prove their love.” But it came across like attending a family mourning ceremony was another notch to make in her cultural-experiences belt. That really bothered me.
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Tags: asian, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, film, interracial, Jason Scott Lee, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kal Penn, Mira Nair, Mississippi Masala, Sarita Choudry, The Namesake

Meet Charice, a sixteen-year-old singing sensation from the Philippines. Singing contests got her started. The Internet lit a fire under her career. And Oprah and Ellen used their influence to give her a hand up into stardom. Now, she’s featured on the “Hitman: David Foster and Friends” album alongside Babyface and Michael Buble. Way to get your mom out of the garment factory!

Born in 1993 in San Pedro Laguna, Charice Pempengco had a lot to overcome. Domestic violence forced her mother to leave Dad, then pull 16-hour shifts at a sewing machine to make ends meet. Charice started singing at age four; her “concert debut” was at a Balibago basketball game at age seven. Wanting to earn income to help Momma, young Charice began working the Filipino singing-contest circuit soon after. “Even if the prizes are $50 or $10, it’s big money to us,” she told reporters.
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Tags: Celine Dion, Charice, contest, David Foster, Filipino, Internet, Little Big Star, Philippines, Pinoy, singing, Star King

As promised, here’s the latest installment in the Jump Shoes promotional short films by Sung Kang and Arowana films. This one elicited some interesting buzz on Sung’s blog. Sung claims that the New York City cops didn’t like him standing in the middle of Times Square. I will say, Sung, your body language is pretty intimidating. The Naked Cowboy also makes an appearance in this vid–and we all know that’s a no-miss. Strangely, this film is stirring up some deep thoughts…

This short film series has become a frequent blog topic because it’s hitting me on several levels–as a Sung Kang fan, an advertising writer, and an aspiring filmmaker. One of my favorite aspects of the film genre is the “afterplay.” That’s the best word I can find to describe the way some films stay with you after you watch them. The meaning behind the images, words, and events continues to unfold in your mind’s eye.
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Tags: advertising, Arowana films, identity, Jump Shoes, Korean, military, Naked Cowboy, race, short films, sung kang, uniform

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the 2nd Annual Asian Summit here in Cincinnati, presented by the Asian Community Alliance and hosted by Northern Kentucky University. I went with an open mind, not really knowing what to expect. It was good to meet people within the Asian-American community, but there was something missing—young people. So here’s a recap. I hope my coverage encourages you to get involved with similar events in your city.

At the opening session, I scoped out the fruit and doughnuts, then looked around for a table to eat with. A couple of white college students sat at a back table, but I felt that NOT sitting with them was my personal stand against segregation. A bunch of middle-aged Asian women were very glad when I brought out my secret weapon—a brag book of my adorable sons, aged almost three and eight months. Now, if you’ve read my blog at all, you know that my husband is Korean. One of the ladies asked me, “Will you send your sons to Korean school?” I hedged a bit, feeling that decision was better left to hubby.
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Tags: Asian Community Alliance, Asian Summit, chinese, Deepa Iyer, Japanese, Korean, Macy's, Mr Tanaka, Pawan Dhingra, racism