Last Sunday, Trojans gathered at the Ray Stark Family Theatre on campus for the 7th Annual USC Asian Pacific Film Festival (APFF), a collaboration between the USC Asian Pacific Cinema Association (APCA) and the USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association (APAA). The film fest aims to bring students and alumni together to highlight Asian cinema and filmmakers from USC. Proceeds of the event went to the Jon M. Chu APAA Cinematic Arts Scholarship Fund for undergraduate students committed to telling Asian and Pacific Islander (API) stories on-screen.
The afternoon’s screening included 10 short films, chosen out of 38 submissions. The fest highlights films produced, written, directed, and/or starring API Trojans or addresses topics of interest to the API community.
Actor Derek Mio hosted the event and fellow Trojans APAA president Mary Tee and APCA Festival Committee Leaders Allie Merchant and Jazmyne Aquino joined him in sharing opening remarks. Actor Justin Chien also joined via video message just before the main event.
Prior to the screening, the audience was treated to a conversation moderated by incoming APAA president Sky Kogachi with the fest’s honorary jury, Wenda Fong and Kevin Tsujihara. Both noted that they did not major in anything entertainment-related during their time at USC, but encouraged students to pursue and innovate the industry. Tsujihara, former Warner Bros. CEO, urged API students to break the cultural stereotype of demurity and speak their voice. Fong, a veteran TV producer, echoed the sentiment and added that ambition can carry students to places they’ve dreamed of: “You just need to be the best you.”
A reception in the School of Cinematic Arts courtyard followed the screening, allowing students and alumni, as well as the featured filmmakers to interact and celebrate their love of API films. The end of the 2024 Asian Pacific Film Fest dawned as the heart of the film school filled with lively chatter and enthusiasm, an ever-present reminder and testament to the importance of API recognition and, of course, the Trojan bond.
Learn more about the 10 films that graced the screen at this year’s Asian Pacific Film Fest.
“Papaya”
The screening began with an empowering music video for the song “Papaya.” The animated short features an energetic, commanding beat while tackling colorism, an all-too-familiar concept for Filipina American artist Kelsey Boncato, also known by her stage name Kelady. Alumna Boncato serves as the director and animator of this piece, as well as the song’s producer in collaboration with Daniel Oldham, a fellow Trojan. The music video presents a dark background covered in gritty sunbaked ink with soap textures that resemble Filipino whitening soap, often used to bleach and lighten skin. The lyrics hold a life of its own, even incorporating Tagalog in a verse, and encourage listeners - and Boncato’s fellow Filipino community- to embrace brown skin.
“Mother’s Love”
Jackson Van Horn, a current Film and TV Production student, tugs at the heartstrings with “Mother’s Love,” as he writes and directs this ode to mothers and their unconditional love. With the backdrop of a young son struggling with addiction, the film comes to life with moving performances by leads Patricia Burgos & Colin Munsell. Van Horn said of “Mother’s Love,” “Everyone in this room either knows someone who’s dealt with mental health issues and addiction or have been through it themselves, so this is really for the people who are there and support you.”
“Sound in Motion”
Writer/director Josey Cuthrell-Tuttleman brings viewers on a visual and aural journey through the world of dance. As a dancer herself, the SCA junior frequently collaborates with USC Kaufman students, like the film’s lead actress Summer Vu. Cuthrell-Tuttleman said, “I’m a big advocate of [API] representation. It’s something I do not see and have not seen until now, and I want to keep pushing that envelope.” The film includes sound design that immerses the audience in the world of a deaf dancer who is given a coveted solo and must defy both peers’ and her own doubts to deliver the performance of a lifetime.
“Bitter Melon”
This comedy-drama short was actually the last episode of the web series “Bitter Melon.” Fans of “Fleabag” will appreciate “Bitter Melon’s” fourth wall nod, especially in this episode directed by student Kayla Wong. The episode proves to be a sufficient stand-alone that closes the main character Bitter’s arc as a young Chinese American woman who is recovering from a break-up with her white boyfriend. The finale shows Bitter hesitant to share the news with her family during a Lunar New Year celebration. Wong comments, “Who doesn’t love seeing an Asian girl lie about her dating life to her parents?” She shares that APCA, who produced the project, offered her a space to work with wonderful collaborators.
“Fili”
Writer and director Peter Filimaua, an MFA graduate, draws from personal experience growing up Samoan for his short film “Fili,” which follows the titular character torn between pursuing football and his hidden passion for acting. Filimaua tells the moving story through a familiar dynamic: “Samoan culture is very football-oriented and a lot of my family members played. I think a lot of us can relate to that feeling when parents push an agenda or a career path on their children, so I just wanted to advocate against that and to show that we can push through our own dreams.” “Fili” marks the first Pacific Islander film for USC’s Asian Pacific Film Festival.
“Welcome to ESL”
“Welcome to ESL’s” comical story was quick to charm the attendees of the film fest, evidenced by its win of the Audience Award at the festival. It follows a Vietnamese American immigrant in an “English as a Second Language” class and his struggles to get along with a fellow classmate. Junior Faithe Nguyen directs amusing performances, with Nguyen also serving as writer and sound designer. Nguyen credits her father, who took ESL classes, as inspiration for the short: “What stood out to me about the stories he told me is how he was able to forge friendships with people when they barely had the common basis of the English language.”
“I’m Not an Activist”
“I’m Not an Activist,” a documentary directed and produced by alumnus Dan Chen, attests to the powerful spirit of the Dragon Combat Club. The club is a community self-defense initiative that was established by a group of New Yorkers in response to brutal anti-Asian attacks. The short grabs its title from rapper China Mac, who proclaims in the documentary “I’m just being a man of our people, that’s it. I’m not an activist.” It is a sentiment displayed throughout the film, which Chen echoes, saying “[Dragon Combat Club is] doing something in their community and I figured why not help give them a voice to articulate their action and their anger and their solution, however short-term or imperfect or productive. I think I just wanted to help them start that conversation.”
“Strange”
Set in suburban Tokyo, “Strange” follows the beautiful friendship between a timid high school student and a drag queen who exchange lessons of self-confidence and navigate the exciting uncertainty of their futures together. Alumnus Ken Ochiai brings the unexpected duo to life as director and producer of the short film. He shares that he relates to not only the two main characters but also the teenager’s mother, who worries about her son’s passions in the film. Ochiai additionally said, “I think I betrayed my parents’ expectations a lot,” and imparts his belief in removing the fear of betraying expectations through “Strange.”
“DOS BROS FORCE”
Writer, director and producer Kalyan Sura, an SCA graduate, provides a touching story about the U.S. immigrant experience. Through the main character Ishu, a young girl who wishes to play video games at the arcade for her birthday, the short explores the duality of living in the present, while living for a better future. Pivotal moments from the short are inspired by Sura’s father and own childhood moments: “My brother stole a hundred rupees, which was like 2 bucks, and the only thing he said was ‘Don’t tell Dad.’ And the first thing that I did was go tell Dad. But that changed my dad’s perspective with us in a way and he bought us our first video game console and that literally changed my life.” “DOS BROS FORCE” is a grounded tribute to those moments and his subsequent film career in animation, sci-fi and fantasy.
“The Nectar Instead”
“The Nectar Instead” finished off the screening on a high note, with the audience cheering and laughing at the film’s unexpected turn. The stop-motion short follows a young fly who gets stuck in a fly trap. A hilarious existential crisis ensues when it realizes that it spent its whole life chasing after the wrong thing. Writer and director Yoo Lee, a recent MFA graduate, shares that this was her thesis film at USC and was inspired by the flies that would enter the garage where she did stop-motion work. Lee admits that she changed her career and “went back to school at the tender young age of 46″ to pursue animation and digital design. The film’s youthful energy definitely glowed through the screen, earning it the Jury Award at Sunday’s film fest.
