(2024, U.S., in English and Hmong with English subtitles, 85 min)
Director: Vera Brunner-Sung
Date: Thursday, May 8
6:30 PM Reception
7:00 PM Screening
Location: Annie May Swift Hall – Auditorium
1920 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208
Link to interactive campus map. Complimentary parking in the open air lot after 4pm. Free and open to the public..
In western Montana, recently divorced Lue (Wa Yang) lives with his widowed mother and keeps to a steady, quiet routine: his maintenance job, working his family stand at the farmers market, fly fishing on the river, and midnight outings for karaoke at the local bar.
When he is suddenly laid off, Lue joins a group of Hmong men to forage for coveted morel mushrooms in the mountains scorched by last year’s wildfires. Soon Lue discovers that the spirit world may still have influence over his life—and he must finally face the buried pain that destroyed his marriage.
“Superbly crafted…What impresses most profoundly about Bitterroot is the film’s pristine confidence. There is no rush here, but trust in the narrative and the cast […] with Brunner-Sung’s direction gleaning so much from even the smallest of gestures.” (Benjamin Poole)
Following the screening, director Vera Brunner-Sung and actor Wa Yang will appear for discussion.
Co-sponsored by the Block Cinema, the Climate Crisis + Media Arts Working Group of the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, and the Asian American Studies Program.
ABOUT THE GUESTS:
VERA BRUNNER-SUNG (writer, director, editor) was born in Michigan to parents from Korea and Switzerland. Her work across experimental, nonfiction, and narrative explores belonging and American identity. Her films have been presented at festivals, museums, and galleries in the U.S. and abroad, including Sundance, Rotterdam, CPH:DOX, MoMA PS1, and Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Center for Asian American Media and the Sundance Institute. BITTERROOT is her second feature.
WA YANG (Lue) is a Hmong American actor who often finds himself playing roles in dramas, which is the antithesis of his personality—colorful and comedic. He stumbled into acting when he attended a TV and film production summer camp through Asian Media Access in Minneapolis. This led to him participating in school films and shorts and then, in the early 2000s, he moved to Los Angeles to make a living as an actor. Three years into the rat race, he returned to Minnesota to continue his education in the health science field. When he’s not acting, he is a psychiatric nurse practitioner who is passionate about addressing mental health in AAPI communities. Previous credits include 1985, JOURNEY TO THE FALLEN SKIES, KUV LEEJ NIAM, and the pilot web series HMONG ORGANIZATION, as well as productions with St. Paul’s Theater Mu and Pom Siab Hmoob Theatre.