Date: Thursday, February 22nd, 7 PM
Location: Annie May Swift Hall,1920 Campus Drive Evanston, IL 60208
Click here for directions
Co-presented by Northwestern University’s Asian American Studies Program, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), One Book One Northwestern, and the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media (FAAIM).
Family dynamics are central to the four short films selected for this year’s Asian American Short Film Showcase. Although different in style, storylines, and genre, these shorts by Jess X. Chen, Jamie Lam, Flo Singer and Maya Wanner all traverse emotionally charged territory to move beyond family trauma and show the possibility for healing and connection.
The screening will be followed by a discussion moderated by Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab Director Ines Sommer, featuring panelists:
Helen Cho, Visiting Assistant Professor, Asian American Studies Program, Northwestern University
Huu Ly, film programmer, Foundation for Asian American Independent Media
Maya Wanner, filmmaker, Northwestern University, MFA in Documentary Media alumna
Qianhui Zhang, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, CAPS, Northwestern University
Film descriptions:
My Mother’s Daughter Directed by Flo Singer (they/them) 2022 | Documentary | USA | 13 mins | English
Overcoming family tragedy and barriers, two estranged half-sisters—one born and raised in China, the other in the U.S.—meet for the very first time and attempt to bridge gaps in distance and culture.
The Mess We’re In Written and Directed by Jamie Lam 2022 | Fiction | Canada | 11 mins | English, Cantonese w/ Subtitles
Still living in the hoarder’s house she grew up in, young adult Dara contemplates moving forward in life.
Little Sky Written and Directed by Jess X. Chen (they/them) 2021 | Narrative | USA, Canada | 12 mins | English, Cantonese w/ Subtitles
A non-binary Chinese-American drag queen returns to their home town to confront their estranged father about the childhood memories that continue to haunt them.
All the Ways to Say I Love You Directed by Maya Wanner 2023 | Fiction | USA | 20 mins | English
All the Ways to Say I Love You is a personal film about two generations of mothers and daughters. 40 years after her grandmother’s death, filmmaker Maya Wanner begins to ask questions about her, her mother’s life in Korea, and the complexities of their relationship. The past ripples, refracts, and reverberates through generations in a swirl of intimate interviews, magical realist imagery, and home video footage that reveals the enduring love that mothers and daughters share.
