By Jana Monji, AsAmNews Arts & Culture Writer
Those looking for a glimpse of the Asian and Asian American films at Sundance got a good taste during a conversation with Asian filmmakers and actors hosted by the Asian Society of Northern California.
Janet Yang, Academy Governor-at-Large and executive producer of
The Joy Luck Club film, spoke with writer Amy Tan, actress Miya Cech, director Sushmit Ghosh, director Debbie Lum, actor Leonardo Nam, director Baz Poonpiriya, director Rintu Thomas and director Christopher Yogi.
Debbie Lum, director of
Try Harder! noted that her documentary on the agony and angst of college admissions, looked at this topic through the lens of parents. That was easy to do now that she’s the mother of three kids. In the background, during the filming the lawsuit against Harvard University was being fought in the courts, giving the general feeling that declaring one was Asian American on one’s college application was a detriment.