Certainly the biggest in the bay area. With me right now is daniel moretti, the director of distribution and Educational Programming for frameline and a prominent figure in global film projects. And were also proud to have william j. Zang, a filmmaker and publicist, here to talk about his latest project, dress up like mrs. Doubtfire. Welcome to the show. William zang good to be here. Daniel moretti thank you for having us. Robert you know, weve been big fans of the event for quite a long time, but for people who havent been as familiar, give us a quick overview of the film festival. Daniel great, yeah. So frameline presents a San Francisco international lgbtqplus film festival. This year it takes place from june 20 to 30. Were in five different venues in San Francisco, oakland, and berkeley, and this year we have a very diverse slate of films that were bringing out. Its 174 different films, representing 38 countries, and of those films, 59 of them are us premieres so its the first time that theyre being screened in the us. So it really points to the unique content that frameline is bringing to the bay area. Robert i know, its unique and diversified so its hard to say, like, the type of film you have. But what do you want moviegoers, film fans, to kind of expect when they go . Daniel yeah, so really, i would say we have a film for every genre, for every personality type. A couple of examples of films that celebrate Asian American and asian storylines at the festival, just to give a spl we have a film called song lang which is from vietnam. Its a drama. Its set in 1980s saigon and it follows a debt collector that falls in love with a performer in an opera troupe. And then we also have a film from the us. Its actually an episodic. So its a web series and follows a filipina american transgender woman and sheits called razor tongue, and she uses her razor tongue to call out misogyny and discrimination that she faces from men on a daily basis. Robert and it really is important to know that even though these are important issues, its theyre films. Theyre entertaining and theyre informative in that way as films. Daniel exactly. Robert speaking of which, talk about your film. Give us a quick overview. William so dress up like mrs. Doubtfire is a Short Documentary film to look back on Robin Williams 1993 film, mrs. Doubtfire, to talk about the legacy that it is very first Family Friendly film to feature robert probably not maybe seen as important unless its in retrospect, right . A ma e people kind of got from this . William i just feel like the time has changed and it also changed peoples reading about those films happened before, because last year was the 25th anniversary of mrs. Doubtfire. So people usually go to that shooting location on steiner street to make a pilgrimage to Robin Williams and the movie. So even after 25 years, people still have a lot of memories about that film. So i also want to talk about, like, the film, how does it change the hollywood stereotype of drag characters or gay characters in a movie . So it has a lot of meaning for me and also for the community. Robert not to mention Robin Williams, a significant bay area figure. How about for you, what inspired you to kind of take that on as the topic . William well, because im a big fan for Robin Williams for a really long time. I guess, probably, i watched that film when i was five, i guess, but at the time i never thought about, oh, that is a drag, and that theresand Robin Williams characters brothers a gay couple, or kind of like, stuff like that. But since six years ago i came to here, i walked by the shooting location. I saw people take photos or, kind of like, post online, and so i went back to watch that film again and to see, oh, since that is a drag. Theres a gay here. So i just want to talk about legacy about that. Robert theres a pretty good example of diversity there, isnt it . Daniel yes, exactly. S ar. Daniel thank you so much. Robert all right. Well, frameline 43 is on from june 20 to 30 at venues in San Francisco, berkeley, and oakland. For more details go to nbcbayarea. Com. Up next, more about frameline 43 with the Creative Minds behind the film, gamers. So stay with us. Were back with more about frameline 43. Joining us is searit huluf, the writer and director of the film, gamer originally from l. A. , she is now here in the bay area working for pixar studios and many other projects. And also with us, is tiajha nakahara, who is the producer of gamers. Born and raised in okinawa and also from l. A. , pixar, and now postproduction coordinator at the online course master class. Welcome to the show. Both thank you. Robert give us a quick overview in terms of gamers. Searit huluf yeah, so gamers is about, basically, a lesbian gamer who has a onceinalifetime opportunity to try out for a Pro League Team but she gets cold feet and her girlfriend confronts her about it. Robert hm, who came up with that story . Searit i did. It was a combination of two ideas i was writing and i was pitching a bunch of them to tiajha and the first one was about basically, like, a sketch comedy that i wrote for a class in sf and then i turned that which was about these guys who game, and then another story i had about a career couple who were basically questioning their relationship. , tiajha kind of was just like, you know, i think we should combine these two ideas cause theres something there. And we went with tentlhat an robert thats what a producer does, right . Searit yeah. Robert then, of course, to me, i think gaming is a pretty big part of Asian American and the culture, too. I mean, i see a lot of them very much into that. I dont know if its innate or what. When youre deciding to produce Something Like this, what are the first things youve gotta do to get it off the ground . Tiajha nakahara ooh, to get it off the ground. I mean, the biggest thing is definitely a story which is why we took a long time. Most of the preproduction was crafting the story and making sure that we are ready before we shoot and then gathering your crew, getting people who are interested, yeah. Robert its an interesting story. Very fascinating, but in terms of for moviegoers what do you hope that they kind of get when they see this . Maybe the thing that you really want em to kind of reach . Searit yeah, like, our biggest thing was that anything that has to do with gaming content, like, we just dont see any poc or, like, women of color on the screen, so one of the things was just, like, they are there. Like, theres a lot of, like especially women gamers. Theres a lot of girls gaming than guys, actually, right now but you dont really see that on screen or being reflected. So our biggest thing was just kind of this exposure was one of the things. But one of the main themes of the film was imposter syndrome and kind of how, like, you know, women typically, them themselves stop them from doing what theyre passioning to do, which i really, like, relate to that with my main character, jaime. So we kind of wanted to show, like, what imposter syndrome could do to a woman and, like, how, you know, they also overachieve them too and how they kind of like, you know what . Im scared to do this but im still gonna do it anyway. Robert yeah, yeah. I mean, representing a lot of other kind of industries, a lot of other careers, et cetera, right . Searit yeah, yeah. This was seen lgbtq community, too. Like, theres a lot of gamers in that community as well. Robert yeah, i know, i have seen people when they portray women as gamers its like a novelty or something. You know, where its like this norm or this culture for men, or Something Like that. Why is that important, though, do you think . Is it because for one thing i dont think people realize how many gamers there are. I mean, people think, oh, games. They dont realize how many people do it, what kind of impact it has on people, huh . Tiajha definitely. Yeah, that was the biggest thing. So we actually did a lot of research with people who play games, females specifically, and we wanna make sure we represented that and basically show that there are more than one type of gamer. And what does that look like . Robert when you add the element, though, of being a woman or even being lgbtq, what does that mean for the character . Searit for me, its kind of just like i wanted to see myself on screen so, for me, its just like like, one character is asian, one is black, and it was just like for tiajha and i to see ourselves onscreen is, like, one thing. But im also, like, a huge lgbtq ally and i have a lot of, like, lgbtqplus friends so for me to, like, not only see myself onscreen but also see my friends onscreen as well. Robert yeah, isnt that the best way too, is, like, not to preach but to tell a story and then get people to relate to it, huh . Tiajha exactly, yeah. The biggest thing for us is at the end of the film if people felt like they were able to relate to any part of the film, thats what we hope we can do. A gamer, poc, lgbtq, robert all right, well, we want them to kind of seek your film out. Thank you for being here. Searit thank you. Robert all right, well, stay with us. We now go behind the scenes and on camera with ali wong and randall park of the hit movie, always be my maybe. I had the pleasure of interviewing the Creative Forces behind always be my maybe, now on netflix. Randall park, ali wong, and director nahnatchka khan. From a special set at the San FranciscoFairmont Hotel terrace, they were funny and enlightening. Robert well, thank you for doing this segment for, Asian Pacific america. Ow i i wanted to did. I loved it. It was great. First of all, i guess, you cowrote it so give me an idea in terms of one of the thing movies and documentaries that kind of show a slice of life of Asian American things, culture and things like that. But what i liked about yours was that it was a kind of a storyof that didnt have to necessarily be Asian Americans but it was more fun and more interesting because of it, right . When you were putting it together, did you have that kind of thought in mind in terms of, like, conveying some of that at all or was it sort of something thata story you wanted to do . Randall park it wasnt something that we sat down and talked about, like, oh, we have to do this, you know, make this Asian American project. It really just kind of came organically. We wanted to tell a great story and we wanted it to be funny and heartfelt. And i think that all of those other elements kind of just found their way into the script because its a part of who we are. Robert yeah, and some of the people ive talked to about this movie, one of the things they do like is a strong Asian American male, lead character, and we dont really see a lot. Ali wong a strong Asian American sexy male. Robert yes, sexy male. Youre allowed to say that, so. Randall you can say it, too. Youve a very sexy Asian American male. Randall thank you. Nahnatchka khan dont worry about your job. Robert thats right, yes. You know, you obviously have roots in the bay area. Is ithow much rewarding was it for you to bring this project here and to be able to tell the story through the bay area . Ali it was great and, you know, i do feel when i watch the movie again, i do see San Francisco in a way that i feel like i have not seen in film before. You know, you never see the Richmond District or the sunset district which is such a big part of my childhood and you just never see those houses that, to me, are so iconic and they bring me such a sense of home. And i think just for me, marcuss character really you know, we all know that guy or a guy whos kind of like that, whoswho feels like he has it all and hes he lives at home well into his 30s but hes good. Likeand hes able to have side and the life he wants. But he doesnt really wanna challenge himself too much to go and that can be really frustrating in a relationship. Robert and, again, kind of a universal thing that a lot of people can relate to. Ali right, yeah. Robert all three of you, though, you know, youve done a lot of groundbreaking for the Asian American community. Ali this one cant get away from us. Robert cause role models are important. Role models are important, too. Nahnatchka, tell me something. Does this feel like youre also doing a groundbreaking project . cause it feels like to me, like, even though, fresh off the boat kind of almost made kind of part of the Cultural Landscape andma permanent, you know what i mean . Like, as part of it. Do you feel like this is also kind of almost breaking new ground again . Chka well, i think that, you know, its breaking new ground in that these guys have been so instrumental. Goa pla, whos gonna play sasha, you know . They wrote this story, they came up with the story. They produced it. And to me, thats groundbreaking. Like, not only in front of the camera but behind the camera, being involved in the Creative Process like that. So it was never a question of, like, should this be a Asian American story . It was always gonna be that, you know . And the question is how do we make it entertaining . How do we make it universal . How do we make it feel like you understand and relate to these people in their journey and have it be satisfying . So i think, for me, the groundbreakingness comes from, you know, doing a good movie that youre proud of, thats entertaining, but also working with such talented people in so many aspects, you know, not just as actors but in all the ways. Robert yeah. Of course, they said that you had to be the one to bring that vision to the front. Where does that sensitivity come from . Nahnatchka i think its just a matter of paying attention to what people are saying to you. You know, like, reading their script, understanding what they wanted from the story, and looking at everyas you know, every detail matters. The rhythm of the scene matters. The way you come into it and get out of it, you know, what are the characters going through . And i think that because we know that about each other, and those are the things that i take very seriously, you know, i always will be a writer first so i will approach scenes from character and story and then be, like, how do i tell this in a visual way that supports that . Robert i did an interview with mindy kaling not that long ago and she was talking about how the these forums like netflix and hulu and all these other things, theyve really opened up things for the Asian American community. I remember my son mason, a long time ago, he used to only watch youtube and i was always curious on why that was. It was because there really wasnt like another forum or venue for Asian American kind of products and things like that. Netflix, does that offer a lot more opportunity or, at least, it seems like it does. Does it . Randall well, yeah, i think so. I think for us iauses ultimate, we wanted our movie to be made and we then wanted our movie to be seen. Robert yeah, i guess thats what i meant was, was it like, in the old days, would you have been able to make this movie, like a theatrical movie . Ali yeah, i dont i think its a lot because also the timing was right in terms of, you know, randall has a lot of cachet from hisyou look at his imdb page and youll be scrolling for, like, your whole life, you know, and then nahnatchka had just, i mean, you know, shes very established too and so i think, like, all of that lining up more than peoples attitudes towards Asian Americans was probably the bigger deal. But to get to that point where you can build that amount of cachet takes a long time, you know . Were not in our 20s. Nahnatchka but also netflix, i will say that, like, the whole process, they were onboard for exactly the movie that we wanted to make. You know, there was never any pushback of, like, should it be this, should it be that . You know, we were all on the same page from the getgo and they really supported this story and this movie, which is great. Robert im curious as a director, youre making something thats gonna be shown theatrically and then on netflix. As a director, do you have to do much adjusting orin termsn is . Nahnatchka i mean, its, you know, not to get boring and technical, but, you know, we initially wanted to my dp, tim suhrstedt, and i wanted to shoot it sort of letterbox and then we had a whole plan and whatever and then we talked to the people at netflix and they were, like, some people are gonna be consuming this on their tablets, on their phones, and theyve found that they dont like to have the bars, the black bars or whatever. So we had to adjust our vision and the idea how we were gonna shoot it to maximize the screenspace because its not, you know, a giant theatre exclusively. So, you know, things like that, just understanding where your movies gonna play, yeah. Robert i mentioned role models and in a certain way, its like Charles Barkley said whether you want to be or not, you end up being role models. My son is a theater arts performer as well in college, loyola marymount. Hes here, actually, and youll meet him later. Ali oh, nice. Robert but do you feel comfortable with the idea of being a role model . Have you gotten used to the idea of, like, having to be a role model . Ali i try not to think about that very mu i dont know. Its so hard to write a good joke, im just trying to, like, write great jokes and be a good mom. So, and i think if you, like, think too much about being a role model, you might be a bad role model, you know . Unless you think a lot about it, thats totally fine. Randall no, i havent. Ali unless its, like, it consumes you and you wake up and you go, like robert like i said, i think part of it is that you end up being one whether you want to