Asian Stories Tag Archive

Live Action

Nathan Xia Interrogates Hollywood Representation and Personal Ego in Satirical Short ‘Flavor of the Month’

What do you do when your values are at odds with your own ambitions? Nathan Xia turns that question into a squirming, darkly comic piece of self-scrutiny.

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Live Action

Grief Wears the Face of a Stranger Who Arrives With the Storm in Kalani Gacon’s Himalayan Drama ‘Family Man’

Kalani Gacon conjures a missing father from the rain in his near-wordless Himalayan myth where image, weather and a single song carry the unsayable.

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Live Action, Premiere

The Guest of Honour Won’t See Out Her Own Birthday in Kalainithan Kalaichelvan’s Darkly Comic Tamil Short ‘Karupy’

Across shifting chapters, Kalainithan Kalaichelvan pieces together a grandmother whose family realise how little of her inner life they ever truly knew.

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Live Action

Grief Becomes an Addictive Vice in the Back Rooms of Julian Doan’s Surreal ‘Long’s Long Lost & Mini Mart’

Julian Doan turns a Little Saigon mini mart into a purgatory where the grieving buy one last conversation with the dead beside the booze and lotto.

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Live Action, Premiere

Ruhi Radke Crushes the Sexy Virginity Myth in Her Cringeworthy but Empowering Short for All the Wallflowers ‘Squash’

Ruhi Radke on making the unsexiest sex story ever and a representation of the first time that's funny, shaming, and ultimately a love story with herself.

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Live Action

Temperatures & Tensions Rise as a Grifter Faces the Music in Chelsie Pennello’s Hectic Comedy ‘Cherry-Colored Funk’

Orchestrating a symphony of controlled chaos, Chelsie Pennello & Corbett Blair reveal how they used the tiny confines of an ice cream shop set to full effect.

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Live Action, Premiere

tao/s Present a Raw Portrait of Family Turmoil Born of Mental Illness in Personal Short ‘Very Still, Very Quiet’

tao/s explain why the one-shot was the most authentic way to capture the emotional chaos of a family trying to cope with their mom's mental health disorder.

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Live Action, Premiere

Alexandra Qin Unveils the Impacts of Sex Addiction on Two Sisters’ Relationship in Her Sobering Drama ‘Thirstygirl’

Alexandra Qin talks to DN about her personal experience with sex and love, drug and alcohol addiction, and the vital role it played in her debut short film.

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Live Action

Maegan Houang Depicts the Genesis of America’s Asian Exploitation in Drama ‘Astonishing Little Feet’

Maegan Houang returns to DN and explains how she used confronting POV shots to challenge the viewer in her potent historical drama short.

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Awards, Documentary

A Personal Search for Identity Is Reflected Through a Wider Geopolitical Context in S. Leo Chiang’s ‘Island in Between’

S. Leo Chiang discusses his aim for achieving a universality of understanding in his Oscar doc examining the complicated relationship between Taiwan & China.

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Live Action

A Filipino Immigrant Worker Battles the Horrors of Assimilation in Paris Zarcilla’s Acerbic Debut ‘Raging Grace’

DN alum Paris Zarcilla dissects the claustrophobic tone and character-driven visual language of his chilling gothic SXSW winning feature debut.

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Live Action, Premiere

Tiger Ji Brings Humour and Heart to Life’s Final Feast With a Bowl of Noodles in ‘Death & Ramen’

Tiger Ji talks subverting common tropes associated with Asian performers in his deliciously dark comedy where Death and a ramen chef share a bowl of noodles.

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