Documentarian Stephanie Wang-Breal, whose previous works include “Tough Love” and “Wo Ai Ni Mommy,” takes a sensitive approach in chronicling the legal proceedings of women who are arrested on […]
Author: Melissa Kim
Merata Mita Was The First Māori Woman To Make Feature Films. Her Son Tells Her Story.
As children, we rarely see our mothers as anything else but who they are to us—moms. In the documentary feature “Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen,” Heperi Mita chronicles […]
Bobby Choy’s Raw Honesty Sings In ‘Fiction and Other Realities’
Bobby Choy’s “Fiction and Other Realities” begins with a song. The film — a melody of the artist’s truth, replete with music and lyrics, screenwriting and co-directing chops — […]
‘Nice’ Offers Genuine Representation of a Midwest Korean American Family
A young woman bites into a graham cracker cookie shaped like a breast just before she receives the stunning diagnosis that she has cancer — for the second time. […]
Stop-Motion Short ‘JEOM’ Paints an Intimate Father-Son Portrait
“JEOM” is a stop-motion animated film that portrays a father and son who both have a large birthmark, and a son who is desperate to eliminate it from his […]
X. Dean Lim’s ‘First World Problems’ Taps Into Today’s Technology-Driven Culture
“First World Problems” is a dark comedy with a pulse on the current state of society and technology-shaped culture. Directed by X. Dean Lim, the pilot episode, which premiered […]
In ‘Kimchi’ Short, Characters Connect Despite Multiple Barriers
There’s more to “Kimchi” than meets the eye. At first glance, it appears to be a story about an elderly man meeting his granddaughter’s fiancée. Upon closer look, however, […]
‘Cardinal X’ Filmmaker Angie Wang is Fighting for Authenticity and Kicking Down Doors
Not many filmmakers are former drug dealers. Fewer still look like Angie Wang. The daringly personal feature is based on the filmmaker’s life, in which the lead character, a […]
KCON NY: The Hallyu Wave Hits The East Coast
In the middle of a sultry June day, an expectant crowd waits for their next move. YouTuber JuNCurryAhn (née Jun Sung Ahn) directs their dance steps to TWICE’s “Signal” […]
RocketJump’s Freddie Wong On Creating Work For Yourself, Not Others
Freddie Wong is a creator, writer, producer, director, filmmaker and competitive gamer. The multi-hyphenate grew up with a love for watching films and began uploading videos on YouTube with […]
John Cho Goes Indie Romance For Kogonada’s ‘Columbus’
Kogonada’s reputation precedes him. His work as a video essayist has amassed a legion of devotees as well as impressive commissions, including from the Criterion Collection. The auteur’s feature […]
With Sundance Award-Winning ‘Gook,’ Justin Chon Gets Personal
Justin Chon’s “Gook” opens on an 11-year-old dancing in front of a building engulfed in flames, an image disarming, alarming and hypnotic. Winner of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival […]
The Wong Way: RocketJump Expands Its Content in 2017
Freddie Wong is a creator, writer, producer, director, filmmaker and competitive gamer. The multi-hyphenate grew up with a love for watching films and began uploading videos on YouTube with […]
Interview: Korean R&B Phenom Crush On Being A Good Artist
It’s 5:30 p.m., just two and a half hours before Crush (a.k.a. Shin Hyo-seob) takes the stage for a sold-out concert at Stage48 in New York City, the second […]
Film Review: Asian American Rappers Take Center Stage In ‘Bad Rap’
“Do you think you are talented?” The query, directed at rapper Dumbfoundead, hangs in the air, frozen like a waiting high-five. Four rappers are the subject of director Salima Koroma’s […]
