Back in 1975, the Southeast Asia region was heavily impacted by a few major events: the Fall of Saigon, which signaled the end of the Vietnam War, the Indonesian invasion of East Timor, and the capture of Phnom Penh by the Khmer Rouge. That last event established the Democratic Kampuchea regime and sparked the beginning […]
Face it, your hometown probably isn’t the best setting for a musical. Most of us are dying to run away from the dead-end local joints, deadbeats, and the people we grew up with for the promise of something more. But what if it’s all you’ve got? Back in 2006, Richard Wong’s Colma: The Musical fulfilled […]
Way back in 2007, as part of the press junket for Ham Tran’s epic film Journey from the Fall, actress Kieu Chinh was asked if the film “could help the world to better understand what the people of Vietnam have gone through.” Chinh responded by comparing the film to Steven Spielberg’s historical epic Schindler’s List, […]
Have you ever met Grace Lee? It’s no surprise if you have. Grace Lee is one of the most common names given to Asian American girls – and why wouldn’t it be? The term ‘grace’ means “simple elegance or refinement of movement,” and who wouldn’t want their daughter to identify as such? And according to […]
At 13 years old, Ernest (Jeffrey Chyau) is, like any kid his age, struggling with the pains of growing up. But unlike most protagonists in American movies, Ernest is a middle class Chinese American kid who works at his family’s motel business. Michael Kang’s The Motel is told from his perspective. While other kids are […]