Recorded live at Reel Asian 27 in November 2023, Imran J. Khan, director of the feature film "Mustache" and Nedda Sarshar director of the short film "Unibrow" discuss filmmaking and facial hair while snacking on classic Canadian butter tarts. Reel Asian's own Samir Ballou is their guide. *please excuse our tech difficulties, so if you're watching on video, it'll be old school B&W...
Recorded live at Reel Asian 27 in November 2023. Filmmakers from our S-Express showcase of Southeast Asian short films (try to) talk about film while tasting DQ (Dairy Queen) treats for the first time. Featuring Mickey Lai (dir. A Worm, Whatever Will Be, Will Be), the team from "Ms. Pontianak" Alina Wong JinKei (director), Raja Adam Iskandar (producer), and Sheldon Chong (editor Cruel), and Reel Asian's own Kelly Lui and Christine Vu. MS. PONTIANAK - IG: @ms.pontianak, @rajaadamisk, CRUEL - IG: ...
Recorded live at Reel Asian 27 in November 2023, culture critic and author Jeff Yang discusses his new book "The Golden Screen: The Movies That Made Asian America" with Madelyn Chung, Founder and Editor in Chief at the RepresentAsian Project. In this episode they discuss the trajectories of Jeff's career tracking Asian American popular culture from early print magazines to the rise of a new generation of Asian American mainstream films. Look to buy "The Golden Screen: The Movies That Made Asian ...
RA26 Film BIG FIGHT IN LITTLE CHINATOWN director Karen Cho sits down with RA programmer Vidhya Elango and Friends of Chinatown TO member Alex Hong to discuss the film's sprawling but intimate look at Chinatowns across North America. Karen, Alex, and Vidhya expand on joy and struggle and how these Chinatowns hold a special place in our cities and communities. In the second half, Karen, Alex, and Vidhya collaborate to scarf down some cheung fun/rice rolls in our "Come Eat With Me" segment. For mor...
Backstory returns after a post-festival hiatus to usher in the launch of the fourth edition of TACLA’s Youth Critics Initiative (YCI), an annual incubator that guides emerging writers over the course of six months to produce critical works in a variety of formats in conversation with Reel Asian’s festival programming. Recorded in October during preparation for the 26th edition of the festival and fourth edition of YCI, co-editor Jasmine Gui joins Kelly and Aram to chew on all things critical and...
To celebrate the launch of his inaugural Kalabaw Bursary for Filipinx filmmakers, long time filmmaker, musician, and do-it-all maestro Romeo Candido reflects on his career in this candid conversation with the also-super-talented writer/producer Amanda Parris. The conversation was recorded prior to the 2022 Reel Asian Film Festival where Romeo was honoured as the festival's Canadian Spotlight Artist. Romeo talks about the old days that weren't so good, how BIPOC film communities supported him whe...
RA26 Film UNIDENTIFIED finds Jude Chun unraveling some of the mysteries behind his indie sci-fi feature, trojan horses in genre films, his round about journey to filmmaking, and how to plan and execute a globe-trotting set piece finale. In the second half, Jude joins Aram for "Come Eat With Me" where Jude is reminded of a Toronto specialty of days past. Mentioned in this episode: Cloud Atlas dir. Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Lilly Wachowski (2012) This episode uses or mentions the following multi...
RA26 Centrepiece Film THE GRIZZLIE TRUTH continues Kat Jayme's quixotic quest to keep the memory of the Vancouver Grizzlies alive. Reel Asian's Aram Siu Wai Collier is joined by Kat to get behind the scenes on the making of the film, the many characters met in her journeys (including "Swole Bibby"), her NBA analog, and possibly the quickest answer to our carb questionnaire. ***Conversation contains spoilers*** In the second half, Kat joins Aram for "Come Eat With Me" where Kat dishes over some d...
RA26 Opening Night Film RICEBOY SLEEPS has been collecting awards on the festival circuit. Reel Asian's Aram is joined by writer/director Anthony Shim and lead actress Seung-yoon Choi to get behind the scenes on the making of the film, their inspirations, their guilty pleasures, and the eternal battle of whether rice is superior to noodles. Anthony and Seung-yoon are the first Backstory guests to engage in a new segment called "Come Eat With Me" where our guests and host share a meal and talk sh...
Trick or treat? Kelly and Aram review each other’s favourite and most-loathed nostalgic Halloween candies, after sharing their memorable horror film watching experiences. Plus, some ASMR. Happy Halloween from the Backspooky team! Mentioned in this episode: No Question: Unico Is The Most Horrifying Children's Movie Ever Made This episode uses or mentions the following multimedia samples and sources: “Say Good Night”, Joakim Karud “Morpho Diana”, Rachel Collier Episode cover art by Kelly Lui....
Backstory hits up the west coast on this edition of the Road Trip series, joining Brian Hu, Artistic Director of San Diego Asian Film Festival, to discuss the long history of Asian American cinema, the importance of film criticism in a world of takes, and the future of Asian American filmmaking beyond Hollywood. San Diego Asian Film Festival is hosted by Pacific Arts Movement . Follow them on social media @pacartsmovement . Mentioned in this episode (get your Letterboxd ready): Brian’s article f...
Aram introduces Kelly to a quintessential Asian diaspora fast food meal. Plus, a preview of what’s to come on Backstory (more mukbang?). This episode was recorded on video! Watch it on Spotify or YouTube . Links Writer Jane Hu on the Filet-o-Fish and her Chinese-Canadian upbringing This episode uses or mentions the following multimedia samples and sources: “Say Good Night”, Joakim Karud “Morpho Diana”, Rachel Collier...
Kelly and Aram are back with another highly curated (and definitely not algorithmic) selection of k-pop tracks for the summer. Recommended for finding yourself (and discovering your inner bad boy) on a late night drive. Check out the YouTube playlist here. Links From the Backstory archives: S2E05: “Play Me” and last year’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify For the TXT fans: TXT’s re-enactments of Weightlifting Fairy For further reading: writer Cat Zhang on “The Endless Life Cycle of Japanese City ...
Emerging from our winter and covid lockdowns, we take an audio road trip to visit with film festival friends along the East Coast. We talk about the joys and challenges of our respective cities and festivals and detail the intricacies of how the (festival) sausage gets made. Road Trip pt. 2 features Melissa Bisagni, Festival Director at the Washington DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival. https://www.apafilm.org/ & Backstory co-host Kelly Lui calls in from a far away place! Music: “Sailin...
Emerging from our winter and covid lockdowns, we take an audio road trip to visit with film festival friends along the East Coast. We talk about the joys and challenges of our respective cities and festivals and detail the intricacies of how the (festival) sausage gets made. Road Trip pt. 1 features Selena Yip, Festival Director at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. https://paaff.org/ Music: “Sailing” by Telecasted “Anything You Can Dream” by The Whole Other...
Is it too late to say Happy New Year? Kelly and Aram talk about new year traditions while reflecting on the past (festival) year and look ahead to what's to come. Including a possible truce in one of their long standing conflicts? This episode uses or mentions the following multimedia samples and sources: View of the Valley - Trevor Garrod Aerodynamic - Daft Punk
Grayson returns to help Jen host this special Asian Media Year In Review trivia episode, with Kelly and Aram battling it out to defend their carbohydrate of choice. Happy New Year from the Backstory team! Links Listen to the Backstory episode on Minari. For more on familycore / parentcore . The profile on Keanu. Take this quiz to find out which Keanu Reeves character you are! This episode uses or mentions the following multimedia samples and sources: “Say Good Night”, Joakim Karud “Morpho Diana”...
Aram and Kelly are joined by Tony, Althea, Ammar, Jen, and Ange to celebrate 10 years of Unsung Voices, Reel Asian’s annual summer workshop for first-time filmmakers. They reminisce over the untold challenges behind their first films, before being put to the test in a round of Unsung Voices trivia. Tune in to the very end to hear more Unsung Voices filmmakers share their favourite memories. Follow the link here for an extended shownote and transcription: https://bit.ly/unsunguntold...
Ever wonder about the origins of the ninja or what it was like growing up in a video rental store in small town Ontario? Aram is joined by Grayson Lee in this episode to discuss the legacy of martial arts in cinema, Ninja Turtles merch, empowerment through orientalization, and terrible films that are also very good. Follow Grayson on Instagram @grime_ninja . Click here for an extended shownote and transcript. For a list of the films mentioned in this episode, check out our Letterboxd list . This...
Kelly walks Aram through his first (and perhaps last?) watch of CRASH LANDING ON YOU, 2019’s love story of the year (arguably). Will his love for the show crash and burn, or paraglide and land on his summer heart? This episode includes spoilers to the show CRASH LANDING ON YOU (2019). If you liked the format, please do check out Too Long; Didn’t Watch (@tldwpod on Twitter), whose podcast gave us the inspiration for this episode. Content Warning: minor swearing Follow the link here for an extende...
It has been a year, and so many things have happened between then and now. In this episode, Aram and Kelly talk to filmmakers and programmers who continued to create art through the past year. Follow the link here for an extended shownote and episode transcript: http://bit.ly/backstory-1yearlater You can find hayung ( @kimhayungg ) and Insomniac Festival ( @insomniac_fest ) on Twitter and Instagram. This episode uses the following multimedia samples and sources: “Say Good night”, Joakim Karud "M...
Aram and Kelly talk with Franco about the new season of the sketch comedy show TALLBOYZ and the serious business of being funny. You can find Franco on Instagram and Twitter @francowins, and you can watch the second season of TallBoyz for free on CBC Gem. Follow the link here for an extended shownote and episode transcript: http://bit.ly/s2e3-shownotes This episode uses the following multimedia samples and sources: “Say Good night”, Joakim Karud "Morpho Diana", Rachel Collier "This is MY Chinato...
Aram and Kelly (and Seungwoo) talk about MINARI (2020) and give their earnest first reacts. Follow the link here for an extended shownote and episode transcript: http://bit.ly/s2e2-shownotes This episode uses the following multimedia samples and sources: “Say Good night”, Joakim Karud "Morpho Diana", Rachel Collier "Rain Song", Emile Mosseri, Han Ye-ri
A new year is upon us. We are back and so is Karate Kid. Aram and Seungwoo talk about how they ushered in their new years, and why Cobra Kai was a part of the good beginning. Content Warning: minor swearing. Follow the link here for an extended shownote and episode transcript: http://bit.ly/s2e1-shownotes This episode uses the following multimedia samples and sources: “Say Good night”, Joakim Karud "Morpho Diana", Rachel Collier "Oasis" Excerpt from "Mercy" (Cobra Kai, S1E10)...
At the end of a momentous year, Kelly and Aram take a moment to reflect on what 2020 meant for the Reel Asian Film Festival and bring along some friends for the ride. First, guests Mimi Vuong and Josephine Cruz, the digital producers behind the scenes of Reel Asian’s digital festival. Meanwhile, we searched the farthest reaches of the globe to get an audience member’s perspective from superfan James Goh. In our last segment, Kelly and Aram share their own thoughts on what got them through the ye...
In preparation for his summer movie showdown last month, Aram had trained for weeks on end. He’s visited every local waterfall to train under, sparred with burning logs and smouldering bbq pits, and reached out to his closest confidants about their secret takes on Karate Kid II. In this episode, Aram shares with Backstory podcast the conversations he’s had with his friends and loved ones about their shared nostalgia and memories of Karate Kid II. Content Warning : mild swearing Follow the link h...
Aram and Kelly share their summer movie picks with each other. What starts out as a congenial display of friendship and shared love for the cinema devolves into a thunderdome-styled fight to the bitter end of their friendship in defense of their honour and film tastes. Content Warning : horror, violence on screen, gore, decapitation, body mutilation, nudity, death Follow the link here for extended show notes and the episode transcript: https://bit.ly/ep6-shownote This episode uses the following ...
Aram and Kelly continue their talk with animator extraordinaire Howie Shia and master puppeteer Anne Koizuimi in an attempt to answer the question: "what is an animation?” This episode includes Anne Koizumi's live commentary of IN THE SHADOW OF THE PINES ( https://youtu.be/nI85ahkSmSA ). The first part of the conversation included Howie Shia's live commentary of MARCO’S ORIENTAL NOODLES ( https://youtu.be/IobYgrLpCX8 ). Both of their works can be found on YouTube and on CBC Gem. Follow the link ...
Aram and Kelly talk with animator extraordinaire Howie Shia and master puppeteer Anne Koizuimi in an attempt to answer the question: "what is an animation?” This episode includes Howie Shia's live commentary of MARCO’S ORIENTAL NOODLES ( https://youtu.be/IobYgrLpCX8 ). The second part of this conversation, which includes Anne Koizumi's live commentary of IN THE SHADOW OF THE PINES ( https://youtu.be/nI85ahkSmSA ), will be available next week. Both of their works can be found on YouTube and on CB...
In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, Aram and Kelly take a trip down memory lane(s) to reconnect with friends of the festival. They talk with Chris Chin, festival and operations manager for Reel Asian, about the festival's latest archival campaign "#untiltomorrow", which bring together works featured at past Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Content Warning : light swearing Follow the link here for an extended shownote and episode transcript: https://bit.ly/ep3-shownote Visit us...
