We're F*@#King Tired! Short Films by Asian Americans
This is a collection of short films created by Asian Pacific Islander Desi American filmmakers. These films navigate how to tell stories during the pandemic and the rise of Asian hate crimes.
A virtual event occurred on Zoom May 21, 2021.
Featuring:
PaChia Vang, Blongsha Hang, Xiaolu Wang, John Vang, Kazua Melissa Vang, Randy Xiong, Tsuab Yang, Ethan Okamoto, Peter Yang
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Check out the films on the APIA MN Film Collective's Vimeo Page:
tsuab yang
BIO: Tsuab was born in the warm state of California and then moved to Minnesota at the young age of five years old. As the youngest in a household of 7, there was never a quiet time even when sitting in front of the television. She grew up like a typical Hmong kid in the 90’s watching a lot of Hmong dubbed Hong Kong action films and eating ramen with fried eggs. Tsuab’s love of cinema was what ultimately led her to getting her bachelors in Cinema & Media studies from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Now she is currently pursuing her dreams of filmmaking through writing her own screenplays or being on set of various film projects.
ABOUT THIS FILM: For this short film project, I want to shoot something that is fun and entertaining. Having contrasted the COVID virus, I want to film a mukbang style of video even though my smell and taste hasn’t completely come back. I won’t be filming the bling taste test like the popular tik-tok videos, but simply of me enjoying and being grateful for the food. A lot of local restaurants suffered during the pandemic so I will be ordering food from some of the locally owned businesses therefore supporting the economy. I originally thought about cooking my own food to promote staying home however my cooking skills are subpar and the food would come out looking not appetizing. So, restaurant food it is!
This project isn’t solely just a video of me eating, but it will also be of me talking about my experience with living through COVID. I will go in depth about how I contracted the virus, being isolated in my room, the mental toll of having the virus, and recovering from it. I know there are a lot of people out there who think they won’t catch it. I must admit, I was one of those people because I thought I was being safe. I want to use this chance to inform people who are like me and encourage them to take extra precautions even when they think they were being careful.
To sum up the video basically, it will be me giving a PSA warning while eating because I can multitask.
PaChia vang
BIO: PaChia Vang is a Hmong American actress and artist based in the Twin Cities. She is most known for her work in the Hmong American web series Hmong Organization (H.O.) and the Lifetime holiday film The Christmas Listing. She has been active in the Twin Cities film community for three years. PaChia is delighted to have worked with many local filmmakers and has enjoyed training with the Guthrie Theater, Funny Asian Women Kollective (FAWK), and The BGB Studio in Los Angeles. In 2019, her photography series In-Between was featured at In Progress and Eagan Art Works. Stitch marks her debut as a screenwriter and filmmaker.
ABOUT THIS FILM: Stitch is a semi-biographical short film about a Hmong American woman who finds healing and solace in sewing Paj Ntaub while persevering through traumatic events during the COVID pandemic.
My grandmother taught me how to sew Paj Ntaub over the pandemic. Being home every day, it seemed a good time to learn. My grandmother and aunt often keep themselves busy by sewing Paj Ntaub to make Hmong clothing for our family.
What kept me from trying Paj Ntaub work as an adult was remembering the knots I made when I was first taught as a child. I recall these knots were frustrating and impossible to resolve. Revisiting this craft as an adult, I realize these mistakes are easily fixable and within my control. My huge takeaway from sewing Paj Ntaub is that it is therapeutic, and it has grounded me in staying present. Stitching and breathing share a rhythm. Pulling the needle in, pulling the needle out. Breathing in, breathing out.
When I wrote my screenplay, I thought most about the visuals and sequences in my film. I knew I wanted minimal dialogue and had no plans to record sound on set. I was inspired by both silent films and quiet movie moments where audiences turn to the subtleties in the scene. These moments are powerful to me.
I want to personally thank the APIA MN Film Collective for this wonderful learning experience, and for supporting me in bringing my vision to life.
blongsha hang
BIO: Blongsha Hang (he/him/his) is a filmmaker, writer, teacher, and mentor within the arts community in the Twin Cities. He is a son of Hmong Laotian immigrants. He was born and raised in Minnesota. His art primarily focuses on nostalgia and how film brings awareness to viewers on unwarranted memories such as moments, people, and places that find their way back to them.
ABOUT THIS FILM: Video Description: A typewriter ribbon unwinds as a projection of an Asian American is projected over it. This film shows an Asian American grieving without words, because to speak of the grief raises one important question: Will it be heard?
To depict the struggles in the narration of Asian American stories and experiences is complicated. Asian Americans are still misrepresented and wrongfully categorized as other or the model minority. Their pain, sufferings, and traumas are silenced. When will the otherness or model minority myth stop perpetuating the Asian American narrative and experience? In 2020 and currently, COVID-19 did not teach Asian Americans about these harmful prejudices and behaviors towards them in recent times. Those thoughts and ideas were always here before the global pandemic, and Asian bodies carry on that frustration and discrimination silently.