Heard from my man Evan Jackson Leong of Arowana Films, who shares this special project in honor of the Lunar New Year: Chinatown Connection. It's a really cool, moody performance video that blends Chinatown street scenes, traditional lion dance, and hip hop. Great stuff! Take a look:
Directed by Evan Jackson Leong, the video features Sheela Awe, the New York Lion and Dragon Dance Troupe, Rooby the Rabbit, Red Egg Restaurant, and the music of Adam Murphy. Here's a little bit of background about what inspired piece, according to Evan: Lions, Rabbits, and Chinese Food: CHINATOWN CONNECTION.
I'm new to New York Chinatown and this is my beginnings of me getting to know it. Even though I'm 6th generation canto, I've always felt a strong cultural "connection" to Chinatowns everywhere. I think they're awesome! Cheap food, cheap stuff, and great customer service! I make no claims to being more Chinese or less Chinese, (whatever that means) I don't speak Chinese at all and my vocabulary probably doesn't span more than 10 Chinese foods. Come on, I'm 6th generation. But I grew up in a household where cultural traditions were celebrated and honored. I have a lot of pride and sense of identity in my heritage and fkn proud to be a Chinese American. So, anyways that's my "connection"!Really nicely done. According to Evan, getting a shot of a rabbit in the snow was one of the more difficult parts of the shoot. Big props to Rooby. For more information about Chinatown Connection and to see more from Arowana Films, go to their website here.
Let's get into how this project was inspired and what its all about.
I wanted to explore four areas that fell under the umbrella of tradition vs. contemporary around the Lunar New Year. Unfortunately I think I probably only executed about 3 and half. Borders, Preparation and Process, Year of the Rabbit, and Dance. The semi story revolves around Sheela Awe, who makes her way around New York's Chinatown and meets another kind of dancer.