Minari Scores Double Top Honors at the Sundance Film Festival Awards
Writer/director Lee Isaac Chung's Minari took double top honors at the Sundance Film Festival's annual awards ceremony on Saturday night, winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Based on Chung’s real life, the drama follows a Korean American family that moves from Los Angeles to Arkansas to chase the American Dream. This is definitely one to watch, folks.
The Outbreak Narrative and How Fear Fuels Our Xenophobia and Racism
"Let’s be clear about this: Your fear does not justify your racism and xenophobia. Your jokes and performative panic about the coronavirus are not funny. They are deeply pointless and trivialize something that should be taken seriously. And they are creating an environment of fear, panic and disinformation that’s more dangerous than the disease itself."
How Andrew Yang Quieted the Asian American Right
"The Chinese social-media platform WeChat, once a hub for anti-affirmative-action organizers, is now reverberating with blue-hat emojis and cries for universal basic income. The flip can largely be linked to excitement surrounding one particular presidential candidate: Andrew Yang, the 45-year-old entrepreneur and political newbie who is also among the most successful Asian Americans to ever run for president. With the high level of support that Yang is getting from Asian voters, he has quieted the vocal conservative Asian American contingent that had been pulling the community to the right."
Call upon Indiana University to rectify for its ban on Japanese Americans
In May 1942, in the wake of Franklin D. Roosvelt's Executive Order 9066, Indiana University's Board of Trustees ruled that "no Jap. be admitted to Indiana University." About a dozen Japanese Americans were denied admission, including those which lived in Indiana. The Nisei College Redress Project is currently working with faculty, alumni, and community members at Indiana University to secure an apology for the Japanese Americans who were denied admission. If you are a member of the IU community, sign on to the letter here.
HBO Max Wins 5-Bidder Auction For YA Novel 'I'll Be The One'
HBO Max will adapt Lyla Lee's upcoming young adult novel I'll Be The One into a feature film, with Fresh Off The Boat's Nahnatchka Khan attached to produce and possibly direct, from a script by Colleen McGuinness. The story centers on 16-year-old Skye Shin -- a bi-sexual, Korean-American girl -- as she pursues her dreams as a participant on reality TV singing and dancing competition "K-Pop Shining Star." With the help of her new friends and her crush, world famous model Henry Cho, Skye faces the industry"s old-fashioned beauty standards head on, setting her sights on becoming a K-pop star -- one the world has never seen before.
