Ahead of this month’s AAPI Movement Short Film Festival, Noni Ford speaks with one of the organizers of the event, Katelyn Wo, about how they chose their line-up, the importance and diversity of Asian representation, and more.
One of the Creative Collaborations partners running a program this April is the Asian Culture Center. They will be screening eight short films followed by a Q&A session with one of the directors as part of the AAPI Movement Short Film Festival. I got the opportunity to talk with Katelyn Wo, one of the organizers for the event and the president of the Asian Culture Center. During our conversation, she shared more details with me about the planning and process of putting together this exceptional screening program!
So, could you tell me about why you decided to put together a short festival as opposed to having several feature-length films as part of your program in the Cinema?
Katelyn Wo (KW): Yeah, sure. Basically, we have done a short film festival a couple times through the Asian Culture Center. And kind of our reasoning, especially with Creative Collaborations since it usually is feature films, is that we wanted to capture a very diverse group of experiences. Just because AAPI, Asian Culture Center, all of these things, like Asia, is so general, there’s really just so many different identity groups, different racial groups and cultures that are under that. So, if we call it the AAPI Short Movement Festival, we want to make sure that we capture a lot of different experiences so that students and other people that come to the film festival feel represented and aren’t just seeing maybe two identities on screen with two feature films. I think we did a really good job of making sure all of the short films are diverse — there’s one that’s in Arabic, there’s one that’s in Mandarin, Urdu, Korean, making sure we’re representative of many people, which is what is special about this film festival.
Awesome! What went into specifically choosing the shorts that you decided to screen?
KW: Yeah, so, partially just looking for, again, diverse experiences, we wanted to have one that’s animated. Also, our director, Melanie [Castillo-Cullather, founding director of the Asian Culture Center], she went to the Asian Pacific American Film Festival in DC over the summer. She got to see a lot of really cool films, and then she recommended some to us. The theme for the entire film festival is movement — looking at how people, especially AAPI people, moved throughout their experiences in America specifically and how immigration effects a lot of the ways that people live and exist in America. This year, there’s a lot of themes about internalized racism, anti-Asian hate crimes. But then there’s also some wanting to balance the more heavy themes, which is obviously extremely important, with some uplifting, happy shorts too. Yeah, just showcase different people’s cultures and experiences.
I like that counterbalance.
KW: I feel like thinking about our audience too, it’s so diverse usually, like, we will have a lot of Asian students that come to all of our events, but then also you just have the broader community. So, I think it’s important for everyone to see, especially the broader community to see, okay, these are the very real struggles that AAPI people face. Then also, for many students that talk about this a lot here, it’s nice to see, “Oh, that’s a cool part of my culture that’s being celebrated.” A lot of AAPI people are not really seen in the media very well or seen in big movies. So, I think this is a really special way to show students that it’s important and that AAPI people can be the stars of these types of short films.
And I know one filmmaker who has a short featured in the festival will be part of the event as well. Can you tell me more about the process of getting in contact with the filmmakers?
KW: Neha Gautam is the filmmaker that is coming, and she is the director of Passenger Seat, which is the short film about a Pakistani girl living in New York with her father, who’s a taxi driver. I’m pretty sure she had been at the DC Film Festival. And so I think Melanie heard her talk, and knew that she was passionate and really amazing. She was really easy to get in contact with and open to sharing, so I’m really excited to get to hear her talk.
Great, great connection. What about the selection process was surprising or exciting?
KW: Whenever we sit down to find films, we always look at a lot of national AAPI short film festivals. I think the big ones are DC, Seattle, and then there’s one in Chicago. And so we always like to look at the films that they screen. It’s really fun to read through all of them, watch trailers, kind of see what people are interested in. And then yeah, I mean, just getting to pick our favorites. I think it’s always interesting, when we have a really long list, it’s hard to, like, pare it down, but then you kind of see what works together. We put them all on little cards and move them around.
It was really important to me that we had a diverse group. So, making sure, “Okay, these are about these identities, let’s kind of maybe switch in another one so that it’s more cohesive.” We start with something very happy. And then we kind of move into more serious topics. I’m really excited for Don’t Be Sorry, which is the last film of the series. It’s about this woman whose husband gets assaulted and she basically enters into this face-slapping competition. It’s really lighthearted but also funny, and also talking about these very serious themes. And then I feel AAPI people often are stereotyped as almost just timid, so I really liked this film. [The main character of film is] like an older Korean American lady and she’s very powerful and very strong and so I’m really, really excited for that film. We tried to make it so that [the shorts program] is bringing you through a journey.
Katelyn Wo
Tell me more about this board.
KW: I wrote [the short films] all on little flashcards. And I’d include a very short synopsis, like, the identity group, the language that it’s in, and then, like, “happy,” “sad,” that kind of thing. And then moved them around. I think another thing to know is this is my third time helping plan this. I helped plan the film festival during my freshman year. It was the first year that we brought it back after COVID. I am not like a film person at all, but I’m really excited because for the last two years, we haven’t had a cinema with us. And so now that we have [the IU Cinema], they’ve been really helpful in getting the films, but then also having their expertise on what the Q&A should look like. They’ve been really helpful, which has been great.
Are there any shorts at the festival being screened for the first time?
KW: I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure none of them are being screened for the first time. But there is one that was made and directed in 2023. I mean that’s the newest one, so I don’t think it’s the first time. Yeah, but definitely all very new, very pertinent [shorts]. Some of them are very hard to get a hold of, because they are pretty small and unique, it’s not like you can just find them and screen them. Especially with short films, it’s hard to find a lot of short films easily accessible online, you definitely have to pay for a screening fee and stuff. So, this is definitely the best way to get to see a lot of these.
Absolutely, yeah. Why do you think film is a good medium to reach different audiences through?
KW: I think it’s just one of the best, especially for what we’re trying to do with this program. And I think we’ve talked a lot about shorts versus feature films. The diversity part is the biggest factor for us, but also, I think, for college students, short films in one event, one night, is a lot more palatable than having students sit for a whole film. This is a good gateway for students that maybe don’t go to IU Cinema or aren’t really engaged with some of the events that are going on. But through their familiarity, maybe, with the Asian Culture Center, and knowing what we do, they know that this would be an interesting event to attend.
I know that AAPI Heritage Month is coming up in May. I was wondering if you could tell me your favorite film that features an Asian–American or Pacific Islander in a lead role?
KW: I have a couple of answers! I mean, basic answer: Everything Everywhere All At Once. Everyone loves that film. But that representation is just incredible — created by Asian people, starring one of my favorite people ever, Ke Huy Quan, and Michelle Yeoh too. My family is from Hong Kong and she was a really famous Kung Fu star there, so we love Michelle Yeoh because we used to watch a bunch of her movies, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. My dad would show that to us all the time. So, to see that and for it to be popular like that is so special. Um, oh, gosh, what’s another? I’m taking a Korean film class, and so I’m getting a lot of really cool Korean representation. I love Snowpiercer, that’s one of my favorites. And Okja. I love Bong Joon-ho movies. I mean, nothing tops Everything Everywhere, though, especially for the Asian-American experience. I think it is really special to a lot of people, me included.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
The AAPI Movement Short Film Festival will be screening at the IU Cinema on April 11 at 7pm as part of the Movement: Asian/Pacific America series. A Q&A with filmmaker Neha Gautam will follow the screening.
Three days after the festival at IU Cinema, the Asian Culture Center will be screening a documentary called Mix, a film about mixed kids and biculturalism. The event commemorates 50 years after the Supreme Court case that officially allowed interracial marriage in America. This screening will be at the Monroe County Public Library on April 14 at 1pm and a virtual Q&A with the filmmakers will follow.