Stories resonate and have a stronger connection with audiences when it has key specificities that give them more layers and nuance. So when something like The Harvest comes along, it can explore the complexities of family dynamics and make much more of a connection through a cultural lens.
Continue reading “‘The Harvest’ is a Moving Family Portrait Seen Through a Southeast Asian Lens”
The second season of The Cleaning Lady premieres next week, and there is so much to unpack.
Continue reading “Élodie Yung on Thony’s Criminal Descent in ‘The Cleaning Lady’ Season 2”
There are so many stories and reiterations of the Tham Luang cave rescue of the 12 boys and their football coach being released. From documentaries to dramatic films, the story of the heroic rescue has yet to be told through the eyes of the Thai people. In Netflix’s Thai Cave Rescue, the limited series will touch on the untold perspectives of the boys at the center of the rescue.
Continue reading “Netflix’s ‘Thai Cave Rescue’ Focuses on the Perspectives of the Boys and Coach”
Teeradon “James” Supapunpinyo has a newfound appreciation for meditation. After being cast in Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives as the heroic coach Ekkaphon Chanthawong stuck in the Tham Luang caves in 2018 with 12 of his football players, Supapunpinyo had to do a lot of research for the role.
Continue reading “Teeradon “James” Supapunpinyo on Preparing for His Role in ‘Thirteen Lives’”
When westerners think about Thailand, there are many thoughts that come to mind: the food, Muay Thai, or martial artist Tony Jaa. There are also many harmful stereotypes of the Thai people that Hollywood gets very wrong. Movies like The Beach or The Hangover II that showcase Thai people as dirty, thuggish gangsters and the country as an untrustworthy place. With Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives, based on true events from the 2018 Thai Cave Rescue, Thais are finally being seen as they truly are – people who love their country and its people.
Continue reading “How ‘Thirteen Lives’ Represents the Humanity of Thailand and its People”
Season two of the anticipated FOX drama The Cleaning Lady has finally revealed new key art exclusively for The Nerds of Color.
Continue reading “NOC Exclusive: ‘The Cleaning Lady’ Season 2 Key Art Revealed”
The 2022 Sundance Film Festival has come to a close, following 11 days of presenting in-depth films and conversations from all over the world, for an audience that was originally supposed to be a hybrid one. While there was so much in store in terms of new works, a major takeaway yours truly got from attendance is that there are quite a few speculative works arising from Southeast Asia, and Sundance made the world premieres possible for two of them: Ham Tran’s Maika and Martika Ramirez Escobar’s Leonor Will Never Die.
Continue reading “Sundance Highlights Speculative Storytelling From Southeast Asia”
With series like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and The Blacklist focusing on white men dealing with the mafia, it’s about time there was one that centers around a badass woman of color. Actress Elodie Yung (Daredevil, Love Death and Robots) stars as Thony De La Rosa, an undocumented Cambodian doctor whose son Luca (Sebastien and Valentino LaSalle) is diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening immunodeficiency disorder.
Continue reading “FOX’s ‘The Cleaning Lady’ is Ready to Defy Stereotypes”
For all you horror lovers out there, there is a fantastic horror film created by Asians and starring Asians that is worthy of your attention and that’s Ming Siu Goh and Scott C. Hillyard’s horror thriller Repossession. Before I go more into it, the film is now available across digital platforms, courtesy of Gravitas Ventures.
Continue reading “Prepare Yourself For ‘Repossession’”
With Raya and the Last Dragon out for about a week now, there are many thoughts and opinions being shared across the Internet about it. While a few of us here at The Nerds of Color have written extensively about Disney’s first Southeast Asian film, I thought it would be appropriate to gather together the Southeast Asian Nerds of Color writers and discuss it. Together with Laura Sirikul, Mike Manalo, and Patrick Michael Strange, in a conversation about as long as Raya and the Last Dragon itself, we go in-depth on everything from the film’s plot, how it tackled the topic of trust, the characters, the majority East Asian cast, the lack of Filipino culture and actors, and more.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers from Raya and the Last Dragon.
Continue reading “NOC Presents: A SEA Conversation about ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’”
Today, I’m beyond thrilled that I get to say that we finally have a Southeast Asian Disney Princess! That’s right! Raya and the Last Dragon is officially hitting cinemas and Disney+ via Premier Access today, and we couldn’t be happier. In fact, if you want to take a look at what we thought of the film, check out our review here.
Having said that, here at The Nerds of Color, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing may talented and wonderful actors of color; each one doing their part to further the cause of shining a light on the underrepresented. However, to me, this 10 minute interview may top them all!
Continue reading “Getting Real with Raya: An Interview with Kelly Marie Tran”
There’s no question the global pandemic has affected the lives of many within the United States having the highest COVID-19 cases and death rate. The previous administration under President Donald Trump blamed China for the deadly coronavirus, labeling the disease as the “China Virus” and, more broadly, putting targets on the backs of Asian Americans by fellow citizens who are angry by the economic and social impact of the pandemic. Since then, there has been a rise in Anti-Asian hate crimes throughout the U.S. After multiple attacks on the elderly Asian population, the media started to notice, thanks to the help of Asian American advocates and allies pushing for these stories to be shared. Multiple brands, including Disney, Nike, and Apple, began releasing statements condemning the attacks on Asians and where people can donate and show support.
Continue reading “Disney’s ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Comes at a Poignant Time for Asian Americans”
In 1937, Walt Disney debuted something that changed the history of cinema — the release of the first full length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This in turn gave birth to Walt Disney Animation Studios and a long history (at times problematic) of classic stories and adventures involving dragons and princesses that has, for the most part, arguably withstood the test of time from generation to generation. But generations change. Art and time change the world and, in turn, the world and time must also change art.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ is Relevant, Rollicking, and Remarkable”
The archival documentary filmmaking style is able to take us to times long past that can’t necessarily be recreated with the same sensitivity and grace through mere recreation — as opposed to just seeing footage of the actual subject matter in question. Unlike casting an actor to portray someone else’s experience or reinterpreting events through animation, using archival footage helps to see the real faces that once lived in spaces that no longer exist, to actual haunting, horrifying scenes of war in places where peace now exists. This synthesizes both the preservation of both art and history, because beyond just pinning names to a person on a list, archival footage can help better visualize untold stories and those who lived through them.
Continue reading “‘They Call Me Babu’ Visualizes an Untold Story”
Raya and the Last Dragon is being celebrated for being the first Southeast Asian-inspired story produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Set in the fantasy world of Kumandra, where long ago humans and dragons coexisted in harmony. After an evil force called the Druuns threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity with the creation of the Dragon Gem. Raya’s family are the Guardians of the Dragon Gem and must protect the gem at all costs. When conflict arises within the clans, the same evil returns and causes a path for destruction. It is up to Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) to track down the legendary last dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) to restore the fractured land and defeat the evil surrounding it.
Continue reading “Osnat Shurer, Adele Lim, and Fawn Veerasunthorn Keep ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Authentic”
During a special presentation with select press last Tuesday, the creative team behind Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon revealed the rest of the ensemble that joins Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina in the first Southeast Asian-inspired fantasy animation set to release this March. Set in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons coexisted in harmony. But when an evil force called the Druun threaten their world, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, the Druun have returned and it is up to Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) to track down the last dragon, Sisu (Awkwafina), and find the missing pieces to the Dragon Gem to rid their land of evil and unite its divided people.
Continue reading “Disney’s ‘Raya and The Last Dragon’ Announces the Rest of the Cast”
For two weeks already, the fantasy-crime-martial arts series, Wu Assassins, has been streaming on Netflix. Centered in modern day San Francisco Chinatown, it follows a chef who finds out he is the last Wu Assassin; the one whose destined to stop the five Wu Warlords from obtaining the powers of Wu Xing and using them to destroy the world.
Continue reading “The Significance of Iko Uwais in ‘Wu Assassins’”
