LUMINA

The first season of LUMINA, the thrilling new web series by Jennifer Thym, is up for viewing online.

The series is written, directed, produced and starring an assortment of Asian-Americans and Asian-Canadians. Shot on location in Hong Kong, it is a nine-part series starring JuJu Chan (TVB People’s Choice Award for Miss Chinatown USA 2009), Michael Chan (star of the You Tube hit Wall Street Fighter IV), Vince Matthew Chung, (winner of Amazing Race Asia 3), among many others!
Shot with the Red One (an indie filmmaker’s dream camera), LUMINA features an intricately layered story, exciting cinematography, and spectacular Hong Kong backdrops. Along with all those things, it also proves that indie productions can be a serious contender in the web series field.
Featuring original music by Singapore indie music collective the Enigmatic Army, Asian-American college favorite Tim Be Told, China Global Battle of the Bands winner Killer Soap, plus many more.

A brief synopsis of the story goes like this: A beautiful young Hong Kong girl falls in love with a mysterious man she can only see in mirrors, only to be caught up in a whirlwind of lies and treachery.
Check out the trailer here, plus the series’ official site (where you can watch it), RockGinger’s site (Jennifer Thym’s company), and you can also watch it on Kold Cast TV.
This is, of course, only an introduction. I’ll have a more thorough post on it when I’ve actually finished watching the whole thing.

Love?

BANANA is happening this weekend, so in honor of it, and because I won’t be able to be in Los Angeles, I thought I’d glance at Lac Su’s I Love Yous Are For White People. Many other blogs have covered it, so I thought I’d get a piece of the action.

I Love Yous Are For White People deals with the pursuit of happiness. Lac Su’s family is in pursuit of the so-called American Dream, while Lac himself longs for much needed affection from his father. His family escaped Vietnam in 1979 and ended up in Southern California, a cultural smorgasbord that still refused to incorporate anybody like Lac’s family into it. Through gang activity, short-lived friendships, cultural awakenings, among other things, Lac manages to survive the high heat brought upon by the racist American institution that threatens to tear apart anybody that doesn’t conform to its norms and ideologies.

Honestly, you should just go out and read the book instead of listening to me, because Lac Su explains it a hell of a lot better than I ever could. Seriously, go. Now.

Kurosawa & Che

Whoa. Check this out. Criterion is set to release a 25-film box set dedicated to Akira Kurosawa, one of the greatest artists the medium has ever known. It includes some of his most well known movies: Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, and Yojimbo, plus some of his lesser-known WWII-era films, and his final Madadayo.

Kurosawa is one hell of a filmmaker. Anyone who is a movie lover or is interested in film and cinema definitely needs to start watching his movies if they haven’t already.

The drawbacks: There are some noticeable absences (like Ran), and $400 is always pricey.

Criterion is unleashing this beast on December 8. Gee, I wonder what holiday they had in mind.

Also being released in a Criterion edition: Steven Soderbergh’s epic biopic Che, starring Benicio Del Toro as the revolutionary guerilla fighter. I didn’t get around to seeing this movie, but I definitely wanted to in theaters (being a fan of Ernesto "Che" Guevara), all four-and-a-half hours. I guess I’ll have to wait till January 19 of next year on DVD (or Blu-Ray).

Sports & Politics: When Worlds Collide

Dave Zirin’s What’s My Name, Fool: Sports & Resistance in the United States reveals that professional, collegiate, individual, and Olympic athletes are indeed capable of speaking out for causes and issues too often thought to be outside of the interests of big time sports.

Zirin argues that the media, especially ESPN (owned by Disney), team owners, corporations, and the overemphasis on patriotism all contribute to a negative perception of sports. Fortunately, there have been individuals who have turned against the grain: Muhammad Ali, who refused to be drafted into Vietnam, among other things; Jackie Robinson, the pioneer of integrated baseball who battled racism from all sides; Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who raised their fists in support for the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Those are just a few of the athletes Zirin sheds a positive light on.

On the other hand, Zirin reveals the darker side to stars like Reggie White (homophobia) and Michael Jordan (commercialization). The public financing of stadiums is also derided; as it brings more money into the pockets of greedy, corrupt owners (this is something Minnesotans should take a look into).

One of the most surprising, and controversial, things Zirin does is defend Barry Bonds, the epitome of the “steroids scare” in Major League Baseball.

Everything is touched on: racism, sexism, homophobia, international sports, and wartime politics. Whether the reader agrees or disagrees with what Zirin has to say, one can’t deny the power in his words, and his love for both sports and socio/political issues, two things that rarely seem to go together. When they do come together, as this book demonstrates, watch out; it’s a force to be reckoned with.

Check Out This Film

I recently got word from Ranju Majumdar that he has just completed a low-budget (well actually, NO budget) film titled Determinism. I’m definitely down with Asian-Americans putting their stories, experiences, art, etc. out there for the public to see. It’s a very imperative and useful key to cultural understanding. I fully support those who try to better our understanding of race and culture through their various mediums.

Check out the trailer above, as well as the film’s website. The first line of the synopsis is:

A taut story about the dark side of friendship, the ultra low budget feature, DETERMINISM, is set in a racially charged fictional college town in Pennsylvania, where students and drug dealers are often one and the same.

Damn. Can’t wait to check out the finished movie.

Matsui=MVP

Last Wednesday, the Yankees won their 27^th Championship. I was rooting for the Phillies (and the Angels, and the Twins), but alas, the Evil Empire...er, the Yankees took another title home to the Bronx. On the bright side, Hideki Matsui won MVP after a stellar game 6 to clinch. He was a triple away from hitting for the cycle. He also became the first Japanese-born player, and DH to win the award.

Apparently, some people think a Phillies player should have won MVP (ex. Chase Utley). I have never thought it made sense to give it to a player of the team that lost. Regardless of how great they played, it wasn’t good enough to get their team the championship.

Overall, the World Series was the first since 2003 to reach the sixth game, though it wasn’t as good as the Series in 2001, ’02, and ’03. Regardless of the eventual outcome, but in terms of competitiveness, it was definitely better than 2004, ’05, ’06, ’07, and ’08.

Delicious Banana

Lac Su, the author of the memoir I Love Yous Are For White People, will be co-hosting an extra special event on November 21 in Los Angeles at USC. Get ready for BANANA, a gathering and panel of well-known Asian-American bloggers. Sounds like it should be a great, informative day, with bloggers coming together with those they’ve never met, yet know them well through their respective AA-centric writings.

According to Lac Su, the proposed agenda will look something like this:

1. Meet and greet colleagues
2. Round table discussion among colleagues only (filmed)
3. Open the door to the public (since we have the auditorium to sit 150 people)
4. Introduction to the public (filmed)
5. Discussion about specific APA issues--to be determined (filmed)
6. Q & A (filmed)
7. Meet and greet public/photos (filmed)
8. Social event off campus (?)

I was fortunate to get an invitation from Lac himself by e-mail, a gesture I greatly appreciated. However, I won’t be able to make it, due to my current financial state and schedule. I’m disappointed, but I’ll be sure to keep my eyes out for more updates, as well as get as much info as possible on the actual event when it rolls around.