When the trailer for the big-budget “The Great Wall” was released, many critics couldn’t help but notice something odd at the center of this Chinese-made film about China’s greatest monument starring hundreds of Chinese actors: Matt Damon.
That Damon was starring in Zhang Zimou’s film reinforced what many Asian-Americans see about the movie and television business — that they are underrepresented, and Hollywood will go to sometimes ridiculous lengths to avoid casting an Asian-American in a lead role.
“Those things continue,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor Lori Kido Lopez. “We still see the same problems when it comes to casting or having a whole movie about the Great Wall of China starring Matt Damon.”
But Lopez said things seem to be improving for Asian-Americans both in front of and behind the camera. A small push in the right direction is Asian-American Media Spotlight, an annual festival of films by Asian-American filmmakers at the UW-Madison that Lopez started last year.
Last year’s inaugural festival featured a wide range of films, from dystopian sci-fi (“Advantageous”) to a couple of 1930s musicals. This weekend’s festival is much more focused, featuring four documentaries, three of them about Asian-American artists, including a rapper, a graffiti artist and a 104-year-old painter.
Lopez said they weren’t looking for a thread to tie the series together.
“This year has a theme, it wasn’t even intentional,” she said. “We just tried to look at what are the best Asian-American films out there. We kept loving these documentary films. The documentary film tradition is really strong.”
The fourth documentary is actually the first at the festival to be made by a UW-Madison student. Gradaute student Yizhou Xu traveled to China to make “The People’s Republic of Love,” about how the traditions and definitions of love in the country have changed in recent years.
Lopez had Xu enrolled in one of her classes and knew he had been working on the film. When it wasn’t accepted to the Wisconsin Film Festival this year, she thought it would be at home in her festival.
“I thought this would be perfect,” Lopez said. “I like the idea of having a student film, to show the breadth of the Asian-American community.”
All the films in the festival are free and open to the public.
“Bad Rap” (7 p.m. Friday, Elvehjem L140) — This documentary looks at four Asian-American rappers and their struggles to be heard in a hip-hop genre that often overlooks their contributions. Producker Jaeki Cho will be in town for a post-show Q&A.
“Tyrus” (2 p.m. Saturday, 4070 Vilas Hall) — At 104, painter Tyrus Wong has had a huge impact on 20th-century American culture, his watercolors having inspired the look of Disney’s “Bambi.” This documentary from Pamela Tom (who will do a Skype Q&A after the show) looks at Wong’s long career and struggle to overcome racism.
“Mele Murals” (7 p.m. Saturday, 4070 Vilas Hall) — This film has some thematic overlap with “Bad Rap,” looking at a pair of Hawaiian youth who are combining hip-hop graffiti style with their own indigenous culture. Director Tad Nakamura will be at the screening for a post-show Q&A.
“People’s Republic of Love” (2 p.m. Sunday, Elvehjem L140) — UW-Madison graduate student Yizhou Xu (who will speak at the screening) was born in America, but spent time in China and draws from this experience in making this documentary, which looks at how the notions of contemporary romance in China are shifting along with the economic and cultural changes the company is undergoing.
By ROB THOMAS | The Capital Times