This past Wednesday night, the Stark Family Theatre showed a pack of short films, the central theme of which showed how Chinese people, both in the United States and China, experienced the coronavirus pandemic. Attendees eagerly anticipated each film, produced and directed by USC alumni.
The panel after the screening was moderated by Jeremy Kagan, a professor of cinematic film and television production. Joe Zheng, a USC alum and director, said organizing the screening came to him naturally.
“I was so proud to watch these Asian and Asian American filmmakers make it to the big screen,” Zheng said. “I realized a lot of film festivals have limited slots. Even though these are excellent films, they just didn’t have enough showtime. I felt like this was important and we wanted to have our voices heard. So [we decided to] join forces and make a collection that will construct an official length program.”
Zheng wrote and directed the last film that was shown, “July 4th, 2020.” The gut-wrenching film spotlighted the lives of a Chinese father and son surviving during the coronavirus pandemic and a man whose mother died from COVID-19. The film’s progress and emotional climax hinged on how these two separate experiences collide.
Along with “July 4th, 2020,” three other short films were shown. The first was “Wuhan Driver” (2021) by Tiger Ji, which followed a day in the life of a Chinese Uber driver as he struggles to maintain his job. Ji scattered microaggressions across the driver’s experience: ride cancellations, snide remarks and offenses born out of ignorance. While Ji was not present for the panel, Zheng recalled that Ji’s inspiration for “Wuhan Driver” was from a singular idea of an Uber driver in New York City.
The second film was “Mother in the Mist” (2021), directed, written, produced and composed by Kay Niuyue Zhang and co-produced by Robin Zhongyu Wang. “Mother in the Mist” is a story about a mother searching for her…
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