IU Cinema will present a film series centered on the life experiences and culture of Asian-Americans in honor of IU’s annual Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
“The inspiration, in part, behind this film series is to highlight some of that diversity, variation and multiplicity of voices within these communities,” IU Professor Ellen Wu said.
The series, entitled "Movement: Asian Pacific America," features eight films spanning a range of genres and formal styles. It begins at 7 p.m. April 2 with a screening of the documentary film “Mele Murals.”
The film explores the lives of two renowned street artists living in Hawaii. The artists share how their graffiti art has connected them with their culture and heritage and how they aim to preserve that heritage through contemporary mural-making.
Wu called the documentary stylish, fun and energetic. She said it has a sort of modern hip-hop aesthetic.
Melanie Castillo-Cullather, director of IU’s Asian Culture Center, said the series will pose big questions and investigate important cultural phenomena.
“We want to provide a space to examine important questions,” she said in an email. “How are we exploring heritage and culture? How do we interact with our friends, neighbors, classmates, colleagues and strangers we meet who have different heritages and cultures from our own?”
She said the films would contribute to dialogue surrounding topics such as modernization, poverty, interracial relationships and family.
“We hope that films provoke a conversation about these issues,” she said.
Wu said the series will present Asian-American students and community members with a rare chance to see themselves represented on the big screen.
As an Asian-American herself, Wu said the series had personal significance, too.
“Growing up on a Hollywood diet, there was never much representation of people that look like me on screen, or looked similar to me,” she said. “Usually when I saw Asians on TV, they would be in a very stereotypical role.”
Wu said part of curating the series was about smashing those tired and offensive stereotypes.
“One big thing I hope that people get out of coming to 'Movement' is just opening their eyes to the possibilities that we have in storytelling when we break out of these stereotypical depictions, and when we hand over the cameras to people from these communities,” she said.
With "Movement," she said there was also an attempt to represent Asian-Americans not only on the screen, but also behind the camera in director roles as well.
Cullather said she hopes the series’ diverse range of films can help bring attention to the often unrecognized talent of Asian-American filmmakers.
“We would like attendees to recognize the important work of Asian-American and Pacific-Islander film directors and artists,” she said.
