My Ah Ma would’ve turned 73 today. She passed a month ago but I’d like for you to get to know her a little.
Sometimes you find yourself far from family. Sometimes halfway across the world from your most loved ones. And worst, sometimes it can be near impossible to see each other. In such cases, love must transcend space and time in order to be felt. My Ah Ma (grandma) often checked in on me, usually worrying, missing and trying to protect me from such a distance.
And with her magical touch, I often felt her. I often felt safe. And I don’t say “magic” symbolically, my grandmother truly was; if ever she said anything, you could bet on your life that it was true. The doctor thought that I was a girl in the womb because there was a certain thing he couldn’t see… my grandma said he was wrong… which he was.
She’s incredibly funny. She was till the very end. She never backed down from a fight and she fought till the very end. She was an adopted child. A single mother of three children working several jobs to keep the family afloat. She fronted a Taiwanese beef noodle shop and patrolled as a neighbourhood watch member with a baton which she claims she never actually used (I don’t believe her, knowing her temper).
In 2007, she battled cancer and when all seemed lost, she made a miraculous recovery. And so if there was ever a person that life could never beat down, it was my Ah Ma. She is our hero and will always be.
I imagined that for the rest of my life I would 吹牛 (bullshit) with her about girls and life. If she said everything would be okay, then it would. Here are some places and things that remind me of her. They remind me that everything will be okay. Happy birthday 阿嬤 ❤️
New York Shorts, October 16th, 6PM @cinemavillage
“Ape” means two things: the animal itself as well as to “imitate the behavior or manner of someone, especially in an absurd or unthinking way.”
For the characters, the dilemma is to either badly imitate society's desires for them or to give in to their darkest desires and show that they are also contenders for the position of biggest ape in the jungle. APE asks, when it comes to rewriting our story as Asian immigrants, how far is too far? And what will be left of us by the end of it all?
(edited by our incredible producer/swing literally everything, @chitran_53 )
I’m eternally grateful to my incredible friends and family who made my directorial debut APE possible. We’ve just begun our festival journey and I’m proud to announce that we’ll be premiering from our home away from home, New York City @NYShorts .
This film is a personal story. APE is my attempt at grappling with a series of events, observations and personal struggles into a film which I hope will resonate. We investigate Asian masculinity and what I believe to be its generational manifestation: rage—something that I think has been overlooked in the story of immigration.
Millie and I are very proud of our product of passion, labour, love (and maybe a little blood…)
More news to come soon.
