Tuesday, July 16th  

Written by Project Comms member Isaiah A. 

New York Asian Film Festival  

Project Comms members watched a short film program, Ode to Youth, at the New York Asian Film Festival at Lincoln Center. It was a reflection on which parts of our identity are influenced by our surroundings and personal actions. As an aspiring filmmaker, it was engaging to see the different visions that artists have to display on the screen. Out of all the films displayed, we want to highlight Now.Here, A Summer’s End Poem, and Shape of the Elephant. These films stood out because of their creative imaginative choices that made each story stand out, maintaining an engaging, relatable, and appealing story to us as audience members. 

Now.Here  

Now.Here by Hao Zhao was a stand-out film. Its compelling story and unique shots created a film that felt liberating and distinct from the others. Now.Here is a story about reflecting on one’s life and the continuous decisions that led them to their current position in life. The film tackled topics such as love, sports, friendship, and identity formation handled through the lens of his playing soccer. With its compelling cinematography, it created a visually captivating story that kept the audience constantly engaged with its creative choice of effects and framing. Through its control of shutter speed, it caused the motion blur of shots to appear distorted or slow, constantly utilizing it to manipulate time. An effect that held onto the heartstrings of the audience by putting us in the moment and feeling this character’s emotions, reliving moments of their life, but with a rapid pace of time passing to illustrate moments that passed by too quickly, that growing up, time just continues to get quicker and there’s not a moment where it stands still.  

Summer’s End Poem 

Summer’s End Poem by Lam Can-zhao is a coming-of-age film that follows a teenage boy who one day decides to use his savings on a stylish city haircut. Following this decision, we get to explore how this enacts a domino effect of choices and the interesting, unexpected outcomes that it led to. It was shot in a way that was perspective-taking, following him through his day and how this haircut would impact him, he also demonstrates the realities of a growing teenager. Utilizing shots that were calming and grounded, Can-zhao keeps the audience within the realistic environment of the story. 

Shape of the Elephant 

Shape of the Elephant by Sam Kuwa is a coming-of-age 2D film animation following a prepubescent narrator’s developing understanding of sexuality. The tone was comedic, enhanced by the visually interesting animation that made the topic easier to explore and less overwhelming. It keeps the audience entertained with its quirky moments of childhood innocence to adulthood, but also aware of the repressed knowledge on sexuality growing up in a Chinese family. 

Honorable Mentions  

Honorable mentions to When a Rocket Sits on the Launch Pad by Bohao Liu, Present Tense by Guan Haotian, and Fire of Last Night in Yimi’s Woods by Yue Yue Niao. When a Rocket Sits on the Launch Pad and Present Tense both emphasize the characters surrounding their protagonist and cinematography at the cost of undermining their stories’ overall impactful vision. Fire of Last Night in Yimi’s Woods took a less linear approach to storytelling with artificial found footage and fan-obsessed perspective that convoluted the narrative. But, because of its mesmerizing lighting, balanced composition, and various color palettes displayed on screen, it was daring to look away from it. Its visually stunning components motivate the audience to re-watch the film to further understand its complex premise. Each short had a notable quality that viewers and aspiring filmmakers alike can take away from. 

Conclusion  

Overall, the film festival presented a variety of diverse films that took on the task of engaging the audience in the visionaries’ stories through their writing or cinematography. It exhibited works on a screen showing the hard work put into each film. Thus, providing Project Comms the opportunity to analyze each film for its unique take on telling a story, and providing lessons on different aspects of adolescent life. I realized that throughout most of the films, I stayed engaged because of the unique on-screen skills and techniques created and incorporated by each artist. I became inspired to create a distinct trademark for my films that would be acknowledged for being original and dissimilar from other artists. Thus, creating a more engaging, and interactive environment for the audience.