HBO sponsors Asian Pacific American Visionaries Short Film Competition

HBO

DO YOU THINK that someone has noticed the rising number of Asian/American directors helming some of today's commercially successful and critically acclaimed movies?

Maybe that's why HBO is launching a talent search especially directed at AAPI filmmakers.

"At a time when the most personal of stories are also the most universal, the diversity of our storytellers is more important than ever," stated Jackie Gagne, VP Multicultural Marketing at HBO. "Our competition is designed to celebrate the unique experiences and unsung talent that exist within the Asian Pacific American community."

Sure, we have a ways to go to achieve any sort of parity, but we also have to admit, Hollywood has never seen this level of influence of Asian and AAPI directors and producers.

A lot of it has to do with America's moviemakers trying to make their product more appealing to the Asian market, which if it reaches its potential, would dwarf the American market. Along the way, studios led by decision-makers unfamiliar with Asia, have made some embarrassing, and frankly, stupid, mistakes.

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At any rate, studios can no longer say there isn't any talent among AAPI filmmakers, Just to name a few:  Justin Lin (Star Trek Beyond and Fast & Furious), Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding), Ang Lee (Life of Pi and the forthcoming Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, John Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), James Wan (Aquaman), Taiki Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), Wayne Wang (Joy Luck Club, Because of Winn Dixie), Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham, Paris, Je T'aime), James Wan (The Conjuring) and Cary Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation & he's in negotiations for HBO's Napoleon).

HBO Asian Pacific American Visionaries is a short film competition sponsored by Home Box Office, Inc. (“HBO”) that provides emerging directors of Asian and/or Pacific Islander descent (one with origins in any of the peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, Indian subcontinent or Pacific Islands (e.g., China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands and Samoa) the opportunity to showcase their work.

Judged by HBO executives and a panel of industry experts, the competition seeks to identify cinematic storytellers who offer unique perspectives of the Asian Pacific American experience.

Three films will be selected to make their premiere at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in April 2017 and offered the opportunity to license their film to premiere exclusively on HBO (and/or its on-demand, digital and/or social platforms) during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May 2017.

Winners will be announced in January 2017. Film premieres will be at HBO's sole discretion.

To help publicize the contest, HBO has produced a promotional video, below, featuring Silicon Valley star Jimmy O. Yang encouraging AAPI directors to submit their films.

"It's inspiring to see a global entertainment brand like HBO take a leadership role in creating opportunities for Asian Pacific American filmmakers," said Francis Cullado, executive director of Visual Communications, the organization that produces the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. "The exposure provided for the winners of this competition is truly incredible and worthy of our community's full support."

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Review: A star is born in 'The Night Of'

Riz Ahmed as Nasir Khan in 'The Night Of.'

EVERYBODY is talking about the breakout performance of Riz Ahmed in HBO's new crime drama The Night Of.

Ahmed's portrayal of college sttudent Nasir Khan, a Pakistani/American from Queens. is subtle and riveting. Gawky, socially awkward, secretly seeking to break out of the nerd image he's saddle with, Khan sounds like some Asian/Americans I've known. It was easy to relate to the character.

Seeing an Asian/American in a lead role is still a rarity on television despite the success of several groundbreaking shows last Fall. What makes Khan different though, is that The Night Of is not a comedy, nor is Khan a bad-ass martial artist. 
The character played by Ahmed is a Pakistani/American student accused of murdering a young white woman.  When the woman, played by Sofia Black-D’Elia, gets into the cab driven by Khan, you instantly know she is trouble. Sensing his attraction to her, she manipulates the young student back to her apartment. After having sex, he wakes up to find her dead in bed. He panics and tries to flee the scene but a neighbor spots him.

What really drives the show, though, is Ahmed's spot-on interpretation of Khan. He turns him into a sympathetic character despite the poor choices he makes. 

When he meets his lawyer, an oddball, disheveled Jack Stone played by John Turturro, the two actors play off each other like a duet of excellent jazz musicians.

"I found a real connection to Riz as a person," Turturro told EW in a recent interview. "He's really talented and a real hard worker and so smart. Look at his performance -- it's not overdone, not at all. That's where the whole thing lives. It's all in the minutia and the moment-to-moment life and the cost to this young man's life. And that's all Riz."
“What’s interesting about this show is it’s not preoccupied with race or religion,” Ahmed tells Vulture. “It’s just a reflection of a society dealing with cultural dissonance.”

Despite Ahmed''s description, one cannot help but sense the overlaying layer of race throughout the premiere last Sunday, especially in the context of the events of the previous week when two black men were shot dead by police officers and the ongoing debate about Black Lives Matter.

Ahmed has a big year in store. In addition to starring in this HBO series, he’ll also pop up in the new Jason Bourne flick and he’s playing a hotshot pilot in a little film called Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

The Night Of is an eight-part limited series created by Steven Zaillian and Richard Price. The series is based on the BBC’s Criminal Justice, created by Peter Moffat. The story examines the police investigation, the legal proceedings, the criminal justice system and the infamous Rikers Island, where the accused in New York await trial for felony crimes.


The Night Of airs on Sunday nights 9 p.m., ET/PT, on HBO.

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