The Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts Presents
The Space Between Us:
Asian American Shorts
Co-presented by Northwestern University’s Asian American Studies Program, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media (FAAIM)
Family dynamics are central to the four short films selected for this year’s Asian American Short Film Showcase at Northwestern. Although different in style, storylines, and genre, these shorts by Jess X. Chen, Jamie Lam, Flo Singer and Maya Wanner all traverse emotionally charged territory to move beyond family trauma and show the possibility for healing and connection.
Panelist:
Qianhui Zhang, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, CAPS
Helen Cho, Visiting Assistant Professor, Asian American Studies Program
Maya Wanner - filmmaker, Northwestern University, MFA in Documentary Media alumna
Huu T. Ly - Foundation for Asian American Independent Media
Date: Thursday, February 22nd, 7 PM
Location: 1920 Campus Drive Evanston, IL 60208
FREE event - RSVP required:
The Film Lineup
My Mother’s Daughter
Directed by Flo Singer
https://flosinger.com
Overcoming family tragedy and barriers, two estranged half-sisters—one born and raised in China, the other in the U.S.—meet for the very first time and attempt to bridge gaps in distance and culture.
2022 | Documentary | USA | 13 mins | English
The Mess We’re In
Written and Directed by Jamie Lam
https://www.jamielam.ca/
Still living in the hoarder’s house she grew up in, young adult Dara contemplates moving forward in life.
2022 | Narrative | Canada | 11 mins | English, Cantonese w/ Subtitles
Little Sky
Written and Directed by Jess X. Chen (they/them)
https://www.jessxsnow.com/
A non-binary Chinese-American drag queen returns to their home town to confront their estranged father about the childhood memories that continue to haunt them.
2021 | Narrative | USA, Canada | 12 mins | English, Cantonese w/ Subtitles | Digital
All the Ways to Say I Love You
Directed by Maya Wanner
https://www.mayawanner.com
All the Ways to Say I Love You is a personal film about two generations of mothers and daughters. 40 years after her death, filmmaker Maya Wanner begins to ask questions about her grandmother, her mother’s life in Korea, and the complexities of their relationship. The past ripples, refracts, and reverberates through generations in a swirl of intimate interviews, magical realist imagery, and home video footage that reveals the enduring love that mothers and daughters share.
2023 | Documentary | USA | 20 mins | English | Digital
Meet The Panelist
Dr. Qianhui Zhang, Ph.D., (she/her) is a licensed clinical psychologist and staff psychologist at the Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) at the Northwestern University since 2016. At CAPS, she provides individual and group therapy, training, and community-based programming, and her work is grounded in trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and culturally responsive framework. Her clinical expertise includes varied forms of trauma, grief/loss, disordered eating and body image, depression/anxiety, and mental health stigma among college student population. She provides professional training and programming around the decolonization of mental health practices, race-related stress/trauma, intergenerational trauma, cross-cultural adjustment and immigration stress. Since joining CAPS, she serves as mental health liaison with the international student and Asian American student populations on the Evanston campus.
Helen Cho’s research and teaching examines the role of mass media in producing and disseminating narratives of socio-political difference, and how narratives of difference shape the way people navigate their ascribed and avowed racial and ethnic identities in U.S. and international contexts.
Maya Wanner is a mixed race documentary filmmaker pursuing her MFA in Northwestern University’s Documentary Media program where she focuses on uplifting underrepresented stories. Her primary interests include immigrant family narratives, intergenerational trauma and healing, multiracial identity, and Asian American stories. She has a range of experience in film from teaching, directing, and freelancing for a range of production companies. https://www.mayawanner.com/
Huu Ly is a Film Programmer and Marketing Coordinator for The Foundation for Asian American Independent Media (FAAIM) and has been programming since 2009 for The Asian American Showcase at The Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. The Asian American Showcase is the longest running film festival to exclusively showcase Asian American stories and filmmakers. He has also programmed for The Houston Asian American and Pacific Islander Film Festival (HAAPIFF) and The Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF). Huu has served as an Asian American community leader for the Chicago chapter of The National Association of Asian American Professionals as Vice President of Operations and as a board member of The Vietnamese Association of Illinois.