Join us for a weekend, October 10-11th, celebrating Asian American stories at Madison’s Asian American Media Spotlight, brought to you by the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Advantageous (2015), Oct 10, 2pm at The Marquee, Union South
In this beautifully shot science fiction drama, Jacqueline Kim stars as a woman who will do anything to protect her daughter Gwen’s future. When she is fired from her job as the spokesperson for a corporation called the Center for Advanced Health and Living, she starts to consider taking up desperate measures that could threaten everything about life as she has known it.The futuristic setting provides the backdrop for exploring questions of social hierarchies, gender, family relationships, and personal identity.
Operation Popcorn (2015), Oct 10, 7pm at Cinematheque, Vilas 4070, Followed by Q & A with director David Grabias
During the Vietnam War, the CIA recruited Hmong tribesmen in the hills of Laos to fight the Communists. Forty years later in California, LoCha Thao, a Hmong human rights activist (and former Wisconsin resident), is mysteriously approached about buying weapons to continue the fight. Recounting the rise and fall of General Vang Pao and his Secret Army, this complex and compelling documentary calls to mind the true stories behind both Argo and American Hustle.
Dangerous to Know (1938) and Daughter of Shanghai (1937), Oct 11, 2pm at the Chazen Art Museum
Anna May Wong, the only Asian-American leading lady of her era, stars as a fascinating young woman who breaks up the illegal alien smuggling gang that killed her father. The first half of this double feature of late 30s Paramount ‘B’ thrillers from the stylish European emigre Florey is a superb vehicle for Wong, which also features co-star Anthony Quinn.The second half of this double feature provides another fine showcase for Anna MayWong, who co-stars as a scorned and vengeful mistress of a ruthless racketeer. Anthony Quinn, Wong’sDaughter of Shanghaico-star, also appears.
Tested (2015), Oct 11, 7pm at The Marquee, Union South, Followed by Q & A with director Curtis Chin
Nowhere is the gap in opportunities for different races in America more evident than our nation’s top public schools. In New York City, where blacks and Hispanics make up 70% of the city’s school-aged population, they represent less than 5% at the city’s most elite public high schools. This documentary follows a dozen racially and socioeconomically diverse 8th graders as they fight for a seat at one of these schools. Their only way in: to ace a single standardized test. Tested includes the voices of educators, education experts, students, and their families as it explores such issues as access to a high-quality public education, affirmative action, and the model-minority myth.
Madison’s Asian American Media Spotlight is sponsored by The Cinematheque, WUD Films, the Asian-Pacific American Law Students Association/South Asian Law Students Association (APALSA SALSA), the Hmong American Student Association (HASA), The Hmong Studies Consortium, and the Asian American Student Union (AASU). For more information, please contact: Dr. Lori Kido Lopez | 6134Vilas Hall | LKLopez@wisc.edu