Three award-winning short films explore controversial issues within the APA community
NEW YORK (April 24, 2017) — In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, HBO will debut HBO Asian Pacific American Visionaries, a collection of three short films by emerging APA directors, on May 1st across various HBO platforms.
Exploring a range of controversial issues, the award-winning shorts examine crime, addiction and family turmoil within the APA community. Visionaries will be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and HBO Zone throughout the month of May.
About the films:
- “Monday,” directed by Dinh Thai, follows a young drug dealer who finds himself struggling with the moral implications of his illicit profession.
- “Wonderland,” directed by Tiffanie Hsu, explores the lonely and surreal world of a 12-year-old girl whose mother (played by Joan Chen) is a gambling addict.
- “Toenail,” directed by Jingyi Shao, centers around a career-obsessed yuppie having to care for his ailing father on the eve of a major promotion.
The films were the winners of HBO’s first Asian Pacific American Visionaries Short Film Competition, a contest dedicated to discovering and showcasing up-and-coming American filmmakers of Asian Pacific descent. HBO will launch the 2017-18 edition of the competition this summer. For official rules and guidelines, visit www.hbovisionaries.com.
“Asian Pacific American Visionaries is a great example of HBO’s industry leadership in not only furthering the dialogue about race and representation in Hollywood, but also taking action,” said Jackie Gagne, Vice President of Multicultural Marketing. “We’re proud to provide an unprecedented platform for emerging APA filmmakers to showcase their talents and share their unique stories with a global audience.”
