25th Anniversary Screening of THE JOY LUCK CLUB

The Asian World Film Festival is in its 3rd year and is dedicated to films submitted by Asian countries for Oscar consideration. What a worthy cause, especially at this moment when so many new members from Asia are being accepted.

In addition, however, the AWFF is also dedicated to highlighting works by our Asian-American community. It was a surprising treat that they chose JOY LUCK CLUB to screen, because it meant that I was re-united with most of the lovable cast. It’s always a high-spirited affair to be with them. And it’s great to see how they have all thrived as indeed more and more interesting roles are becoming available and there is an awareness of unconscious bias.

It makes me both happy and sad that people today are still talking about JOY LUCK CLUB. Happy because it has clearly stood the test of time, and it is prescribed viewing by teachers and therapists, and helped heal many a family. But sad because there hasn’t been a single studio-backed movie with an all Asian cast since then. What is that about??

Next year, we will get to see CRAZY RICH ASIANS from Warner Bros. Let’s hope that will help break the cycle.