Backstory

Recorded live at Reel Asian 27 in November 2023. Filmmakers from our S-Express showcase of Southeast Asian short films (try to) talk about film while tasting DQ (Dairy Queen) treats for the first time.

Featuring Mickey Lai (dir. A Worm, Whatever Will Be, Will Be), the team from "Ms. Pontianak" Alina Wong JinKei (director), Raja Adam Iskandar (producer), and Sheldon Chong (editor Cruel), and Reel Asian's own Kell...

Recorded live at Reel Asian 27 in November 2023, culture critic and author Jeff Yang discusses his new book "The Golden Screen: The Movies That Made Asian America" with Madelyn Chung, Founder and Editor in Chief at the RepresentAsian Project.

In this episode they discuss the trajectories of Jeff's career tracking Asian American popular culture from early print magazines to the rise of a new generation of Asian A...

RA26 Film BIG FIGHT IN LITTLE CHINATOWN director Karen Cho sits down with RA programmer Vidhya Elango and Friends of Chinatown TO member Alex Hong to discuss the film's sprawling but intimate look at Chinatowns across North America. Karen, Alex, and Vidhya expand on joy and struggle and how these Chinatowns hold a special place in our cities and communities.

In the second half, Karen, Alex, and Vidhya collaborate to scarf down ...

Backstory returns after a post-festival hiatus to usher in the launch of the fourth edition of TACLA’s Youth Critics Initiative (YCI), an annual incubator that guides emerging writers over the course of six months to produce critical works in a variety of formats in conversation with Reel Asian’s festival programming. Recorded in October during preparation for the 26th edition of the festival and fourth edition of YCI, co-editor Ja...

To celebrate the launch of his inaugural Kalabaw Bursary for Filipinx filmmakers, long time filmmaker, musician, and do-it-all maestro Romeo Candido reflects on his career in this candid conversation with the also-super-talented writer/producer Amanda Parris. The conversation was recorded prior to the 2022 Reel Asian Film Festival where Romeo was honoured as the festival's Canadian Spotlight Artist. Romeo talks about the old da...

RA26 Film UNIDENTIFIED finds Jude Chun unraveling some of the mysteries behind his indie sci-fi feature, trojan horses in genre films, his round about journey to filmmaking, and how to plan and execute a globe-trotting set piece finale.

In the second half, Jude joins Aram for "Come Eat With Me" where Jude is reminded of a Toronto specialty of days past. 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Cloud Atlas dir. Lana Wachowski, Tom Tyk...

RA26 Centrepiece Film THE GRIZZLIE TRUTH continues Kat Jayme's quixotic quest to keep the memory of the Vancouver Grizzlies alive. Reel Asian's Aram Siu Wai Collier is joined by Kat to get behind the scenes on the making of the film, the many characters met in her journeys (including "Swole Bibby"), her NBA analog, and possibly the quickest answer to our carb questionnaire. ***Conversation contains spoilers***

In the second half, K...

RA26 Opening Night Film RICEBOY SLEEPS has been collecting awards on the festival circuit. Reel Asian's Aram is joined by writer/director Anthony Shim and lead actress Seung-yoon Choi to get behind the scenes on the making of the film, their inspirations, their guilty pleasures, and the eternal battle of whether rice is superior to noodles. 

Anthony and Seung-yoon are the first Backstory guests to engage in a new segment calle...

Trick or treat? Kelly and Aram review each other’s favourite and most-loathed nostalgic Halloween candies, after sharing their memorable horror film watching experiences. Plus, some ASMR.

Happy Halloween from the Backspooky team!

Mentioned in this episode:

• No Question: Unico Is The Most Horrifying Children's Movie Ever Made

This episode uses or mentions the following multimedia samples and sources:

• “Say Good ...

Backstory hits up the west coast on this edition of the Road Trip series, joining Brian Hu, Artistic Director of San Diego Asian Film Festival, to discuss the long history of Asian American cinema, the importance of film criticism in a world of takes, and the future of Asian American filmmaking beyond Hollywood.

San Diego Asian Film Festival is hosted by Pacific Arts Movement. Follow them on social media @pacartsmovement.

Mentioned...

Aram introduces Kelly to a quintessential Asian diaspora fast food meal. Plus, a preview of what’s to come on Backstory (more mukbang?).

This episode was recorded on video! Watch it on Spotify or YouTube.

Links

• Writer Jane Hu on the Filet-o-Fish and her Chinese-Canadian upbringing

This episode uses or mentions the following multimedia samples and sources:

• “Say Good Night”, Joakim Karud
• “Morpho Diana”, Rac...

Kelly and Aram are back with another highly curated (and definitely not algorithmic) selection of k-pop tracks for the summer. Recommended for finding yourself (and discovering your inner bad boy) on a late night drive.

Check out the YouTube playlist here.

Links

• From the Backstory archives: S2E05: “Play Me” and last year’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
• For the TXT fans: TXT’s re-enactments of...

Emerging from our winter and covid lockdowns, we take an audio road trip to visit with film festival friends along the East Coast. We talk about the joys and challenges of our respective cities and festivals and detail the intricacies of how the (festival) sausage gets made.

Emerging from our winter and covid lockdowns, we take an audio road trip to visit with film festival friends along the East Coast. We talk about the joys and challenges of our respective cities and festivals and detail the intricacies of how the (festival) sausage gets made.

Is it too late to say Happy New Year? Kelly and Aram talk about new year traditions while reflecting on the past (festival) year and look ahead to what's to come. Including a possible truce in one of their long standing conflicts?

Grayson returns to help Jen host this special Asian Media Year In Review trivia episode, with Kelly and Aram battling it out to defend their carbohydrate of choice. Happy New Year from the Backstory team!

Aram and Kelly are joined by Tony, Althea, Ammar, Jen, and Ange to celebrate 10 years of Unsung Voices, Reel Asian’s annual summer workshop for first-time filmmakers. They reminisce over the untold challenges behind their first films, before being put to the test in a round of Unsung Voices trivia. Tune in to the very end to hear more Unsung Voices filmmakers share their favourite memories.

Ever wonder about the origins of the ninja or what it was like growing up in a video rental store in small town Ontario? Aram is joined by Grayson Lee in this episode to discuss the legacy of martial arts in cinema, Ninja Turtles merch, empowerment through orientalization, and terrible films that are also very good. Follow Grayson on Instagram @grime_ninja.

Kelly walks Aram through his first (and perhaps last?) watch of CRASH LANDING ON YOU, 2019’s love story of the year (arguably). Will his love for the show crash and burn, or paraglide and land on his summer heart?