|
Close-up: Director Chris Chan Lee
Coming from Hollywood doesn’t necessarily mean working within the Hollywood box. Chris Chan Lee came from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and demonstrates a trajectory from mainstream film environment to an independent film career.
By Natasha Chen
Out of the Fog
A Pioneer
You might call it Asian American cinema, but Lee says he just seeks the human stories universal to all audiences. Of course, he tells stories through the lens of the Asian American culture that he knows so well.
His first film, Yellow, revolved around eight Korean American high school students whose prom night turns violent and leaves an indelible mark in their lives. The movie won the 1999 Golden Ring Award for Best Asian American Independent Film (see “Multimedia” on the right for a video of the award ceremony). Lee was also nominated for a Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury prize in 1998.
His latest feature shown at the San Francisco Asian International Film Festival is Undoing, which follows the journey of a young man who returns to L.A. to avenge a friend’s death only to get caught up in the world of gangs and drugs that he tried so hard to escape.
A pervasive theme in Undoing is the nonverbal communication told through close-ups on characters’ eyes. Lee says this silent intensity was a key component of his experience growing up with Korean parents. (See the first clip above to hear what inspired his movie).
A spot on the indepedent scene
In an interview during this year’s festival, Lee described the unique viewership of independent cinema. Of San Francisco in particular, Lee said, “The audiences have grown, the venue is bigger, and the slate of films has become much more diverse.”
The festival gives him a chance to screen his work away from the main industry in Los Angeles. (See the second clip above to hear his thoughts on the San Francisco audience.)
Lee enjoys the critical acclaim but also remembers the hardship of making these independent films. “As a filmmaker I’ve learned never to have any expectations. I just sort of like go with what you believe in and just follow through and do it,” Lee said. Undoing took four years to come into fruition. “To actually see that we sold out both shows before the weekend, that’s really exciting. And we had a full house. We got to really share it with a full audience. It makes all the difference.”
|
