SUN NOV 11

1:00 PM

THE ROYAL

BUY TICKETS

SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE

TORONTO PREMIERE | RATED 14A

Director: Debbie Lum | USA 2012 | 85:00 | HDCam | English and Mandarin w/ English Subtitles
Producer: Debbie Lum | Writers: Debbie Lum, Tina Nguyen, Amy Ferraris | Cinematographer: Debbie Lum
Editor: Tina Nguyen | Music: Gordy Haab

Best Director, Documentary, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2012
Official Selection–SXSW Film Festival 2012
Official Selection–Silverdocs 2012
Official Selection–Vancouver International Film Festival 2012

Steven is a white male, twice-divorced and in his early 60s who fantasizes about having a sweet, subservient Asian bride; a “nightmare” for our narrator, Chinese-American filmmaker Debbie Lum, and an inflammatory subject at best. But after meeting Steven, Debbie decides his “yellow fever” is maybe the perfect subject for a documentary exposé of cultural stereotyping —until his fantasy comes true when Steven meets Sandy online who is a 30-year- old woman from Shenzen, China. Expectations are overturned and misunderstanding reigns when Sandy leaves China for the first time and lands in California to marry Steven. With a healthy dose of skepticism and humour, Seeking Asian Female tells the universal yet specific story of marriage and the battle of the sexes, while wading the murky waters of documentary ethics.

Without a green card, Sandy is house-bound but she is far from the docile mate Steven expected. Following Steven and Sandy through the rocky beginnings of their relationship, Debbie is thrown into the middle of their bizarre union to translate with her college-learnt Mandarin, and must challenge her own perspective and bias. Steven and Sandy establish an erratic bond and fragile trust that is tested daily, while Debbie asks herself if she has gone too far in steering their marriage for her lens. Bridging the gap between cultures is a position that mirrors the cross-cultural complexities of her own history: growing up Chinese American. Cleverly eschewing a sensationalist or exploitative approach, Debbie Lum navigates provocative ground with wit and empathy. Intimate and candidly quirky, Seeking Asian Female is ultimately a three-voiced story of dismantling stereotypes and building cultural sensitivity, that translates the complexities of globalization into a personal tale of compassion.

- Serena Lee

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Debbie Lum is a San Francisco-based filmmaker. Lum has worked as an editor and producer on many award-winning documentary and fiction films. Seeking Asian Female is her feature-length directing debut. She recently completed the PBS Producer’s Academy, holds an M.F.A. in Cinema from San Francisco State University and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Brown University.

REVIEWS:
"an engrossing, charming story of how three virtual strangers, thrown together, learn about themselves and each other as their preconceived notions meet reality. The three never found what they thought they were looking for, but as the movie ends, they appear to have discovered something better." - Voice of America

"A documentary that becomes progressively more fascinating as it develops, Seeking Asian Female digs far beyond what its cringe-inducing title might imply…a funny, warm, worthwhile experience." - Twitch

PRINT SOURCE:
Debbie Lum
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seekingasianfemale.com