Filmmaker Vera Miao wants to scare the pants off you and teach you about social issues in the process.
Addressing the topic of representation in media, Miao explains that she isn’t “keen on the term, diversity.”
“I think it’s empty,” she said. “You can have a zillion people of color in the background, and the main characters, experiences, and gaze still white. That can still qualify as diverse. I’m interested in true representation in front of and behind the camera, and centralizing the specific experience of people who aren’t typically seen as protagonists.”
Miao also noted that the Asian-American community has some distance to go in their own discussions about race. “For too long we have coasted on the supposed benefits of the model minority myth that eludes the poverty within our communities … and the racism and especially anti-blackness perpetuated by our own families and communities,” she said.
