Rhode Island International Film Festival 2019 – Bunny Man
Over a meal at a Chinese restaurant, four Taiwanese friends' discussion over the differences between FOB (fresh off the boat) and CBC (Canadian born Chinese) grows heated when a mysterious Bunny mascot enters.
Interview with Writer/Director Athena Han
Watch Bunny Man here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Many terms are born in multicultural cities to categorize people into different groups. Since immigration from Taiwan to Canada, the terms that I learned and are then the most familiar with are FOBs and CBCs. FOB, which means fresh off the boat, used to be a term for people who literally just immigrated here via boats. It has a derogatory implication to it. However everyone has different interpretations of the terms, and categories are created to identify people with different types of backgrounds. These are very interesting to me as I’m constantly struggling to identify myself. When Vancouver Asian Film Festival hosted a movie making marathon, my friend Michelle Kee, who is also the producer on Bunny Man, pushed me to submit a video pitch. So I wrote Bunny Man to discuss on the topics and was fortunate enough to get selected to make the film for the competition. We made the film within a month, from script writing, production to post production.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Because it could be fun!
Even though not everyone understands the terms FOB (fresh off the boat) or CBC (Canadian born Chinese), but the struggle to “fit in a group” is universal. This struggle is real and sometimes could be harsh to bare. Judgements and different perceptions are haunting sometimes. The feeling of being different can be uncomfortable and scary, as if being stared at. And even though we dislike being judged, we ourselves cannot avoid being guilty of judging others, labelling people with stereotypes and putting others in categories. I don't think we can ever live in a world without judgement (it is a subconscious things we humans do), I want to open up and talk about it - with a bunny mascot!
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The entire film is based on my own experiences with countless conversations I have with my friends - of course, except the bunny bit. Most of my close friends are people like me who have moved here long enough to adapt the culture here in Canada, but also still have a strong attachment to our cultures and traditions to be “completely Canadian.” Even though I have immigrated here for more than 15 years now, I still don’t fit in with people who were born here. For the longest time, I have mixed feelings for the term FOB and feel ashamed to be who I am and what I like. And I myself, is also guilty of subconsciously putting labels on others. This vicious cycle of identity anxiety is a universal struggle.
This film opens up discussions about being different, and it helps me to understand and try to accept who I am. Many people around the world have similar conflict they are facing - which is by being different. I don't think there is a absolute solution to this, but having more conversations about it will definitely help us to try to embrace who we are and accept the many differences between people.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
From the pitch to production is less than a month. When I learned that I got selected to make the film I haven’t started writing the script yet, so it was a tough. Although Bunny Man is not my first Mandarin film, it was difficult to come up with dialogues that sound genuinely natural and interesting at the same time. One of the biggest problems that I have is that when I covered the characters’ names I couldn’t tell apart the characters - they all sound like me! To solve this I found a shortcut - called up my friends that I based the characters on and asked them to define what is a FOB and CBC. That was extremely interesting.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The best part about this film are the conversations and discussions amongst the people involved since the developing stage to during the production and to the audiences who saw the final film. There were many questions, debates and opinions on topics such as if FOB and CBC are considered derogatory words, whether if it’s okay to call someone FOB, what exactly defines FOB, and does the word means, etc. These are very intriguing and eye opening. The more we talk about it, the more open we are to accept our differences.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The conversations that were spark from the films can get very interesting and challenging are when people have a different definition for the terms than me, especially for the term FOB (fresh off the boat). Some people think it's a terrible and insulting word, some think it has become a part of us ("us" as being someone who has immigrated here, who is part Canadian and part their hometown). And what is the most interesting is that sometimes when we think we are the oppressed under racism, there are times we have become the racist when putting people from the same heritage in categories.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope to connect with more people who face the same struggles via Bunny Man!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I don't intend to change or make a huge impact on people with this film. I simply want to talk about this experience of living in mix cultures and hope to connect with people who feel the same.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am currently working on two short projects that will be in production later this year: Portrait and Project Pretentious.
Interview: August 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Bunny Man
Over a meal at a Chinese restaurant, four Taiwanese friends' discussion over the differences between FOB (fresh off the boat) and CBC (Canadian born Chinese) grows heated when a mysterious Bunny mascot enters.
Length: 7:51
Director: Athena Han
Producer: Athena Han, Michelle Kee, Jon Warne
Writer: Athena Han
About the writer, director and producer:
ATHENA HAN is a Taiwanese-Canadian writer-director based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her film Home was screened at film festivals including Whistler Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival, Golden Harvest Award for Outstanding Short Films and Los Angeles Asian Film Festival. The film has also received A&E Short Filmmaker Award for Best Film, Shaw Media Fearless Female Director Award and Brian Linehan Actors Award. Bunny Man, her latest film, was selected for Vancouver Asian Film Festival’s Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon. It has won 1st Place for the 10-Minute Short and People’s Choice Award for Best Overall Short, and it is currently on film festival circuit. It is selected by film festivals such as Cinequest 2019, 37th CAAMFest and 24th Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Key cast: Ciana Enyu Chang, Doralynn Mui, Johnny Wu, Alan Mak, Kasey Ryne Mazak
Facebook: Bunny Man
Instagram: @athenajchan
Hashtags used: #bunnymanfilm
Website: www.athenajchan.com
Other: IMDb