May 2022: #LoveAAPI Movies Too

May 2022: #LoveAAPI Movies Too

May is Asian-American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and we're celebrating with a film you can get through us made by folks from every Asian country. Huge thanks to Sophie and Harry for refining this excellent list! If you'd like more films from each of these countries and/or more info about these movies, subscribe to our Patreon!

Afghanistan: Osama (2003, Drama, PG-13)

Armenia: The Color of Pomegranates (1969, Biographical Drama/Music, Unrated)

Azerbaijan: Burnt by the Sun (1994, Drama/War, R)

Bahrain: The Barrier (1990, Drama, Unrated)

Bangladesh: Sincerely Yours, Dhaka (2018, Anthology/Drama, Unrated)

Bhutan: Travelers and Magicians (2003, Drama/Adventure, Unrated)

Brunei: Yasmine (2014, Teen Drama/Martial Arts, Unrated)

Cambodia: Rice People (1994, Drama, Unrated)

China: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978, Action, R)

Cyprus: Boy on the Bridge (2016, Drama, Unrated)

East Timor: Beatriz’s War (2013, Historical Drama, Unrated)

Georgia: In Bloom (2013, Drama/Coming-Of-Age, Unrated)

India: Lootera (2013, Romance/Drama, Unrated)

Indonesia: Marlina The Murderer in Four Acts (2017, Thriller, Unrated)

Iran: The Wind Will Carry Us (1999, Drama, Unrated)

Iraq: Son of Babylon (2009, Drama, Unrated)

Israel: The Syrian Bride (2004, Drama, Unrated)

Japan: Departures (2008, Drama/Music, PG-13)

Jordan: Theeb (2014, Drama/Historical, Unrated)

Kazakhstan: Kaïrat (1992, Drama, Unrated)

Kuwait: The Message (1976, Drama/Epic, PG)

Kyrgyzstan: The Adopted Son (1998, Drama, Unrated)

Laos: The Long Walk (2019, Drama/Sci-fi, Unrated)

Lebanon: The Insult (2017, Drama, R)

Malaysia: I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone (2006, Drama/Romance, Unrated)

Maldives: Faree (2021, Drama, Unrated)

Mongolia: The Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005, Drama/Family, G)

Myanmar: The Road to Mandalay (2016, Drama/Romance, Unrated)

Nepal: White Sun (2016, Drama/Adventure, Unrated)

North Korea: The Other Side of the Mountain (2012, War Drama/Romance, Unrated)

Oman: The Dawn (Al-Boom) (2006, Drama, Unrated)

Pakistan: Moor (2015, Drama, Unrated)

Palestine: Chronicle of a Disappearance (1996, Drama/Experimental, Unrated)

The Philippines: Barber’s Tales (2013, Historical Drama, Unrated)

Qatar: Clockwise (2010, Adventure/Drama, Unrated)

Russia: Dersu Uzala (1975, Adventure/Drama, G)

Saudi Arabia: Wadjda (2012, Drama/Coming-Of-Age, PG)

Singapore: Shirkers (2018, Documentary, Unrated)

South Korea: The Host (2006, Horror/Drama, R)

Sri Lanka: Death on a Full Moon Day (1997, Drama, Unrated)

Syria: For Sama (2019, Documentary, Unrated)

Taiwan: A Brighter Summer Day (1991, Drama/Romance, Unrated)

Tajikistan: Luna Papa (1999, Comedy/Drama, Unrated)

Thailand: Cemetery of Splendor (2015, Drama/Fantasy, Unrated)

Turkey: Mustang (2015, Drama, PG-13)

Turkmenistan: The Daughter-in-Law (1972, Drama, Unrated)

United Arab Emirates: 10 Days Before the Wedding (2018, Drama/Romance, Unrated)

Uzbekistan: 2000 Songs of Farida (2020, Drama, Unrated)

Vietnam: Goodbye Mother (2019, Romance/Drama, Unrated)

Yemen: 10 Days Before the Wedding (2018, Drama, Unrated)

one of my favorite lotr facts is that gondorians speak sindarin as a first language and yet when faramir was talking to frodo and sam about cirith ungol he was like “we don’t know what’s in there.” like faramir. cirith ungol is sindarin for “pass of the spider.” do the math

SUBLIME CINEMA #214 - PLEASANTVILLE

A kind of modern retelling of Adam and Eve, this movie works as pure entertainment, but peel back the layers and there’s something really amazing going on, with some really resonant messages about America and its history. It’s also a complete joy to look at - it was the first film ever fully digitized for the purpose of color manipulation, and the cinematography by John Lindley was so innovative, with subtle additions of color throughout the film which eventually explode into a symphony of visual delight.

"this character is lgbt" "what, all at once?"

yes

The first black man to win an Oscar, and rightfully so. The most elegant of movie stars and a crucial piece of black history and film history, exemplifying to white audiences that black men could be charming, non-threatening, intellectual and attractive.

I think it was a heavy burden to carry that amount of attention and restriction, representing an entire population as one man. but he did it with a love for his culture and with the respect for the art of cinema.

He was a paragon and the world of cinema is better for it.

Rest In Peace, Sidney Poitier (1927-2022)

This, also keep in mind that the “American cowboy” has been exaggerated greatly by Hollywood and popular myth - it was really only a twenty/thirty year period in the mid-19th century that essentially ended around the American civil war when barbed wire was introduced and eliminated the need for them.

If you’re ever in Denver, check out the Black American West Museum. Lots of photos, artifacts, etc.

John Wayne’s character in The Searchers was based on a black man named Britt Johnson.

#BlackHistory