The Filmmakers
Titi Yu This project came to be last summer. Gina Kim, who is my co-producer, approached me to do this film on the rise in anti-Asian hate.
State Senator Michelle Au Georgia should not consider itself immune from this epidemic. And to be clear, the epidemic I’m referring to is not COVID 19, but racism towards Asian-Americans.
Titi Yu At that time, we were starting to see some of the violence sort of percolate onto our social media feeds. And so, you know, we knew that this was going to be an issue.
Janice Yu, Fox Atlanta reporter And I remember getting a call from my Executive Producer who said, hey, there’s something happening. We don’t know what it is yet. It possibly involves Asian women.
Gina Kim When we first heard about the shooting in Atlanta, we were horrified and shocked. But to be honest, I think a lot of Asian Americans weren’t entirely surprised. I think they, you know, we saw it coming. Like we saw the ramping up. We heard the rhetoric.
Donald Trump We will very easily defeat the China virus. That’s what’s happening…
Gina Kim I mean, the country was already in a state of turmoil with the pandemic, a lot of tension, a lot of insecurity, economic hardship. It was already sort of this like feeling of unease. And then on top of that, to see people who look like me, who look like my family, being attacked is really horrifying, shocking, upsetting. You know? So we realized that we, you know, we need to tell the story.
Production meeting Maya, I know that you, you want to maybe just go through things with Yasu and Kimberly first and then discuss the new the changes to the to the narration.
Titi Yu NAT Yeah. I mean.
Gina Kim If Asian-Americans aren’t the ones telling the story, who’s going to tell the story?
TITLE: The Filmmakers
Bobby Peterson I had just gotten off the phone with the medical examiner and she told me that, yes, they did have a body downtown of a woman named Yong Ae Yue. That was my mother.
Gina Kim We developed a relationship with Bobby Peterson, the son of Yong Ae Yue.
Bobby Peterson I think I pulled over and just broke down in that moment.
Gina Kim We spent a lot of time with him, and we just saw the devastation, just how broken he was.
Bobby Peterson He entered Aromatherapy Spa…and shot my mother upon entrance.
Titi Yu We didn’t want people to forget that that that this tragedy happened and that, you know, these women died.
Gina Kim We had a sense of what we wanted to tell, but we really wanted to hear from the people in Atlanta.
Victoria Huynh You’re in a state of shock, right? And you’re like, this can’t be in Atlanta. And I think it was just like in the middle of the night. As I’m just laying there when I just started crying.
Janice Yu, Fox Atlanta reporter I think that was a very important moment for me to go and process that this had actually happened and what this means for the Asian-American community moving forward.
Nat sound march Justice for Asians…Let me hear you!
Gina Kim Every single person we spoke to in the film said at some point in their life, they’ve been told by somebody on the street, go back to your country. You know, you don’t belong here. Go back to China. China-boy, whatever. Every single person. And I just felt that every person we spoke to in the film, their pain was bubbling at the surface.
Titi Yu I kind of wanted to explore, you know, what does he look like? Because right after March 16th happened, everybody, that was the topic of conversation amongst a lot of Asian Americans.
Gina Kim And then all of a sudden, it just starts vanishing from the headlines.
Meeting Maybe there’s a way to incorporate your identity, like, not not the whole scene, but images of her. Yeah, I don’t know…
Gina Kim Like to sit there and watch, over and over again, watching these attacks.
Daughter I saw my father fly.
Gina Kim People were talking about how their loved ones were brutally murdered.
Daughter I feel pain for him. So much pain for him.
Gina Kim You know, it just took a toll.
Stacey Abrams We make the decisions about who we are based on who we elect to represent us.
Titi Yu As we were making this film, more and more of these attacks started to happen. I realized there was sort of this other story. About the community. Really about resilience and empowerment.
Gina Kim We tackle a lot of issues from Asian political power. What does that mean? And what happens when that gets yanked away from you?
Titi Yu There’s race and there’s gender, and then there’s police.
Gina Kim And hate crimes legislation.
Speaker Don’t let anybody make our anguish invisible.
Woman interviewed As an American, I felt like I wanted more for America.
Stacey Abrams This is a nation that has made mistakes.
Gina Kim I think it’s wonderful that everyone’s come together in support of the community. But at the same time, it is a reminder of what Asian-Americans across the country are facing or going through.
Titi Yu It’s hard to say that we belong here when we are not wanted here. But at the same time, we do belong here.
Gina Kim You know, it’s been a really revealing six months. We’ve learned a lot, and the community has been incredibly warm and welcoming. We really are encouraged by how much they’re working and pushing forward. And we’re grateful that they opened their arms to us and let us come into the community and talk to us.
Gina Kim It’s not been easy for the Asian community.
