The 39th annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival had lots of shorts and a bunch of movies to enjoy. It wasn’t too hard to decide on what to check out since, like other events worldwide, to restart properly following the global health scare is tough. To begin, I’ll look at my three most favourite shorts, and although two of them follow upon a similar theme, just where it goes is different:
Mom, If I Were a Vampire
Wen (Ting Chiu) doesn’t want to be a momma’s girl, and life at school is rough in other departments. But when she gets in with the right crowd, with Jo (Yu-Xuan Wang) as the โitโ girl, the friendship forged is no different from what I recall from Vampire Princess Miyu, a classic anime I have fond memories of.
Although there’s no similar character dynamic since most of the manga and animated series involved the title role without a human companion, what’s presented here would make for a good jumping in point for a live-action adaptation! In this case, it’s to expand upon. The LGTBQ angle isn’t anything new, but how its handled is quite deft!
In what the two characters encounter are bullies and stalkers. Also, I think Wen wants to be turned. She has a lot of feelings to get out and to explore that requires a longer story. This piece made by Deborah Devyn Chuang is certainly worth seeking for the neo-noir colour aesthetics!
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