Jesse Gi and Urvashi Pathania were at the center of HBO’s Asian Pacific American Visionaries celebration on October 15, 2021.
The directors were celebrated in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with an evening of Asian-inspired dishes and drinks; and musical performances by singer/rapper, Audrey Nuna and Queens native rapper, Anik Khan. The festivities proceeded after the screenings of Gi and Pathania’s winning short films, Neh and Unmothered. Out of hundreds of submissions, both films captured the hearts of HBO executives for their ability to display unique takes on the Asian Pacific American experience.
“Neh,” the Korean expression for “okay,” is the only phrase saving, then ultimately betraying the Korean American protagonist in Gi’s film. Overall, the biggest takeaway from Neh is the pressure many Korean Americans feel to be a representative of both cultures; a difficult task in which many things can get lost in translation or not translated at all.
On the other hand, Unmothered focuses on how an Indian family deals with loss. “The film is semi-autobiographical and based on a trip that I’ve had to take and I think so many immigrants take,” Pathania shared. “I haven’t seen that on TV before even though it seems like it’s quite common,” she expressed. Alongside the trip, the film also brings up the issue of a certain parenting style. “In Asian culture, parents keep things from you to protect you, but it’s really taking agency away from you,” the director said. In short, Pathania hopes audiences take away one main lesson: “There’s no right or wrong way to love or practice your traditions. We’re changing and evolving every day.”
Both films are available for streaming on HBO Max.
