On Tuesday, July 9th, we were invited to the red carpet, screening, and after party of “The Farewell” in NYC.
The Farewell is an incredible movie based on a true story. The movie follows Billi as she finds out that her grandmother in China is dying. However, due to tradition, no one will tell her she is dying. Instead, the entire family flies back to China under the pretenses that they are gathering for a cousin’s wedding, just so they can spend time with her without giving away her fate.
At the Metrograph in downtown Manhattan, the red carpet and screening for The Farewell was held. Several cast members and other celebrities attended the event. Cast members Awkwafina (Bili), Tzi Ma (Haiyan), Diana Lin (Jian), Aoi Mizuhara (Aiko), and Hong Lu (Little Nai Nai) as well as writer/director Lulu Wang. Also in attendance was David Hwang, Dylan Sprouse, and Barbara Palvin.
We were able to speak with Tzi Ma and Awakwafina about the movie and the importance of films like this.
The Knockturnal: Besides your own character, which character did you relate to the most in The Farewell?
Tzi Ma: That’s a fascinating question, I would say the uncle. He plays my brother and I really feel that he has such a dilemma because he moves away, he goes to Japan and I go to America, so he’s kind of stuck in a different culture too, although he’s a lot closer since it’s an eastern culture. So I envy him in a way because he doesn’t have the same struggles, it looks like his son is a lot more obedient than my kid, so in that sense I kind of envy him a little bit, maybe we could switch places for a wee 10 minutes or something.
The Knockturnal: How personal was this role feel for you? How does the experience compare to other roles you’ve held?
Tzi Ma: That’s difficult because it’s like asking which child do you like more. I think they are all unique, I think every project you enter into has something special about it, and the reason you want to be a part of it is because something about that project is appealing and attractive to you. This is one of those projects where I feel it has an opportunity, given the fact that it is mostly in a foreign language, that the audience who speaks that language has an opportunity to go to a mainstream theater to see it and to be able to look at the screen and see somebody that looks like them. That never happens, I think this is the first film where you see that and they can enjoy themselves instead of taking their grandkids to see The Avengers and they have to be translated. Now they can just sit there and go “You know what, have a date night or something!”
The Knockturnal: After Crazy Rich Asians, this is another important film for East Asian representation. But it’s also a very different kind of movie. What were the biggest differences for you playing Peik Lin vs Billi?
Awkwafina: Well I think that at the end of the day a role is a role and every role is very different despite the larger theme of the movie and I think that when it comes to Crazy Rich Asians that was a very big, celebratory, Hollywood movie that when people were coming out of that the response was very much joy. Maybe in some cases a bittersweet joy because of the realization that we’ve been lacking that representation. This story is very specific, it’s based off a true story and it focuses on themes and sectors that are very different from Crazy Rich Asians. So I think that the ability to tell a story like this to be opening in a big way to audiences that aren’t primarily Asian is in itself, really cool and really good for representation in general because it is a much more specific story. So I think in the grand scheme, both movies do a lot for representation, it just shows that we’re out here.
The Knockturnal: How do you feel leading this new wave of East Asian representation in films?
Awkwafina: I don’t know about leading but I think that when I came into Hollywood, I became a part of something that I saw as progressively shifting and I am really happy to be a part of that movement. When I was young, we didn’t have a fourth of the representation that we have going on now, in every race and every diversity. I want the future generation of girls to have wondered why Crazy Rich Asians was so important and to have wondered why that was so rare, and I think that we are really building towards that future.
The Knockturnal: What kinds of projects do you want to work on next? Any genres or types of roles that you’re curious about?
Awkwafina: Honestly, if I build a platform for anything I want to use it on people who maybe would not have had that chance. When I was casting for my Comedy Central writers room, there’s a myth that there’s no one out there, there’s no women out there, there’s no minorities out there; it’s a lie, there are tons of them out there, they just haven’t gotten a chance. I’ve been asked “Oh is the next thing directing?” like I’m not discounting that, but I’m also not going to steal a job from someone who really deserves it. So I want to help put things on.
After the red carpet, everyone filed into the theater to watch the movie. The Farewell is funny, emotional, and real. Even though the movie is rooted in Chinese tradition, the themes and emotions are universal. Saying goodbye to a loved one, being away from your family, they’re all things everyone can relate to. The movie is based on the director, Lulu Wang’s actual experience. In fact, Hong Lu, the woman who plays the aunt in the movie is Lulu Wang’s actual aunt. Check out our full review of “The Farewell” here.
From left to right: Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Hong Lu, Awkwafina, and Lulu Wang welcoming everyone to the screening.
After the screening, everyone went outside and was met with a group of traditional Chinese drummers and a dragon. They played and danced as we all marched down the streets towards the after party location.
The party was held at 88 Palace, a Chinese restaurant/party hall. There they served drinks and circled carts that served delicious traditional Chinese food. People mingled, talked, and danced while the live DJ played music. It was a great celebration for the release of the movie and the great job everyone did on it.
Catch The Farewell in theaters Friday, July 12.
Emilia Yu contributed reporting.
