Director Anne Hu (胡安妮), an alumni of the Chinese Academy of Cleveland (CAOC), screened her film "Lunchbox" at the CAOC alumni reunion on April 15th, inspiring enthusiastic discussions among the audience. The main cast, including Anne Hu herself, Elizabeth Gao (高予安, daughter of Valerie 蔡宜容 and Xuan Gao 高翾 ), and Audrey Liao(廖培妤, daughter of Ya-Chin Chiou 邱雅琴 and our previous Principal Kung Ching Liao 廖宮慶), who played Shirley at different ages, were all from CAOC. "Lunchbox" was their acting debut. CAOC members also helped with the film by providing and lending props and costumes, and the featured recipe book was handwritten by a CAOC board member, Ailan Lin.
Principal Grace Lin(林麗芳) introduced and welcomed Director Anne Hu to Cleveland. Anne graduated from The Ohio State University with degrees in Marketing and Art and is currently working in the Film and TV industry in New York City. Anne says “Lunchbox” is a love letter to her late mother and a catharsis for anyone who has experienced loss, regret, and being the “other." She said it was very meaningful to make this film with the support of the CAOC community and to share the film with everyone last weekend.
“Lunchbox” was recently screened at the Cleveland International Film Festival and won the Best Ohio Short Film Audience Choice Award and DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon's Best Short Narrative Award. This film is a dramatic coming-of-age short film about regret, healing, and honoring the people we love. Based on a true story, this retelling examines the personal cost of fitting in as well as the recovery from cultural and familial loss. Anne Hu made “Lunchbox” in loving memory of her late mother, Chinluen Judy Hu (黃錦戀), a former teacher at CAOC. The inspiration for “Lunchbox” came when Anne watched a Facebook video by NBC Asian America called “The Lunchbox Moment."
During the Q&A, Anne answered several questions, including the casting selection process, discrimination experiences in school, and favorite memories from filming. Elizabeth and Audrey shared how they acted naturally based on Anne’s direction and that they didn’t feel nervous because if they messed up, they could do it again. Additionally, Anne expressed her hope to see more Asian American stories and experiences represented in film and television, hoping this would make the world a kinder and more compassionate place for all minorities and marginalized communities. Anne's next movie idea is a horror action comedy led by Asian and Asian American characters.
At the end of the event, Grace Lin asked how to support Director Anne Hu as a group, and Anne suggested audiences follow the film on social media @lunchboxthefilm and tell friends and family about “Lunchbox” so more people can watch this movie. She hopes audiences will be able to find “Lunchbox” on a streaming platform like HBO, Amazon, or Hulu in the future. Grace appreciated the support from staff, families, and friends of CAOC, the previous Taiwanese Garden restaurant chef Limei's gourmet food, and the sponsor of Asia Food Market for this event.
After the event, Anne showed her appreciation for the CAOC community, saying the film was only possible with CAOC's generous support. Making this film with CAOC and returning to Cleveland for this screening event was a wonderful and meaningful homecoming. It's great to have Director Anne Hu come to the CAOC.
For more information on the film, please visit www.lunchboxthefilm.com
To watch the trailer: https://vimeo.com/annehu/lunchboxtrailer
You can follow “Lunchbox” and Anne Hu on social media at:
Instagram/Facebook/Twitter: @lunchboxthefilm
Instagram/Twitter: @annehufilms
