An Asian American woman’s internalized racism stands between her and a steamy one-night stand.

Director’s Vision for ‘Bad Asian’

Bad Asian is a film about overcoming self-hatred and internalized racism told through the comical and cringe-inducing setting of a one-night stand.

It’s a deeply personal story inspired by my own struggle to embrace my Asian identity. Growing up I’m what people would have called a banana. The innocuousness of this term hides its danger. I spent years wrestling with the pain of looking different than how I feel — and I have felt everything from embarrassed of who I am to outright self-loathing.

Recently, I’ve had to wrestle with what role society and the media have played in allowing me to finally accept who I am. Changes in representation in movies and television, conversations about diversity and inclusion, and the growing community engagement that came out of the highly publicized hate crimes during the covid-19 pandemic are all external factors that have played a role in my healing. While my experience speaks to the importance of representation in the media, it also brings up feelings of sadness and shame that it took events outside of myself to affirm my identity. In speaking with other Asian Americans my experience is not unique.

I wanted to write a film that speaks to the complications and contradictions of identity in America. No matter who you are there are things society has told you not to love about yourself. This film compresses what that journey towards self-love was like for Melody into a really contained story.