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For writer, head and animator Cami Kwan, Paper Daughter began pinch a communicative that had lived successful her family for generations. Inspired by her grandmother Joy Dep Chan, who immigrated from China done Angel Island successful 1926 by assuming different girl’s identity, nan stop-motion animated short explores nan sacrifices Chinese immigrants made successful pursuit of a amended early and nan generations shaped by those decisions.
Paper Daughter follows a young woman named Joy (Rebecca Wang) arsenic she sets sail toward America, wherever she must return connected different personality to statesman a caller life. Drawing from nan history of Chinese immigrants who acquisition documents that falsely necktie them to Chinese Americans, besides known arsenic “paper sons” and “paper daughters,” Kwan combines meticulous stop-motion animation pinch a profoundly individual communicative rooted successful family history, utilizing insubstantial arsenic a ocular metaphor for identity, resilience and belonging. Ahead of nan film’s Annecy premiere, Deadline said pinch Kwan and shaper Brandon Bui astir turning a section of their family’s history into stop-motion animation, researching nan bequest of Angel Island and nan challenges of telling specified a individual story.
DEADLINE: Where did this thought to do Paper Daughter travel from?
CAMI KWAN: It’s based connected my great-grandmother’s acquisition immigrating to nan United States from China. She immigrated successful 1926, and my great-grandfather immigrated successful 1916. They some came done Angel Island, truthful galore of nan aforesaid experiences depicted successful nan movie are drawn from their stories. In 2020, during nan emergence of anti-Asian hate, I recovered myself examining my personality arsenic an Asian American and asking why I’m present and really my family sewage here. As I learned much astir Chinese American migration history, I came crossed nan stories of insubstantial sons and insubstantial daughters. I connected pinch that because I often consciousness that my spot present was built connected personification else’s sacrifice. I didn’t gain nan opportunities I have; they came from generations earlier me. Paper sons and insubstantial daughters faced thing similar. They were fixed a caller life based connected personification else’s sacrifice, often from group they would ne'er beryllium capable to repay.
The movie came from grappling pinch that emotion and yet transforming it from guilt into appreciation and gratitude. I wanted to spot it arsenic an enactment of emotion alternatively than simply sacrifice.
DEADLINE: How agelong did this return to make?
KWAN: Believe it aliases not, we made this 15-minute movie successful 7 aliases 8 months.
DEADLINE: No way.
BRANDON BUI: We had incredibly talented group and nan correct resources astatine nan correct time. Cami is simply a co-founder of a stop-motion workplace [Apartment D films], truthful we had a awesome instauration to build from.
KWAN: The movie was portion of nan Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge done CAPE, which provided backing and support, but it besides came pinch a very difficult deadline. Brandon and I fundamentally said, “It has to happen, and we’ll make it happen.”
DEADLINE: Brandon, really did you first travel crossed nan story?
BUI: Cami and I person been friends since astir 2019 aliases 2020 done a communal friend. I’ve ever admired her arsenic some a personification and a storyteller. We first worked together connected a short movie called Dormilón. A fewer months later, Cami told maine she had received this assistance and asked if I’d nutrient her film. My reply was instantly yes. When I publication nan script, I was successful tears. Cami besides sent complete an early portion of euphony from our composer, Valeri Ortiz, and I could instantly spot nan movie successful my head.
My parents immigrated from Vietnam successful nan 1980s, truthful while our histories are different, I connected profoundly pinch nan story. What’s been unthinkable is seeing audiences from each backgrounds respond to it. People show america they spot themselves successful nan movie moreover if they aren’t Chinese and don’t stock that circumstantial history. That’s erstwhile I knew location was thing really typical here.
DEADLINE: I appreciated really nan movie highlights Angel Island. We perceive truthful overmuch astir Ellis Island, but acold little astir Angel Island and nan history surrounding Asian migration connected nan West Coast.
KWAN: One 100 percent. I really find comfortableness successful learning that history wasn’t arsenic elemental arsenic we sometimes retrieve it. Things were difficult then, too. For me, that’s reassuring because it reminds maine that we’ve gone done difficult periods before. History moves successful cycles. Things get better, past worse, past amended again. There’s thing hopeful astir that.
DEADLINE: Was location thing peculiarly challenging from a storytelling perspective?
KWAN: The hardest portion was being vulnerable. Before this, almost each of my activity had been customer work. There’s a definite information successful that because personification other yet makes nan last decisions. With this film, location was obscurity to hide. Every imaginative prime reflected me. That was terrifying astatine first. But nan process of making nan film, and nan consequence from nan unit and everyone who supported us, helped maine recognize that I could show this story. It made maine consciousness validated arsenic a head and filmmaker.
DEADLINE: What did nan investigation process look like?
KWAN: One of nan biggest things was visiting Angel Island pinch my dad, my great-aunt and my cousin. My great-aunt remembered stories astir nan land and moreover recognized immoderate group successful humanities photographs. We besides person footage of my grandma and grandmother visiting Angel Island successful nan early 2000s. Historians location interviewed my grandmother because she had really been detained connected Angel Island. Watching those recordings was incredibly emotional.
A batch of my first vulnerability to these stories came from my grandma and great-grandmother. That’s 1 logic nan movie is framed almost for illustration a fairy tale. These stories were passed down done generations and became mythic family stories. Beyond that, location was a batch of reading. I utilized resources from nan Los Angeles Public Library, including books connected Chinese American history and humanities costume design.
Two books were particularly important: The Chinese successful America by Iris Chang and Island [by Him Mark Lai], which collects and translates nan poems carved into nan walls of Angel Island by detainees. Reading those poems gave maine nan closest point to a firsthand relationship of what that acquisition felt like.
DEADLINE: Have either of you been to Annecy before?
KWAN: No.
BUI: This will beryllium some of our first times.
KWAN: I’m very nervous.
DEADLINE: How does it consciousness having nan movie selected to play there?
BUI: It’s a dream travel true. From nan very beginning, Annecy was nan goal. For me, what’s astir meaningful is seeing a movie this individual and important recognized by an institution for illustration Annecy. It’s besides typical to stock that acquisition pinch Cami and nan unit who worked truthful difficult to make this movie connected a very constricted budget.
KWAN: Everything Brandon said. My parents aren’t artists, truthful I’ve spent my full life trying to explicate what animation intends to me. When I told them we sewage into Annecy, I described it arsenic nan Olympics and nan Oscars mixed for animation. Just being location is incredible. Having our movie location is beyond thing I imagined.
One of my fears while making nan movie was that it was excessively specific. It’s a communicative astir Chinese migration to nan United States successful nan 1920s. I worried it wouldn’t resonate beyond that community. Seeing audiences astir nan world link pinch it has been incredibly meaningful. It reminds maine that group attraction astir migrant stories and that we tin find ourselves successful stories that aren’t specifically astir us. In a world shaped by algorithms and personalization, it’s encouraging to spot group link done a very circumstantial story. It reinforces my religion successful what creation tin do.
DEADLINE: How has your family responded to nan film?
KWAN: They’ve been incredibly supportive. I was tense because this isn’t conscionable my story—it’s our family’s story. My grandmother is almost a mythic fig wrong our family, truthful location was a batch of pressure. But everyone has been enthusiastic. My relative Amy really voices Mae successful nan film.
DEADLINE: Really?
KWAN: Yes. I made her audition and didn’t show Brandon she was my relative until aft we’d formed her. [Laughs.]
BUI: She earned it. [Laughs.] The statement astatine nan extremity erstwhile Mae says [about nan early and opportunity of Joy’s caller life successful America] “It’s yours now” gets maine each azygous time.
DEADLINE: What would you for illustration audiences to return distant from nan film?
KWAN: I want group to time off knowing really loved they are and really overmuch emotion had to beryllium for immoderate of america to beryllium wherever we are today. We’re each nan recipients of sacrifices made by group who came earlier us. I dream audiences tin merchandise immoderate of nan guilt that comes pinch that realization and alternatively spot those sacrifices arsenic acts of love. I besides dream group admit that Asian Americans person been portion of this country’s communicative for a very agelong time. We’ve helped build this country.
More broadly, I dream group understand that America is built by group making sacrifices for futures they will ne'er personally see. If we tin position our history done that lens, possibly it tin thief style a amended future.
BUI: For me, it’s resilience. History repeats itself, and we’re seeing that hap correct now. I dream group travel distant emotion beardown and believing successful themselves. Joy’s travel is astir recognizing that your life is your own. Even erstwhile you’ve inherited sacrifices from erstwhile generations, you still person agency. You still get to determine what comes next. No matter really trapped you feel, there’s ever a measurement forward. That’s what I dream audiences return pinch them.
