Diane Quon, Academy Award-nominated producer for Minding the Gap and Zhao-Chen Family AAPI Voices Fund mentor, shares her perspective on breaking stereotypes in the media
In honor of AAPI heritage month, and in collaboration with the Asian American Showcase at the Gene Siskel Film Center, Kartemquin Films hosted a preview screening and discussion with directors/producers of seven films supported by The Zhao-Chen Family AAPI Voices Fund.
We interviewed Diane Quan, Academy Award nominated producer for Minding the Gap and Zhao-Chen Family AAPI Voices Fund mentor, to tell us about her perspective on breaking stereotypes in media representation and storytelling.
Q: Tell us about your cultural heritage and upbringing.
A: My parents were Chinese immigrants who owned a Chinese restaurant in Chicago. I was lucky that they encouraged us to live our lives outside of the restaurant, unlike many restaurant babies. For instance, they had me take piano lessons and dance lessons and I just loved it.
My parents were like, ‘We want you to experience other things.' They supported me when I went away to college in Wisconsin, and then went to grad school to get my MBA at USC. That's how I landed in California and worked at Paramount for many years until I returned to Chicago and then just recently made my way to San Francisco.
Q: Where did your interest in filmmaking develop?
A: When my son passed away years ago, as you can imagine, it completely changed my life. It was hard to even get out of bed. In my grief, one of my best friends tried to get me out of the house by taking me to Sundance; she knew I loved films and always had always wanted to produce films.
We ended up seeing a lot of documentaries. I had no idea docs could be so entertaining and at the same time how much I could learn about other people’s lives and experiences- and leave you changed. It gave me a new perspective on docs – maybe making docs could be a way I could honor my son.
Q: Talk to us about AAPI representation in the industry.
A: I remember looking at the film montage at the opening of the 2016 Oscars, and getting angry because there was not one Asian face. It was the year of “Oscars so white” and I thought, ‘we can't even be mad about not being nominated because we don’t even have the roles to be nominated for.’
I decided I could be mad, or that I could try to do something about it. That's when I decided to option a book that had Asians as lead characters for a fiction film. That year I also already found myself working with AAPI filmmakers to tell their story through docs.
Producing has always been something in my heart to do. And, you know, I wish it could have been earlier but I guess it happened when it was meant to. In addition to producing, I have been the Executive Producer on many films as well. A majority of the films I’ve produced or EP’d are by first-time filmmakers of color and I'm thankful for that.
I think it's healing for many AAPI storytellers to talk about their trauma, but at the same time I would also love to see stories that celebrate our cultures too. I think that's why I’m enjoying working with Emily Strong on her new project who is one of the fellows of the fund.
I'm helping her with her next project about neighborhood cultural grocery stores. It brings me so many great memories with my mom. That was her favorite thing to do, especially when she was older - was to go to the local Asian grocery store and smell and touch all the foods.
Q: What are three words to describe the life of a producer?
A: It's hard to put it in three words. The most obvious thing a producer does is spend time raising money to pay for the film and find distribution. A producer also has to be flexible - things never happen the way you expect. You have to keep bouncing back from the challenges. And there are so many challenges, especially when working with first time filmmakers.
So don’t take on a project unless you're passionate about the story, and passionate about the way you're telling the story. You also have to be a masterful multi task-er and need to know how to juggle a lot of balls and keep track of them at the same time.
I am a mom of four. I think that in many ways that has always helped me. There’s a lot of listening, empathy, and encouragement too. Most of all, you also have to be brave. You have to believe in your story and sometimes it means taking a risk.
Q: What is your involvement in the AAPI Voices Fund?
A: There aren’t enough AAPI stories out there and there's very little space for personal stories especially. It’s never been easy, but now it's even harder. I always tell filmmakers to make the best film possible. Focus on your storytelling. If you have a great story and you want to tell it, don't worry too much about where it is going to land as distribution is always changing - as long as you can find the funding And finding the funding is such a challenge!
As I mentioned earlier, it’s a tough market out there for funding and distribution. What are the stories that we are missing out on if we didn’t have the support to tell our stories? I feel lucky to have worked on a film that received the AAPI fund. And I feel so very grateful that the Zhao family has generously invested so much in AAPI filmmakers.