Close Encounters: Intimacies and Asian Australian Cinema

The RMIT Australian Screen Research Collection Salon celebrates milestones in Asian Australian filmmaking through an exclusive in-conversation event with pioneers of the topic: Professor Olivia Khoo and director / producer Tony Ayres.

Moderated by this year’s research fellow Dr Scarlette Nhi Do, the guests will discuss stories we tell about Asian migration to Australia and the accompanying racial fissures of a multicultural society. The interview will follow Scarlette’s summary of her research findings for the project tracing depictions of relationships between Asian and Indigenous people in cinema.

The evening will conclude with a special screening of Ayres’ 1999 documentary, Sadness: A Monologue by William Yang. This adaptation of Yang’s acclaimed stage performance intertwines the photographer’s journey to understand his Chinese heritage and his experiences during the HIV / AIDS epidemic.