Genre
Synopsis
Classical dance’s illusion of beauty contains an ugly truth, hidden in plain sight: It perpetuates racial stereotypes. Entrenched practices—including yellowface, blackface and cultural misappropriation—foster the “otherness” of Asians and people of color.
Two dancers are trying to change that. Phil Chan and Georgina Pazcoguin, New Yorkers of Asian descent, are challenging the tradition-bound ballet world to eradicate offensive racial stereotypes so it can thrive in the 21st century. He’s a choreographer and she dances with the New York City Ballet—the first Asian American promoted to soloist. Their movement, Final Bow for Yellowface, calls on dance companies worldwide to pledge to rid the art form of racist tropes.
BEYOND YELLOWFACE follows the pair as they work with dance companies to revamp offensive sections of classics like The Nutcracker and La Bayadere, and as they expand their efforts to opera, with Chan re-envisioning Madama Butterfly for modern audiences. They respond to inevitable pushback with a fresh, revealing look at an ancient art form.
Bio
Jennifer Lin is developing Beyond Yellowface, a documentary about Asian representation in ballet that follows the rise of the Final Bow for Yellowface movement, launched by dancers Georgina Pazcoguin and Phil Chan. After 31 years with The Philadelphia Inquirer, including postings in Beijing, New York and Washington, D.C., Jennifer made the big pivot into documentary filmmaking. She produced, wrote and co-directed her first feature-length film, Beethoven in Beijing, which premiered on PBS's Great Performances. She has a book based on the film, and authored two other works of nonfiction, a family memoir (Shanghai Faithful) and a collection of stories about women and running (Sole Sisters).
Credits
Director - Jennifer Lin
Producer - Jennifer Lin
Producer - Jon Funabiki
Producer - Cory Stieg
