SYNOPSIS | BIOS | CREDITS

Airing Friday, July 11 at 10PM on PBS WNET Channel Thirteen New York. Details

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Hua Wen, a frustrated Chinese immigrant living in New York, experiences deep cultural and parental confusion when his baby comes out, literally, as a banana.

GENRE: Cultural/Foreign Comedy/Drama
RUNNING TIME: 26:20

MEDIUM: Digital Video
LANGUAGE: In Chinese and English with English subtitles

Shot entirely on location in Queens, Harlem and New York's Chinatown.

SCREENINGS

2002 New York Asian American International Film Festival

2002 Anthology Film Archives New Filmmakers New Films

2002 Asian Film Festival of Dallas

2002 Salt Lake Asian Pacific Film Festival.

SYNOPSIS: Huang Hua Wen, a recent immigrant from mainland China, lives in a tiny basement apartment in Queens with his wife Qing Xia. The claustrophobic living conditions, combined with his wife's pregnancy and his inability to communicate to people in English, are getting to Hua Wen's head. When his baby is finally born, Hua Wen knows for certain that there's something terribly wrong with his life, because every time he looks at his newborn son, he sees a banana.

Hua Wen's "Uncle" (we don't know what their real relationship is) appears to be kindly and supportive of his newcomer nephew. He has given him a minimum-wage job and provided housing - for which he collects the rent. Qing Xia sees through this arrangement as nothing less than extortion - but Hua Wen sees no way out, unless he can learn English and get a better job. The pressures build inside Hua Wen's head - and his baby is still a banana...

BANANA is a bold new work that rethinks the immigrant experience in an inspired blend of surrealism and neo-realism, an intriguing mix of David Lynch and Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Director Kevin Lee utilizes the exciting new technology of digital video to create an intimate and crazed world, reflecting the weary mental state inhabited by Chinese immigrants in an urban American setting.

One of the main factors in giving Mr. Lee's surreal vision the look of authenticity is in the casting. After extensive auditioning of actors for the lead roles, Mr. Lee decided to cast real Chinese immigrants with no previous acting experience as his leads. The gamble paid off: the leads infused their role with both an understanding of their characters' toils, and a naturalness and nuance of behavior that is unique to the Chinese people.

Entertaining, culturally sensitive, and ultimately touching, BANANA depicts the triumph of the immigrant spirit in battling the harsh conditions of their life and the emotional toll it exacts upon them.

BIOS
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WRITER, PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR: KEVIN B. LEE
Kevin Lee is an independent filmmaker based in New York City. His documenary "Take a Look: Chinatown, NYC Post 9/11" showed the effects of 9/11 on the Chinatown community; it was broadcast on PBS and played to film festivals across the nation. Mr. Lee's recent credits include "World Tourism Center", a documentary short that explores the former World Trade Center in its new incarnation as a major tourist attraction; and "Banana" a 30 minute short about a Chinese immigrant who thinks his son is literally a banana. Mr. Lee is currently working on two feature-length scripts.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOSEPH PARLAGRECO
A director and producer of television, stage and film since 1985, Mr. Parlagreco has been active in many phases of production, from concept to development to execution. Mr. Parlagreco was featured in the Wall Street Journal for his innovative and creative national commercial campaign for Manhattan Bagel, a series of thirty second television spots that gained him national attention. His television director credits include the PBS series "Independent View" and NBC's "In Profile with Matt Lauer." His Director of Photography experiences include "Amistad Diaries" for the Odyssey Channel, and his own short films, "Forgiveness" and "Mirage".

CAST:

ANDY ZHAO ("HUA WEN")
Andy moved to New York City from Tianjing, China in 1999. Since then he has held a number of jobs. At the time of production he was a carpet salesman by day and a Chinese restaurant delivery person by night. He is now a full-time cab driver. He has a concealed passion for breakdancing and Michael Jackson. This is his first screen acting experience.

XIAO LING ZHANG ("QING XIA")
Xiao Ling, who hails from Henan province in China, emigrated with her husband, a graduate student at Brooklyn Polytechnic University, in 2000. She speaks little English and works full-time at a hotel. This is her first screen acting experience.

JACKSON NING ("UNCLE")
Jackson has studied acting since retiring from a career in engineering in 1998. His most notable credit is as "Father" in Thomas Tan's underground NY Chinatown feature, "Sunrise on Mulberry Street."

BANANA ("BANANA")
18-inches of wire, plaster and paper-mache, Banana is not only making his screen debut, he was in fact made for this project. He is the work of Eric Sommerfeld, a graphic designer and sculpture artist living in New York. He makes an impressive debut despite the occasional mishandling he suffered during the production. Banana now resides in the safe confines of the director's home.

CREDITS:
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CAST:

HUA WEN: Andy Zhao
QING XIA: Xiaoling Zhang
UNCLE: Jackson Ning
AUNT: Jenny Zhu LILY: Anya Yuan
DAISY: Lulu Li
MIDWIFE: Duan Duan
GROCERY BOY: Tony Ling
BOY ON STREET: Jason Schwarz
ENGLISH LANGUAGE BOOK VOICE: Kevin Lee
BANANA: Banana

CREW:

DIRECTOR: Kevin Lee
PRODUCERS: Kevin Lee and Julie Petrie
WRITER: Kevin Lee
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Joseph Parlagreco
FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Ted Magee
SECOND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Tony Ling
EDITOR: Kevin Lee
SOUND: Jason Goldman, Marie Le Claire
LOCATIONS SCOUTING: Jeff Hsiao, Haiying Yuan
SCRIPT TRANSLATION: Yu Liu
BANANA SCULPTURE ARTIST: Eric Sommerfeld
STILL PHOTOGRAPHY: Robert Lee
CATERING: Empire Szechuan