Project Gelb (Yellow) is a film by an Asian guy about Asian guys. Canadian/Asian filmmaker Francis Luta explores how Asian males are perceived in the media and gay culture, and how it all reflects from their childhood.
Luta started this journey after a modeling agency ordered him to stay out of the sun because looking too exotic would decrease his marketability, whilst at the same time being a gay Asian male (gaysian) exposed him to the brutal truth that he was either being fetishized or dismissed.
The men that Luta interviewed were very pragmatic about the reality that there is a very definite anti-Asian sentiment in gay culture which became more evident with the growth of dating apps like Grindr where often men’s profiles would state ‘no fats, no fems, no asians’. This maybe explained as purely a personal preference but it has clear racist overtones. It was therefore not surprising to read that a National Task Force survey uncovered the fact that 82% on non-white gays experienced discrimination from white gay men.
Luta’s short documentary maybe just stating what is very obvious to gay Asian men, but to others of us who have never given the topic, a great deal of thought, it makes for an intriguing learning curve.
Labels: 2016, Asians, documentary
