A Richmond filmmaker has won $30,000 from a CBC short film contest.
100 Days, a film written and directed by Derek Kwan, was one of nine short films competing in season 17 of CBC’s Short Film Faceoff.
Kwan’s short film went head-to-head with some of Canada’s most talented directors, and was announced as the winner on Oct. 5.
In addition to the prize money from Telefilm Canada to support the filmmaker’s upcoming projects, he will also be granted a national broadcast opportunity on CBC.
This season’s nine films were aired three at a time on Sept. 14, 21 and 28 on CBC TV and CBC Gem. Viewers got a chance to vote on their favourite film for 24 hours in late September.
Set during a newborn’s 100-day celebration at a Chinese restaurant, tensions boil over when an unexpected guest arrives. The family dramedy was inspired by Kwan’s personal experience at a Vietnamese 100-day party, motivating him to showcase this unique cultural setting in film.
“I really wanted to just highlight something where it’s a mixture of generations,” Kwan told Richmond News in 2023. “There's still inter-generational trauma, there’s still undertones of different things. But I just… hope that this can be universal.”
Kwan’s next project, Special K, will feature a minor league baseball player billeting in a Chinese family home, portraying cultural differences and breaking stereotypes of Asian families, he added.
For more information, visit CBC's website.
Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected]. To stay updated on Richmond news, sign up for our daily headline newsletter. Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
