Munkie

When a child’s core human needs are suffocated by the weight of parental expectation, tough love, and manipulation, what are the consequences?

ABOUT OUR FILM

Written and directed by Steven Chow, and produced by Rachel Fawcett, Munkie follows a vengeful daughter whose violent plan of revenge against her domineering tiger parents spins out of control.

WHY MUNKIE MATTERS

Inspired by true events, Munkie explores forbidden love, parental control, and the specific struggles that children of Asian immigrants face, including the need to freely express their individuality and claim their identity.

We feel these issues are yet to be cinematically investigated in a way that’s meaningful to us as Asian Kiwis, yet universal enough to speak to those outside our culture.

CENTRAL THEMES

Our story centres on a troubled daughter, a “Golden Child”, who makes the devastating choice to betray her overprotective parents and commit parricide. Pushed to succeed at the risk of her own happiness and sense of ownership of her life, it begs the question: does ‘tough love’ parenting do more harm than good? Why does academic success come before all else...including one’s mental health? And, in the case of our protagonist, was evil always lurking beneath the surface?

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Munkie is being made as Steven’s thesis short film for his Masters of Arts in Screen Production at The University of Auckland, and is scheduled to shoot in September.

We feel so lucky to have a talented team behind us who truly believe in our project and its potential. While our short is partially self-funded, we still need to get over the finish line, and raise additional funds to cover cast and crew, rentals, props, locations fees and kai. This will help us achieve a kick ass cinematic short film.

Any donation, no matter how big or small, would be truly appreciated. We would also love to thank all donors in our credits (with your permission of course).

We understand this is a difficult and challenging time for many, so if you are unable to make a donation but would like to support us, we would be most grateful if you shared this with your friends and whānau.

Aroha nui,

Steve, Rachel and the team.

MEET THE TEAM

STEVEN CHOW – Writer, Director & Editor

Steven Chow is a passionate filmmaker and cinephile whose collection of poetic short films has screened locally and internationally at film festivals. Last year, Steven collaborated with Screentime and was shortlisted for the Asian Pasifika telefeature initiative with The Only Son. This year, the project is being developed as a feature film through NZFC.

RACHEL FAWCETT – Producer

Rachel Fawcett is an emerging producer whose producing credits include Friday Night Bites Season 2 (directed by Roseanne Liang) and the upcoming NZFC-funded short, Impossible (directed by Gabriel Reid). Rachel hopes to write and produce stories that centre the rich inner lives of women and POC.

ANDREW MCGEORGE – Director of Photography

Andrew McGeorge is a NZ-based cinematographer whose extensive resume includes Ash vs Evil Dead and The Meg (2nd Unit DoP). His works include Roseanne Liang’s acclaimed short Do No Harm, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and the upcoming NZFC-funded short Impossible. Andrew has recently completed work on Hanelle Harris’ Sis.

KARL STEVEN – Music Composer

Karl Steven is an award-winning New Zealand-Swedish film and television composer whose credits include Ant Timpson’s comedy-thriller Come to Daddy, Hamish Bennett’s rural drama Bellbird, and SPP’s The Bad Seed, the latter of which won Best Original Music in a TV Series at the APRA Silver Scrolls in 2019. His film and telefeature scores have generated enormous buzz and earned him countless accolades including Best Original Score at the 2018 NZTV Awards (Resolve) and Best Original Music in a TV Series at the 2016 APRA Silver Scrolls (800 Words).

KEY CAST

XANA TANG

Xana Tang made her screen debut as Spit in the award-winning feature film Matariki. Soon after, she was cast as a lead in Hounds, which won Best Television Comedy Series at the 2012 New Zealand Film and Television Awards.

Other notable screen roles include: The Almighty Johnsons, Power Rangers, and Filthy Rich, in which she played the major supporting role of Cherry. In 2017, Tang made her Australian screen debut when she was cast as Georgia in The Letdown. Xana plays Bo-Lin in the 2018 crime thriller TV series, Dead Lucky.

Xana will be appearing on screens as Xiu, Mulan’s sister, in the live action Disney film set to be released in 2020.

More casting announcements to come!

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