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Three Short Films by Mackie Mallison

Three Short Films by Mackie Mallison

3 Episodes

As ecstatically inventive as they are warmly heartfelt, these deeply personal shorts by rising director Mackie Mallison are multilayered explorations of Asian American identity (including his own Japanese American heritage), family, displacement, and memory. Combining the dreamy textures and intimate, home-movie quality of 16 mm with exuberant bursts of colorful animation, kinetic editing, and surreal superimpositions, Mallison’s collage-like films open up a poignant dialogue across cultures and generations in a moving search for the meaning of home.

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Three Short Films by Mackie Mallison

3 Episodes

  • Chuu Chuu
    15:06
    Chuu Chuu
    Episode 1

    Chuu Chuu

    Episode 1

    Directed by Mackie Mallison • 2021 • United States

    Taking its title from the Japanese onomatopoeia for bird sound, CHUU CHUU is a lyrical, dream-like portrait of the director's grandmother, her fear of flying, and her connection with avian beings.

  • It Smells Like Springtime
    16:26
    It Smells Like Springtime
    Episode 2

    It Smells Like Springtime

    Episode 2

    Directed by Mackie Mallison • 2022 • United States

    Through family conversations, home movies, and portraiture, IT SMELLS LIKE SPRINGTIME explores the complexity of Asian-American identity and experience in dialogue with the artist and jeweler Ada Chen and a riotous cadre of kids. Together, they ...

  • Live From the Clouds
    16:04
    Live From the Clouds
    Episode 3

    Live From the Clouds

    Episode 3

    Directed by Mackie Mallison • 2023 • United States

    LIVE FROM THE CLOUDS immerses the viewer in the intimate memories and imaginations of four women in the director's Japanese-American family, where everyday anxieties of shopping, paying the bills, and flying are ruptured by dreams of financial f...

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