Screening

Film Screening and Q&A: "Characters Disappearing" by Connor Sen Warnick

Thursday, February 16, 2023
6:30 – 8:30PM

Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) is pleased to host a screening of a short excerpt from 2022 Van Lier Fellow Connor Sen Warnick’s forthcoming film Characters Disappearing at Anthology Film Archives.

Warnick is the writer, director, producer, and lead actor of Characters Disappearing, his debut feature-length narrative film. The project takes inspiration from an overlooked moment of AAPI activism and Afro-Asian solidarity in New York City during the 1970s, which prominently features grassroots community groups such as Basement Workshop and I Wor Kuen (IWK). Set in a not-so-distant past full of parallels to the present day, the film explores the inner lives of four intergenerational characters of color: Mei, Chris, Popo, and Leonard. As they investigate the mysteries of their own complicated identities, they each face a variety of intersecting spiritual and political impasses — all framed within the unique context of a revolution caught at a crossroads.

“To counter harmful stereotypes and dispel cycles of violence, the time is now for a film to explore the complexities of Asian American experiences, past and present, without compromise,” says Warnick.

The evening will conclude with a panel discussion between the filmmaker and Herb Tam, Curator and Director of Exhibitions at the Museum of Chinese in America; Eleanor Yung, longtime Chinatown activist/co-founder of Asian American Dance Theatre; and Fellowship mentor, acclaimed AAPI filmmaker Christopher Makoto Yogi.

A reception will follow.

This event is made possible through the New York Community Trust’s Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund.

About Connor Sen Warnick

Connor Sen Warnick is a Chinese American filmmaker, writer, and researcher with an extensive background in fine arts and avant-garde cinema. He is the recipient of A4’s annual Van Lier Fellowship, a program that awards a stipend and mentorship early-career arts practitioners whose work shows outstanding promise in fields of art to further develop their talent and contributed to the development of Characters Disappearing (2022). A lifelong New Yorker, Warnick received his B.A. in both Visual Art and Film Studies from Columbia University in 2018. His recent films include Late, by any Clock (2021) and The Colorless Creek (2019).

Watch the trailer

https://www.charactersdisappearing.com