raechoi_

Two months to go with WHEN THE SKY WAS BLUE on @sbsondemand ! It’s been a big, beautiful journey for this little film that represents so much. Memories, reflections, loneliness, loss… and from within this place a yearning for connection and the beginnings of bravery that lead to reaching for it. In a lot of ways I’ve moved on but as my first foray into writing and directing, I will forever hold dear the gift of making this film and those that made it possible - who encouraged me, trusted me, pushed me, supported me, questioned me, cried with me, believed in me. I’ll also hold close all the friends and strangers who have shared what this film has meant to them, a manifestation beyond my childhood dreams. 🩵☁️ We hope you go watch if you haven’t already and if you feel like sharing your thoughts, we’d love to receive them over on Letterboxd. A favourite review so far: “Kiwi knife supremacy” - 4 stars. This film was developed and produced on unceded Jagera and Turrbal country as part of the @screenqueensland RIDE Shorts initiative.

Rae Choi is a Chinese-Australian filmmaker with a background in law and community arts. Her directorial debut short ‘When The Sky Was Blue’ was nominated for an Australian Writers’ Guild Award and is available on SBS on Demand. In 2020 she learned she is hard-of-hearing. ‘Some Kind of Blue’ is based on this discovery. 🌀NEW WAVES Art Exhibition & Event 🔹Opening Thu 26th September, 6-9pm 🌀KEPK Studio, 241 Station Rd, Yeerongpilly 💙Tickets in link in bio

THREE DAYS AFTER is a three-channel film now showing at @cementfondu as part of Retellings (Revisions): Rainbow Chan x Sin Wai Kin. Belonging to a body of work central to Rainbow’s artistic practice and research exploring matrilineal stories passed down through Weitou women indigenous to Hong Kong, this work is based on a bridal lament about a bride who, long ago, ran away from her arranged marriage, choosing to die in the canola fields of her childhood rather than returning to the groom. To us, her decision is devastating as it is bold, made bolder because it was hers to make. We thought about veils as protection and separation, tassels as both tenuous and strong, and smoky movement to bring a reimagined sense of power to the lament. A mournful, tender song turned reclamation of fate, narrated by a child as if this is the stuff of bedtime stories. Felt deeply honoured to be invited to co-direct this with @chunyinrainbowchan who truly is a dream collaborator - brave, trusting, open and inspired. That dream extends to the wondrous team: Directed by @chunyinrainbowchan and me Produced by @dpphnx @ensemblefilms Cinematographer @bonitarenataa Sound design and composer @chunyinrainbowchan Editor and 1st AD @joshtate_ Movement consultant @wikitoria_hunt Weavings Chan Kwok Ming Translations @kitty_sumyee_chan Unit Manager Chi Tran Production Assistants @smallfryhq, James O’Keeffe Gaffer @nice_electrics 1st AC @agatha.l.e.e LX Assist @snuggle.puss @_.rileylewis._ Steadicam @_joelsoh Hair and make up @harukah_air Wardrobe @katalyst_design @isseymiyakeofficial Graphics and key art @amyyu_amyme VFX artist @rel.pham Colourist @s.k.mccarthy Colour facility @wearecrayon Sound mastering @aphir_ Shot at @tamale_studios

Your amazing contributions and efforts raised a truly incredible $33,643 in the lead up to, and on the day on Sunday. THANK YOU SO MUCH. We’ve made a whopping donation to @taqwaqld of $30,985 as well as $2658 to @brisbanesovereignembassy ‘s Treaty Before Sports campaign. More than 90 individuals and businesses contributed their time, their goods, vouchers, energies, skills, crafts and creativity and so much more to make this happen and we cannot thank you enough. Every component of the day contributed to this whopping fundraising effort, from food stalls, markets, our silent auction and raffle, and so much more. There’s too many individuals to name, but you know who you are- THANK YOU. We have a special community here in Magandjin/Meanjin/Brisbane and it was out in full force on the weekend. But please don’t let it be the end of your activism and support! Step up your energies, get along to the next @justiceforpalestine.magandjin rally this Sunday, join your local action group, keep participating in mutual aid and show your solidarity in every way you can. The movement needs you, now more than ever. Free Palestine 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

Magan-djin! Join us for a community fundraiser on Sunday 23 June @echoandbounce_ to support the incredible work of @taqwaqld , a local organisation helping families fleeing Gaza and seeking safety here in Bris ❤️💚🖤 Funds raised will go directly to providing housing and essentials. Come along for a day of music, food, stalls, solidarity and more in the (hopefully) radiant winter sunshine. All efforts, food and goods for sale on the day have been generously donated by various makers and businesses across the city. This event is child friendly, and the courtyard space is wheelchair accessible. Echo&bounce is located within a 1 minute walk of the Mater Hill busway and there is some parking available on nearby streets. The event will be held largely outside (weather permitting), however covid19 and other viruses are spreading rampant right now, so as always, please stay home if you are sick. Please get in touch if there are accessibility questions or requirements that will make the event more accessible for you. Save the date, tell your friends and buy some raffle tickets! Link for raffle in bio & here: www.magandjinfundraisingraffle.com This event will be held on stolen Yuggera and Turrbul land. The organisers would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of these lands and that sovereignty over this place has never been ceded. The lands we now live, work, protest and build community on are Aboriginal land. Poster design by @platypuspublication

Some of you may remember my appearances as a disgruntled checkout chick in “Butter” @anitahuaixinlee @madeleine_withington, or a possessed factory worker with a penchant for Shin Ramen in “Asian Girls” @hyunleeee 😂 I return to the big screen in a new short film by @raechoi_, who took these beautiful photos a few months ago on our reccy. I was very moved by the script, which draws upon Rae’s personal experience of hearing loss and its entanglement with repressed grief. We’re raising funds for the project and it would be deeply appreciated if you could take a moment to check it out. Link in my bio 🎥🎞️ ~ A bereft musician struggling to reckon with her grief is haunted by phantom sounds and visitations by an unknown spirit. Written and directed by Rae Choi, and starring Rainbow Chan, STRANGER WAVES is a short film exploring the realms of loss and presence, realism and the imagined. ~ Photos by @raechoi_ Drone footage by @marcel.lim

When The Sky Was Blue (2021, Australia). One Sunday, 10-year-old Leah experiences small but striking moments of longing and loss. When The Sky Was Blue is screening online and free on ACMI Cinema 3 as part of Resistance – The Other Film Festival #TOFF. Audio described and captioned. Available from Thursday 23 November – Thursday 7 December. #ResistanceTOFF

So thrilled that @chunyinrainbowchan will be performing in the lead role of Indiana in WAVES! As well as composing music that her character plays in the film. Rainbow is an incredible multi-disciplinary artist whose dedication and curiosity for exploring personal and ancestral connections I deeply admire and respect. From our first meeting in glorious @cibi_minanoie months ago to our most recent conversation on meditation and movement, it feels like a dream to be collaborating with her on this special project so dear to my heart and ears. We’re currently fundraising via @ausculturalfund - if you’re in a position to do so, we would love you to consider supporting us! All donations are tax-deductible. Link in bio x Photo by @daphnenguyen__

Rae Choi is a Meanjin-based writer, director and producer whose creative work explores themes of self-reflection, loss, culture and identity. Her lived experiences and career accomplishments highlight her versatility as a filmmaker with a strong commitment to storytelling. In this @colourboxstudio interview, Choi generously shares about her journey as a lawyer and film producer moving into writing and directing. She discusses how experiences growing up in an Asian Australian family influenced the prevalent themes of otherness and longing for understanding in her work; and she explains how her upcoming short film, Waves, is inspired by an exploration of the complexities of personal loss. LINK IN BIO: COLOURBOXSTUDIO.COM #artistinterview #cbsqanda #colourboxstudio #filmmakers #storytelling #writer #director #producer @raechoi_ Images courtesy of the artist: 01. Rae Choi, 2022. Photo: Joshua Tate - @joshtate_ 02. Rae Choi with her family including her Po Po, 1997. 03. Film still from Paris Funeral, 1972, 2021. Cinematography: Adric Watson - @adricwatson 04. Rae Choi on set When The Sky Was Blue, 2021. Photo: Meg Keene - @megkeene__ 05. Film still from When The Sky Was Blue, 2021. Cinematography: Bonita Carzino - @bonitarenataa 06. Film still from When The Sky Was Blue, 2021. Cinematography: Bonita Carzino. 07. Rae Choi at Screen Producers Australia Awards with producer Sheree Ramage, 2023. Photo: Marcel Lim. @marcel.lim

Feeling gooey with nerves and excitement to share that I’m diving into the next short film that I’m writing and directing: WAVES. Exploring the interplay between different kinds of loss, this story is deeply personal to me, after finding out in 2021 that I am hard-of-hearing and have likely been so for a long time. Set by the beach, the film follows Indiana who turns to music as a form of distraction and escape following her mother’s death but finds no reprieve. Instead, she experiences debilitating phantom noises, tormenting obstructive sounds from her neighbour and mysterious visitations. Only when she discovers that she is undergoing another kind of loss, that of her hearing, that she falls apart. In surrendering to the waves of grief - figuratively and literally - Indiana may, finally, begin to heal. We’re raising funds through @ausculturalfund and would be grateful for any support - even spreading the word helps tremendously! If you like the sound of the project, or connected with our previous film WHEN THE SKY WAS BLUE and would like to contribute to bringing this film to fruition, you can make a tax-deductible donation via the link in my bio. I’m really looking forward to this one, and hope you can join us for the ride! Soft photo by @joshtate_ 🌊🐚✨

WHEN THE SKY WAS BLUE is out today! This is the first time I’ve ever released a film online and there’s something thrilling about throwing it out there so openly. It’s also overwhelming, in a really good way, and I sense that pressure to express all that I’m feeling but I’m not sure I can. Instead, I’ll share a statement I wrote early on which I hope rings true for those that see it. Film available to watch via link in bio! *** I began writing this film in 2020. After big plans to move overseas were thwarted mere days before I was due to depart, I found myself back in my family home, living with my parents. It was honestly the last place I thought I’d find myself, and yet it was precisely there that I did. Buried childhood memories emerged, wading into my periphery. I was soon faced with reminders of loneliness and self-doubt, of wishing I was more white and my nose wasn’t so flat, of the sweeping ambivalence that comes with straddling multiple worlds and being too young to understand how or why. In making sense of these memories, I found that I was able to bring more compassion to my younger self, as well as to those around me, especially my mother. I became preoccupied with examining generational differences and the intersection of languages – when love language meets cultural modes of communication. Particularly as I contemplate motherhood myself, I wonder about mother-daughter relationships and the nature of inherited and mirrored narratives. What do we pass on? Can we intend not to, and do so anyway? My hope is that the film sparks more of these questions and offers some sense of the acceptance required to embrace the expansive, meandering and brave task of loving imperfectly. *** Endlessly grateful for all the beautiful family, friends, cast, crew for supporting and believing, especially on those days when I couldn’t. You got me through! 💙

Shooting on film felt like an obvious choice from the start. Being a film about looking back on childhood and the fuzziness of those memories, there’s a visceral, tonal quality to 16mm that we so wanted to lean into. It’s perfect for capturing the liminal feelings of being an outsider within your family and within yourself, yet lingering on that hopeful cusp of something. Searching for understanding and connection. Sometimes losing but still reaching. More than aesthetics, there’s a special process to making a film on film. It’s organic, intentional, connective, and demands attentiveness and care in a way that changes the social and emotional fabric of the shoot and the way we work. For all this and more, I’m so grateful for @bonitarenataa. With her curiosity, openness and sweet, silly energy, she immediately made me feel safe and supported. She’s tirelessly devoted to capturing moments in ways that honour the story and its characters. From our first waffly phone call through to the 5 weeks we spent living together in the midst of lockdown and border closures, and now to the friendship we hold, I feel like one damn blessed girl. I cannot recommend her more highly, as well as the entire camera department, all wonderful filmmakers to work with and know: @c_yohana @lillics_ @emreid_ 🤍