In this episode, I invited Yuko Torihara. She's a director, writer and actor based in NYC.
We talked about...
Guest Bio
Yuko Torihara is a filmmaker, writer, actor born in Japan and currently based in NYC. She grew up living between Japan, the UK and the US, moving every few years with my family until I settled down in NYC in 2006. She grew up as an outsider looking into the various cultures in which she was raised and understood from an early age that the inherent ‘truths’ defined by each culture looks different depending on your vantage point, and that identity is by nature performative. This got her interested in her first passion, acting. Telling stories has been a natural way for her to understand the world around her.
Yuko's hybrid short documentary Chinatown Beat about Chinatown based writer Henry Chang and legendary Asian-American photographer Corky Lee was published in The New Yorker in 2021.
Website : https://yukotorihara.us/
IG @yukotorihara
Chinatown Beat : https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/corky-lee-henry-chang-and-the-life-of-a-storied-neighborhood-in-chinatown-beat
Show Note
01:08 How are you?
02:35 What is a fun fact that most people don’t know about you?
03:30 You were born in Japan, grew up in Japan, UK and US… what was it like growing up in all these different cultures?
05:30 Growing up all over the place, did you have a conscious awareness of yourself as a Japanese?
07:35 What is it about Japanese culture that you were so deeply rooted in?
09:42 *Quote* Japan was the land that I longed for.
11:55 For the other side of you that you started developing, the actor side of you, what was that journey like?
12:35 What made you want to settle in NY?
14:00 “Chinatown Beat” which was featured in The NewYorkers, how was that process like to create this documentary?
20:20 Mentorship in AAPI artist community
23:08 *Quote* This film wasn’t just meant to stay in my hard drive.
24:36 What was the biggest lesson that you learned from this project?
26:25 What are some of the stories that you want to share with a new found passion for directing?
28:08 Do you see yourself doing more cross cultural collaboration?
30:21 *Quote* NY is a place where you discover yourself.
31:30 What is the advice that you want to give your younger self?
34:10 How can people find you and “Chinatown Beat”?
35:00 What is a call to action that you want to share right now?
CALL TO ACTION
Be Kind to yourself. Love yourself. Growth is hope.
Thank you everyone for listening to this episode. Visit my website [ www.yukoislovelivelife.com ] and I’d love to connect with you there. You can sign up to my weekly newsletter or join my Patreon community [www.patreon.com/YUKOISLOVELIVELIFE ] and discuss more about Art + People and Social good.
Till next story, let's stay connected.
Yuko
