Note: Interviews and events referenced in this article took place before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and contains quotes from talent who are not members of those organizations. We stand in solidarity with members of both organizations.
By now, you’ve likely heard of the latest Asian American-led film, Joy Ride. The film follows four friends travelling from Seattle to different parts of Asia in search of their next big career step, family, and self.
What you’re less likely to have heard is that Joy Ride was filmed entirely in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Cold Tea Collective’s home, and the city that never plays itself.
Alongside our partners at Cineplex Pictures, Touchwood PR, Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens, and 8ight Magazine came together to host a hometown advanced screening, a Q&A session, and an afterparty for the film.
Cold Tea Collective moderated a Q&A with some local talents that helped put Joy Ride on the big screen. Check out the highlights of this special event below.
Read more: Joy Ride arrives at an intersection of inclusive storytelling for the Asian American diaspora
Vancouver was the perfect place to film Joy Ride
If you didn’t notice, Joy Ride was filmed entirely in Vancouver. The Seattle and Shanghai airports? Vancouver. The rivers of China? Vancouver. Korean cafe street scenes? That was in Vancouver as well. The nightclub in China? Yes, it’s in Vancouver, where I spent many late nights in my 20’s.
Vancouver is a top city for talent behind the scenes and on our screens. More specifically, Asian Canadian talent as the Greater Vancouver area is home to the largest proportion of Asians per capita in North America. A report from 2021 shares that over half of Metro Vancouver’s population identifies as a visible minority and more than 40% of that group identifies as Asian.
With Joy Ride’s premier, we wanted to celebrate the local cast, creatives, and community for their roles in the film.
Joy Ride cast and crew share their experiences on the road to the big screen
Taiwanese Canadian actor Johnny Wu plays Deadeye’s online friend “@Jinderella88” (also known as “Xing Xing”). In our post-screening Q&A moderated by Cold Tea Collective, Wu shares his experience playing this iconic character on screen.
Wu originally auditioned for the role of one of the classical Chinese characters in Kat’s Chinese drama in the film. He showed up in full traditional Chinese wear… and a sword. But Director Adele Lim had other ideas.
“Adele thought I was crazy enough that they gave me four pages [for the role of Xing Xing], and I memorised it within an hour.” Wu received the official word within a few days that he had booked the role.
Vancouver-based dance choreographer, director, and producer Joe Tuliao is the creative mind that brought the dance moves for the film’s fictional K-pop girl group to life.
We asked the Filipino Canadian creative what the process was like to be selected as a choreographer for the film. “I knew when I read the pitch, I knew it was meant for me. Every cell in my body was buzzing. It was something that aligned with my values,” shares Tuliao.
Choreographing for Joy Ride is what Joe Tuliao describes as a career highlight. “I found my voice as a leader and a director — and now that goes hand-in-hand with [being a] choreographer.” He also shared that the directors, writers and cast encouraged him to speak up and be specific with his vision on set.
What Joy Ride means to the Vancouver film community
For Wu, who has been part of the Vancouver arts community over the years, specifically the Vancouver Asian Film Festival circuit, this opportunity felt different.
Wu shares that when he was first cast, he was excited and then the feeling of fear settled in with respect to how big the film would be, it’s cultural significance, and what it means to play a character that is a “sassy and flamboyant and looks like people who are commonly targeted,” says Wu.
“The character was all that… It was a hero and not just a sidekick or a clown… It was a reminder that heroes don’t look a certain way,” he says.
Dressed in a bright pink dress by designer Alex S. Yu, Wu sends the audience off with a very strong and clear message. He encourages us to honour our truths: “The stories that you have to tell and you take to any platform, it’s a reminder that you are someone’s hero,” Wu says. “By showing yourself, you can be someone’s hero. Show up, show out, show off. Just be you.”
Special guest Blake Abbie of Bling Empire season three in New York City was also at the events. He is a proud Chinese Canadian Vancouverite and an artist in residence at the Chinatown Storytelling Centre supporting cultural education programming for the area.
“There is actually a lot of history here and we really need to engage with that for it to have a new life… It’s amazing to see it in the film, too,” says Abbie. “Chinatowns are still living and breathing vibrant communities.”
Joy Ride filmmakers highlight the importance of authenticity in the details in filmmaking
Working with Asian creatives on screen and behind the scenes was important and intentional to the filmmakers of Joy Ride.
“It’s so important — representation in front of the camera — but also behind the camera and really making sure that the people who are involved in the movie understand some of the nuances of the culture that we really haven’t been able to show,” says one of the film’s writers Teresa Hsiao. “It was definitely something that we thought about when getting the crew together.”
Director Adele Lim shares similar sentiments and describes working in Vancouver as “like coming home.” To create this feeling of bringing something authentic to screen meant that the producing and directing team intentionally hired “crew and heads of departments who know our culture, love our culture, who are from our culture.”
Lim recognizes the authenticity and talent that costume designer Beverly Huynh brought to the set and how production designer Michael Wong brought pictures of his grandmother’s house from Hong Kong to recreate Nai Nai’s house in one of the China-set scenes. “It’s all those tiny little details that we don’t shine a spotlight on. But if you know, you know.”
Beyond representation, Joy Ride has additional and far-reaching cultural impacts
These film release events took place in the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown at the Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas and at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens, where guests could walk out of the film and directly onto the set of “The Emperor’s Daughter” scenes in Joy Ride.
“We are truly honoured and thankful to be a part of this project,” shares Lorraine Lowe, executive director of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens.
Lowe also highlights the importance of filming in an authentic classical Chinese garden: “The erasure of Chinatown is happening around North America, but everyone in this room is doing their part to celebrate our heritage.”
Maybe Vancouver will finally play itself one day
Vancouver didn’t get the name “Hollywood North” for no reason. The city has been the backdrop for other notable productions, including the To All the Boys series, Always Be My Maybe, and the recently cancelled Kung Fu. Many post-production, special effects and animation studios are also behind iconic pieces of pop culture.
Organizations such as RESO and its inaugural EXNW conference bringing together racialized creatives alongside its partners at Gold House are pushing for change. The event takes place in various locations across the Greater Vancouver area, with studio tours, notable speakers including Shannon Lee of the Bruce Lee Foundation and more from July 28th to 30th.
It’s undeniable that the city is home to many talented creatives, artists, actors, dancers, and storytellers. The creative community here has uplifts the city and showcases Vancouver’s Chinatown — an important place to many Asian Canadians’ heritage.
With the involvement of local talents and Chinatown’s presence in Joy Ride, the film is a symbolic marker for a new chapter for this culturally rich neighbourhood. Earlier in 2023, the Canadian government approved $1.8 million in funding to revitalize the area, including the recent opening of the Chinese Canadian Museum of BC. These initiatives and other educational and cultural programming help transform Chinatowns into creative hot spots for the next generation of diasporic youth.
