"…a witty commentary on mainstream European American men…It provides an interesting perspective on gender roles (especially when the petite director dresses in ice-hockey gear)…"
~ Barbara Sommer, Department of Psychology, University of California at Davis

 

"…I've seen this film at least four times and still laugh!"
~ Mia Park, Film and Video National Tour Coordinator, Women in the Director's Chair

 

Finalist, The 15th Annual Dore Schary Humanitarian Film and Video Awards

 

Summary

 

With wit and style, Antonia Kao explores the world of "straight, white men" in this revealing, humorous and often poignant new film.

"I went to a women's college and came out a queer." Antonia Kao is a first-generation Taiwanese-American woman who spent several years in activist, progressive LGBT "of-color" circles before deciding to "return to the mainstream." She enters film school at the University of Southern California and finds herself for the first time in a while in the company of many "straight, white men." In an effort to interact comfortably with "the oppressors," and understand who she is in relation to them, she interviews several who represent to her stereotypes "of straight white men." These interviews are mixed with charming animations.

​

The men range from Pascal, a drummer whose walls are covered by pictures of naked women; to Phil, a former Marine who admits that his friends used him as bait to beat up gay men; to two married men, one a corporate golf-lover, and another a socially conservative father of three.

​

Antonia, with her delightful sense of humor and no-holds-barred attitude, joins her new friends in the locker room, on the ice hockey rink and in front of the tube for the Superbowl in an effort to move beyond the stereotypes to a place of personal power and understanding.

 

Cast and Crew

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Director: Antonia Kao
Producer: Sidney Velander
Associate Producer: Teresa Kuan
Director of Photography: Leeza Watstein
Sound: Charlotte Hill
Editors/Animators: Norman E. Anderson II and Tania Trepanier
Composer: Mo Jen
Principal Subjects: Chris Archibald, Pascal Cooper, Steve Schriver, Andy Shaker, and David Teter

 

Antonia Kao
Director
>>biography

 

Sidney Velander
Producer
Sidney grew up in and around Bismarck, North Dakota and graduated magna cum laude in English from Carleton College. At USC, Sidney produced the colorful action-drama The Cop, The Priest, Their Chicks, and A Rockstar before producing Straight White Men and Me. Currently, Sidney is putting the finishing touches on his first feature, Blood, a family drama set in rural Dakota. He has outlined two other features which he intends to complete during his last year at USC. When not working on films, Sidney enjoys woodworking, film criticism, and the art of Bob Dylan.

 

Leeza Watstein
Director of Photography
Prior to beginning graduate work at USC, Leeza earned a B.F.A. in Acting from the Depaul University Theatre School and served as Founding and Artistic Director of Athena Works, a forum which showcased works by women writers and directors in Los Angeles. At USC, Leeza was awarded the Mary Pickford Foundation Scholarship for her digital video projects Esmeralda Hatches a Plan, an original animation, and Will to Communicate, a documentary. She also directed Interweave, a 16mm black and white film adaptation of a Native American myth. Cinematography is a new fascination for Leeza who aspires to direct professionally.

 

Charlotte Hill
Sound
Charlotte, who has lived in eight states on both the east and west coasts including Alaska and Hawaii, and who has studied in France, hopes to continue traveling the globe as she pursues her film career. At 50, she is a nontraditional age undergraduate USC student. She has a particular interest in sound design and plans on pursuing that path. She has written and directed several shorts, is working on a novel and feature script, and has a great love for the process of making films.

 

Norman E. Anderson III
Editor/Animator
Norm was born and raised in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts. He received a B.A. in Music Composition and German at Williams College where he played the trumpet in the Jazz Band. Prior to arriving at USC to study cinema, Norm taught English in Vienna through a Fulbright Grant, then worked at the National Music Foundation in Massachusetts. The multitalented Norm hopes to make documentary and narrative films for a very long time.
www.normanderson.com

 

Tania Trepanier
Editor/Animator
Tania grew up in Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean. After completing a B.A. in International Literature and an M.A. in Women's Studies, Tania began by making short films funded by the Canadian government. She has also directed and edited a number of short documentaries. Her films have screened at festivals internationally. Before coming to USC, she worked as an Avid editor and web designer at an artist-run center in Canada. Tania hopes to continue to make movies that represent people and stories outside the mainstream.
www.taniatrepanier.com

 

Whitney Looff
Illustrator

 

Screenings

 

Pitzer College Cinematheque

PBS (Thirteen/WNET) broadcast 6/15/07
Newport Beach Film Festival
Wellesley College
University of Southern California
Highways Theater, Los Angeles
Uptown Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Sonoma County Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Taiwan Women's Conference, San Francisco
Women's Cultural Festival, Los Angeles
Western Psychological Association
Visual Communications: Los Angeles Asian Film and Video Festival
Women in the Director's Chair, Festival and National Tour
Columbia College Chicago
Appalachian State University
University of Northern Iowa
University of Northern Carolina
University of Chicago
Northwestern University
Indiana University Library
Ambassador Book Service
Northern Native Broadcast
University of Rochester
Elmira College
University of Wisconsin, La Crosse
San Francisco Public Library
Southern Illinois University
Miami University
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
University of Kansas
Webster University
Chicago Cultural Center
Smith College
The New Festival, New York
DCTV Presents, Manhattan Public Access Cable TV
Film Fatale, Los Angeles
University of Washington
New York University
UC Raymond Walters College
Arts in Action, Los Angeles
University of California, Irvine
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Out on Screen, Canada
Ku'ana Student Services
MLK Celebration, Michigan State University
Taiwanese Media Symposium, Los Angeles
Santa Cruz LGBT Community Center
Women of Color Film Festival, Santa Cruz
First Look Film Festival
Crosstalk II Conference, Cal State Northridge

Profiled on "Forbidden Fruit," KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis, 106.7 FM St. Paul, December 2001

 

Sales/ Rental

 

Currently distributed by Alexander Street.

Rent or purchase here.

 

For general distribution queries, please contact:

Sandrine Cassidy
USC School of Cinema-TV
Student-Industry Relations Office
850 W. 34th St. G132
Los Angeles, CA 90089-2211
Email: cassidy@cinema.usc.edu
Phone: 213.740.4432
Fax: 213.740.5226

Beta SP
Total Running Time 23:21