Wong Fu Productions

May 22, 2021

“While we may not bring up [Asian Pacific American] issues in our work, we are not afraid to show that we are Asian. This is an issue in itself that we believe we're tackling head on. We want to show that APAs are just normal people, and shouldn't be stereotyped in the media and should have proper representation. We don't all do martial arts or have accents. We have stories that most everyone can relate to as human beings. We really want to show that our work and voice should and can be seen colorblind. The same way African Americans can now be accepted in the mainstream without a second guess, that's what we hope will someday be the case for APAs.” - Wong Fu Productions

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Wong Fu Productions is a filmmaking group founded by three Asian Americans: Philip Wang, Ted Fu, and Wesley Chan. According to Wang, Wong Fu unofficially started in 2001 when he created his first video in junior high school. Wang attended University of California, San Diego and met Wesley Chan and Ted Fu, and the three of them began to make short films and projects in between classes and homework assignments. Wong Fu’s early popularity came from its initial success on uploading YouTube videos. Since then, Wong Fu has collaborated with notable figures such as Harry Shum Jr., Simu Liu, and the music group Far East Movement, among many others.

Video shorts are Wong Fu’s main medium form, most of which are uploaded onto their YouTube channel. The range of topics and stories told from these short videos vary, but in order to provide a platform for Asian Americans to get into the film industry, the majority of Fu’s casts are Asian Americans. The channel’s most watched short, “Strangers, Again”, which outlines the rising and falling arc of a romantic relationship, while others are more light-hearted, like “Asian Bachelorette”, which is a parody on the reality TV show The Bachelorette. Wong Fu has also worked on larger productions, such as their first feature film Everything Before Us and multi-episode series like Single By 30 and Yappie.

While touted as a platform that boosts Asian American representation in a white-dominated film industry, Wong Fu has not gone by without its fair share of criticism. Its fan base has once pushed back for having a Caucasian actor be at the forefront of a video promo picture. Others have complained that the cast and crew have largely represented East Asian Americans, despite the diverse groups within the Asian American population.

Nevertheless, Wong Fu continues to be a company that brings positive influences for Asian American representation. It strives to continue being a platform to not only support rising Asian American artists but also an amplifier for aspiring filmmakers and producers.

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Sources and additional materials:

Wong Fu Productions YouTube Channel: link
Wong Fu Productions Official Website: link
News coverage on Wong Fu Productions: link

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Personal recommendations:

Yappie: link

“Strangers, again”: link

“A Long Time Coming”: link