Our project is a female-driven story co-created by a young woman from Hong Kong and a biracial Vietnamese-American. They, alongside the rest of the dedicated cast and crew, are inspired to create a series that attempts to foster understanding between people from different backgrounds.

For years, Hong Kong has been marketed as “the bridge between East and West.”

But you know how marketing goes: people will say anything to get your money (*cough cough*). From our experience, though, Hong Kong puts the “fusion” in “confusion.”

All jokes aside, we’ve noticed a problem in Hong Kong, the United States, and many multicultural communities around the world: the desire for cultural preservation is often forced to compete with multiculturalism. In the worst cases, we see people from more traditional backgrounds become overly strict with who they consider to be “from here,” and people from multicultural backgrounds become ignorant of important history in the places they live. We see this conflict in the checkered history of United States immigration, in the worldwide histories of colonization, and in our web series: where a group of teenagers from Hong Kong are just trying their best to belong.

 

You see, one of the most influential factors in a person’s upbringing in Hong Kong is whether she attends “local school” or “international school.” Local schools are government-funded and serve a predominantly Cantonese-speaking population. International schools, on the other hand, charge higher tuitions and serve the English-speaking population. Our series focuses on the prejudices that have popped up in this dual education system. 

 

Pineapple begins with Michelle and Stella, two students who are on the annual fashion show committee at their prestigious international school.

Michelle is ethnically Chinese, but doesn’t speak Cantonese very well or concern herself much with local Hong Kong culture. Despite this, she’s never really questioned her place in the city. Stella, on the other hand, has always felt different from everyone else: as an attractive Eurasian girl, she often gets fetishized for her appearance, never quite being seen as “normal.” When a new student named Winston transfers in from local school and joins their fashion show committee, Michelle is set on a journey to discover what it means to be a “true Hong Konger” -- putting the fashion show, her sense of self-worth, and her relationship with Stella on the line.

What we want to say with Pineapple is that you can’t claim to know someone just by a label. Whether that’s “local,” “expat,” or “pineapple bun,” we all make up the same Hong Kong.

Where Can I Watch This Thing?

Our hope with this story is to reach out to cross-cultural audiences everywhere, and there’s no point in making Pineapple if nobody can watch it. That’s why we’re going to make it easy for you all by hosting the episodes through YouTube and releasing them on an official website we’re going to create for the series.

(Basically, what we're saying is that we want to be the next Henry Chow.)

OK, But Who Am I Giving Money To?

Pineapple is co-created by two filmmakers who deeply understand this divide because it cuts straight through their lives.

 

Jane Chow | Director, Co-Writer, Co-Producer

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Jane is passionate about telling stories that give a voice to marginalized issues. Though she attended both local school and international school while growing up in Hong Kong, she always found herself shying away from local pop culture and gravitating towards American movies and TV shows. It wasn't until she went to the United States for college that she realized how big of an impact this unspoken cultural divide between local and international school had on how others perceived her. As a student of Loyola Marymount University pursuing a degree in Film & TV Production and Women's & Gender Studies, Jane recently traveled to Germany to create a documentary about an Afghan female refugee and activist, which challenged her to handle sensitive subject matter and reflect on the fluidity of cultural identity worldwide. With Pineapple, Jane hopes to draw on her own upbringing in a transitional city to reach out to others who are struggling with their identity and show them that they’re not alone. 

 

Peter Rafe | Co-Writer, Co-Producer

Peter Rafe is half-Vietnamese and half-Caucasian. Though he grew up in a large Vietnamese extended family in the San Francisco Bay Area since he was six years old, Peter has often been told that he “doesn’t look Vietnamese” and has always felt self-conscious about this along with his lack of Vietnamese language skills. As a budding screenwriter and producer, and current student of Loyola Marymount University's esteemed Film & TV Production program, Peter always takes on projects that attempt to make positive impacts on people's lives. Examples of this include creating a short film while studying abroad in Hong Kong or adapting a feature length screenplay for Captive Daughters Films this past summer. With Pineapple, Peter hopes to draw on his personal history in order to help other mixed-raced and multicultural kids see their experiences represented on-screen.

 

CAST

J Lou | Stella

J Lou is a content creator and rice-enthusiast from Hong Kong. As someone who is half-French, half-Chinese and went to both local and international school in Hong Kong, she grew up as a “third-culture kid” who often felt caught in-between. She aims to use her platform to share her experiences with others and encourage much-needed conversations about cross-cultural identity. With five languages under her belt, she’s known for her entertaining multi-lingual videos online (often revolving around her love for rice). In addition to collaborating with brands such as American Eagle Outfitters, Benefit Cosmetics, and Estée Lauder, J Lou hosted for ViuTV’s《挑機》and has recently become a travel series host for Cathay Pacific. She's extremely excited to be a part of Pineapple and help bring more Eurasian stories to the screen. 

Favourite local Hong Kong food: "油雞飯 - Soy sauce chicken with rice"

 

Songnia Xiao | Michelle

Songnia is an actress and a full-time foodie. She grew up in Beijing and spent a few years living in Hong Kong, where she experienced the effects of living in a bubble amidst a multicultural environment. As a recent graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Songnia has performed in classics such as Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Coward's "Hay Fever" as well as newly written plays, including Haleh Roshan's "Free Free Free Free". Through her work, she aims to push for diversity and Asian representation in the world of entertainment. She is more than excited to be a part of "Pineapple" and share her experiences growing up as an international student: the confusion of self-identity, the cultural clashes, the privileges, the craziness, and everything in-between.

Favourite food from your hometown: “As a foodie, this is an EXTREMELY difficult question to answer! Dumplings with dill and pork, and 炸醬麵 (Beijing fried sauce noodles). I can give you a list but I’ll just keep it simple.”

 

Ho Long Lee | Winston

Ho Long* is a student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He likes to think that he majors in his hobby of acting, while minoring in... going to school. In 2015, he performed in “General Mulan" at the Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre, and was further trained at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art. Recently, he made his TV debut in RTHK's《跑九》, and he is extremely excited about joining "Pineapple" to shine again! Being a self-described “full-on Hong Kong boy”, he found himself surrounded by people from every corner of the world upon starting university. Through Winston's perspective, Ho Long seeks to share his enthusiasm for acting and insights from being immersed in a multicultural environment.

*He has an English name too. As he likes to say:

“我英文名係Drew，唔係Andrew。兩個syllables 太煩了。”  

“In English, I go by Drew, not Andrew. Two syllables is too much of hassle.”

Favourite local Hong Kong food: “西炒飯 (Hong Kong-style Western fried rice) (Basically fried rice with ketchup)”

 

Hana Wu | Amber

Hana was made in Taiwan but grew up in the Bay Area, and she sees herself as a true California girl. After studying clinical psychology and working as a psychotherapist for several years, specializing in trauma and gender-based violence, she transitioned into acting, which she now wants to do every day for the rest of her life. She has acted in multiple short films and web series, including the Chinese-American web series "Three Chen Sisters" which recently screened at the Silicon Beach Film Festival and Independent Filmmakers Showcase. Hana is passionate about Asian American representation and believes that there are so many great stories within this community, striving for platforms on which to be told. She is especially excited to join the cast of “Pineapple” and bring to life a character on a journey to connect with her roots.

Favourite food from your hometown: “Taiwanese beef noodle soup and ba-wan (Taiwanese Meatballs)”

 

Star Orjaliza | Tina 

Star is an actress from Manila, Philippines. Her acting career began in 1986 on the kids' show "Batibot", but came to a stop in 1988 when she decided to concentrate on her studies. In the late 2000s, after working as an overseas foreign worker in Dubai, and Star gave birth to her daughter. Ever since, Star has been trying to get her daughter into show business. But in 2009, Star was ultimately discovered by a talent coordinator from a television network in the Philippines, which led to her first starring role as "Kapitana" in the TV series "Mutya". Since then, Star has acted in over a hundred projects including feature films, TV series, web series, and commercials, and even operates her own YouTube channel "Mommy Star". This is what she loves to do; this is her passion. Star is excited to bring this passion into "Pineapple 菠蘿" and to draw from her own experiences as an overseas foreign worker in order to bring Tina's story to life.
Favourite food from your hometown: “Chicken Adobo, Fish Sinigang and Beef Kaldereta”

 

Rohan Gupta | Eddy

Rohan is an aspiring actor, writer, director, and producer who occasionally studies business in university. He’s from India and has been living in Hong Kong for the past 3 years. He is currently involved in the Joint University Media Production in Hong Kong, where he recently shot and acted in his first major short film. Last year, Rohan also acted in a feature film titled ‘Did I?’ where he played the comedic relief character. He was a gangster in the film. (He doesn’t understand how either.) He loves making short comedic skits and doing impressions and accents. Movies are his first and foremost love.
Favorite food from your hometown: "Butter Chicken in New Delhi”

Follow us on Seed&Spark and our social media pages to stay tuned for more cast announcements!

Facebook • Instagram • Twitter