By Sofia Paul
The film directed by Joy Hopwood has as much heart as the people behind it.
“Everyone involved did this with so much love and I feel a little piece of everyone’s heart is imprinted into the digital celluloid of this film,” Luu said.
Rhapsody of Love is destined to make history – the first Asian Australian romantic comedy.
It follows four couples in different phases of their relationships and how love sometimes shows itself when least expected.
To celebrate the release, a Q&A will be held at Dendy Newton to launch the film’s release. There will be two screens to assist with social distancing due to the Covid situation.
Born to Vietnamese refugee parents, diversity is something Kathy Luu holds dear.
“I grew up with a lot of Hong Kong films and TV, so I saw a lot of Asian people on screen thanks to my parents. But it was a very separated world, in regards to Australian and American films on TV, as well as animation – it was very, very, very rare to see an Asian onscreen and rarer to see them as the main story point,” she said.
Luu always dreamed of being on the screen, not in Asian films but rather “the very white screens” at home and in the cinema. Even as a child, she was aware of the imbalance and wanted to make a change.
“When it comes to illumination on screen, I feel Asians and BIPOC have been for a greater part, in a cave. We have been pretty much kept in the darkness and not seen on Australian screens.”
Luu said she feels that different cultures are a treasure, waiting to be discovered by the film industry.
“We are a gigantic, largely untapped resource of stories and people, full and varied in our ancestry, and also in our personal experiences, so I feel diversity on screen is going to become the future norm.”
Admitting that she’s a big fan of analogies, Luu believes, “once the menu opens up to a choice of a world cuisine buffet, and not just the options of a variety of breads at the bread bar, it seems the natural and more healthy way to nourish yourself is to go to the buffet!”
She does believe that things are looking more promising.
“We are waking up – we are seeing the value of ourselves, our stories and others; how there is a place for everyone.”
For the actress, Rhapsody of Love was pure joy to be part of.
“It meant every wonderful thing to me. Personally, it is a blossoming of my heart and expression – to share my love of this industry, of acting and filmmaking, of being human and alive, and who I am through this medium. On a bigger scale, the direction of humanity is very important to me, people are important to me. Seeing diversity on screen, I feel, is ultimately an expression of care amongst people.”
Luu’s wish is that viewers leave the movie theatre with a sense of love and hope.
“If you step out feeling a little better than before you stepped in, then we have done our job.”
Love Kathy Luu ❤️
Walked out of this movie after about 15 minutes and we weren’t the first. It seemed clunky and the script was not funny and pretty basic really. I very rarely walk out.