By Jason Cruz
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF) begins this weekend and one of the feature films will be shown on Saturday, Feb. 24 when Jay Caspian Kang debuts his film “American Son,” which chronicles Michael Chang’s phenomenal run during the 1989 French Open.
Jay Caspian Kang’s film, American Son, debuts at the Seattle Asian American Film Festival this weekend
The film looks at Chang, being the youngest man to win a Grand Slam title at 17 years old, which coincided with the Tiananmen Square massacre. Chang, a Chinese American, grew up in Southern California and was thrust into the world spotlight while student-led demonstrations in China devolved into martial law and military force resulting in civilian deaths. While a sports figure, Chang was asked by the media about the events in Tiananmen Square throughout his run during the French Open and after his grand slam victory. After his victory, Chang appeared on the Today Show to celebrate his victory, but was also asked about his thoughts on Tiananmen Square.
Media picked up on the fact that despite Chang growing up in America, his parents emigrated from China. “The eyes of the world were on Tiananmen and the eyes of the sports world were on Michael Chang,” said Kang.
This is Kang’s first feature documentary/film. He is a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine and the opinion section of The New York Times. He was an Emmy-nominated correspondent for Vice News Tonight and cohosts the podcast Time to Say Goodbye. He is also the author of two books.
“It’s about Michael Chang and his rise with Agassi, Sampras, and the golden era of tennis,” explained Kang of his film. The film includes the famous 1989 French Open 4th Round match between the number 1 player in the world, Ivan Lendl, and the 17-year-old American Chang. The 4 hour and 37-minute classic showed the competitiveness, grit, and fortitude of Chang as he battled severe leg cramps during the match, which had him use innovative strategies to frustrate Lendl into making mistakes. Chang served underhand and crowded the service line to draw Lendl off his game. Chang defeated Lendl in an all-time classic. He then went on to win two more matches to win his first (and only) Grand Slam tournament of his career.
“Michael’s competitiveness came out in the movie. He showed that he was a guy that could ‘gut’ his way to wins.”
The film also looks at the events that occurred at about the same time in China with student protests. “The film is [also] about how an immigrant family tries to think about what happens in their homeland and what that means to a 17-year-old kid that grew up in America. How does he think about it?”
Kang said that Chang and his mother were very receptive to his film and were very open to discuss the events that occurred in China. He noted that Michael and his mother were wonderful to interview. Chang’s mother especially had a “great sense of humor.”
“I think it’s a documentarian’s dream,” said Kang of his subjects.
A portion of the movie also focuses on Chang and his mother. “His team, a lot of times, was his mother,” said Kang as the film shows the bond between the two.
Kang hopes that after the SAAFF, the film will be shown to more audiences. “I think that we are hoping to take it to some other festivals.”
Kang highlighted the importance of the film making its premiere in Seattle. He once lived in Seattle, his family still lives here, and Chang and his family currently reside on Mercer Island.
As for his next film project, it remains up in the air although he remains a writer at heart. “I would always write, that’s what I grew up wanting to do and I’ve done the most. I would love to work on more film projects.” While the venture into film does take longer to make and present, he sees himself continuing to work in the duality of the mediums. “I find doing both is really healthy as it allows you to think about things in different ways and you think of things more visually.”
For more on “American Son” and the SAAFF, visit https://seattleaaff.org. Jay Caspian Kang can be found on X (formerly twitter) @jaycaspiankang.
Jason can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
