Eelyn Lee's CASTING FU MANCHU Short Film to Premiere in December

Artist and filmmaker Eelyn Lee's Casting Fu Manchu is a pointedly-political 45-minute film which explores Yellow Peril in the light of Covid-19. Lee's Chinese/English heritage motivates her socially-engaged practice with its focus on race, identity and 'othering'.

In 1912, when Sax Rohmer invented his character Dr Fu Manchu, the evil Chinese doctor set on world domination, Yellow Peril was rife. Rohmer's popular fictional villain went on to feature extensively in western cinema, television, radio and comic books for over 90 years but on screen he was only ever played by white actors.

For her new film, Eelyn worked with Nicci Topping, one of the few casting directors of colour in the UK. They invited actors of east and south east Asian heritages to audition for the role of Fu Manchu. Over 50 actors of all ages - male, female and non-binary - sent tapes of their subverted versions of the evil Chinese doctor. A selection of these tapes will form the basis of the film.

Inspired by the actors' creative and critical responses, Lee says:"Selecting the tapes was a real challenge as there were so many great responses. There's so much east / southeast Asian talent out there - emerging and established. It's exciting to see Asian actors subvert racist tropes that have been ingrained in media images for so long. Through this collaboration, together we are reappropriating Fu Manchu for 2021."

The actors also submitted self-shot interviews responding to questions about their experiences of professional acting, the practice of Yellow Face and racism during the pandemic.

The 45-minute film weaves archive film footage with the actors' audition tapes and images of villains, monsters and fear to create a multi-layered commentary on how Yellow Peril is ever present over 120 years after the term was coined.

Casting Fu Manchu is one of six digital commissions by Chinese Arts Now awarded to artists who identify as having Chinese cultural heritage or make work that incorporates contemporary Chinese perspectives.

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