Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

Asian America's affinity for b-boying and hip hop dance has been oft-documented in everything from indie darlings to the corporate bonanza of MTV reality programming where dancers of Filipino, Korean and Japanese descent dominate in domestic and international battles. Those on the margins of Asian/America are typically (and regretfully) absent from these narratives, but filmmaker Christopher Woon seeks to rectify this with the documentary Among B-Boys.



The film travels from Fresno, CA to Tulsa, OK to follow Hmong American break dancers as they pursue their craft in the midst of obstacles such as disapproving parents or living in regions with paltry dance scenes. Some structural and pacing issues leave the individual breakers (twin brothers Impact and Vlln from Sacramento, CA and Sukie who hails from Fresno but moves to Tulsa for financial reasons) and their character arcs needing a little more time to gel, but the film succeeds in capturing the influential presence of hip hop and b-boying in a generation of young Hmong Americans.

The children of CIA-trained soldiers who fought in the Secret War in Laos and fled Southeast Asia with their families as refugees, many Hmong Americans -- including those who turn their living rooms and garagaes into makeshift dance spaces -- struggle with feelings of geographical and cultural transience. Some have found a permanent home in hip hop and watching them top rock and windmill in Among B-Boys makes you glad they did.

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Among B-Boys screens on March 10 at 9:30 pm at the New People cinema and on March 12 at 6:30 pm at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas.

[Full Disclosure: Hyphen's Features Editor Momo Chang is a juror for this year's documentary selection at SFIAAFF.]