Chopstick

Director - Leah Xiuzhen Rathe

Leah Xiuzhen Rathe is an Asian-American filmmaker based in Minnesota. She holds a B.A. in Digital Media Arts with a Paralegal Certificate from Hamline University. Leah is passionate about the impact of film, especially as a connecting force to understand different perspectives and expanding representation. Growing up, seeing individuals like herself portrayed in media instilled a sense of belonging and purpose, motivating her to expand the space for such representation, especially for transracial adoptees and Asian-Americans. 

Director Statement: 

"CHOPSTICK" is a short film based on my experiences growing up in the U.S. as a Chinese adoptee. The concept for the chopstick and fork characters is based on my experiences of receiving chopsticks at restaurants while white friends would receive forks. The expected ability and familiarity with chopsticks has been a common motif with regard to my racial identity, and I wanted to use this idea as a whimsical way of representing race in the short film.