Wayne Wong grew up in the community which has become Cleveland’s
AsiaTown. His wife Lisa Wong, lived in Chinatown as a baby. In the
decades since, they and their family have continued to volunteer and
advocate for the expanding neighborhood. Lisa is a co-founder and
current co-producer of the Cleveland Asian Festival and Wayne is the
Lead MC and is on the executive committee. They both also serve on
the board of OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates, Greater
Cleveland Chapter (Lisa as President and Wayne as V.P. of
Administration), engaging in many community projects like voter
engagement, and cultural outreach like Dragon Dance performances.
They also serve on two CDC boards that encompass AsiaTown, with Lisa
on the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation board (North of
Payne Avenue), and Wayne serving on the MidTown Cleveland board
(South of Payne Avenue). Driven by deep roots in the community they
are excited to see AsiaTown grow and continue to work with many
other talented and energetic community leaders.
Last year, Wayne embarked on a new creative venture by forming Red
Dragon Media to make a short film called “First Job.” First job was
filmed entirely in AsiaTown and highlights some favorite locales.
Previously, both Lisa and Wayne and their kids have been involved
with various short and feature film projects, many alongside Johnny
Wu, a filmmaker who also works with the Wong couple on the Cleveland
Asian Festival and OCAGC.
Previously, Wayne enjoyed acting and had also written four short
film scripts. “First Job” came about unintentionally after Wayne
took film editing classes from Johnny and was challenged to make a
short film. Wayne researched film production, bought equipment, and
spent two months in pre-production. Wayne enlisted family, friends
and a few fellow filmmakers to serve as the small cast and crew. The
film was shot over three full days - Wayne recalls the most
challenging was on New Year’s Day 2020 - which was shot inside KoKo
Bakery. He recalls “I had scouted it out a week earlier and it was
quiet on a weekday afternoon. What I did not expect is that on New
Year Day many families were off work and wanted their buns and
bubble tea.” Being a first time Producer/Director/Actor was hard
enough, but doing it when the restaurant was full of celebrating
patrons was quite a challenge. Other AsiaTown locations featured
include Asia Plaza, AsiaTown Center, and outdoor scenes on Payne
Avenue. The film team is very grateful to the owners of these
beautiful AsiaTown locations.
Wayne wanted to work with his son Alex on this film and created the story
with him in mind as the lead actor. The story is about a young man
who is torn between his friends and his obligations to family,
especially his father. He is challenged to do a job that he has
trained most of his life to do. After filming during the Holidays
when Alex was on break, Wayne completed editing the film in March
2020. It was entered into international film festivals, but then the
pandemic happened, and all film events were cancelled or postponed.
Nevertheless, “First Job” has won several awards already and has
been accepted into multiple film festivals. It won 2nd Place Award
most recently at the 25th Indie Gathering International Film
Festival which was held virtually March 12-14. It was also nominated
for best cinematography for an Ohio Film. Other film festivals
awards and selections include Horror Hotel (summer 2021), Action on
Film -Las Vegas, KinoDrome International, MLC Awards, and
Louisville’s International Festival of Film.
While it was Wayne’s first time as Producer, Director, Writer,
Editor, and Actor on the same film, “First Job” was also the first
Starring role for Alex Wong, and first film roles for Sam Galicki
and Josh Goodman. The film also features actors Lisa Wong, Tyler
Thomas, Melissa Suon Zoellner, Chris Blackfire, and John Cosma. The
crew were cameramen Vidas Pliodzinskas and Shawn Adams with Lisa,
Alex, and Tyler also helping with production. For this passion
project, Wayne wanted to be able to share it in-person with family,
friends, and especially with the cast and crew who worked hard on
the film. He says “I wanted to do a screening of First Job with
everyone. Maybe we still can someday soon! Then we can start working
on to Second Job.” |
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