Expanding the Asian Diaspora w/ Soma Helmi

This week David talks with writer and director, Soma Helmi, about the differences in the entertainment and film industries within Indonesia and the United States, why she was drawn to the story-shaping abilities of directing, finding peace with her mixed identity, and the powerful future of Indonesian and Indonesian American stories in Hollywood.

Podcast Show Notes

Guest Title: Soma Helmi

Recording Date: 29-07-2021

Episode Title: Expanding the Asian Diaspora w/ Soma Helmi

Topics Discussed:

Topic 1 - Upbringing in Bali

Topic 2 - Transitioning to different careers

Topic 3 - The story-shaping ability of directing

Topic 4 - Sustaining creativity during a pandemic

Topic 5 - The power of community and coming together

Topic 6 - First small production with Yoshi Sudarso and Miki Ishikawa

Topic 7 - Film industry in Indonesia vs. Los Angeles

Topic 8 - Power and universality of multicultural storytelling

Topic 9 - Being mixed race in Bali and feelings of being “othered”

Topic 10 - Finding peace with her mixed identity

Topic 11 - Indonesian stories in Western media

Topic 12 - The Weekend

Topic 13 - Southeast representation in the entertainment industry

Topic 14 - Closing thoughts

Mentioned Notes:

Future Women of TV of 2020

Yoshi Sudarso

Miki Ishikawa

Ryu Minami

Eat, Pray, Love (Film)

The Weekend Seed & Spark Campaign - www.theweekendshort.com

Links:

Handles:

Soma’s Instagram -

https://www.instagram.com/somahelmi/

Soma’s Twitter -

https://twitter.com/somahelmi

Soma’s Website -

www.somahelmi.com

David's Instagram -

https://www.instagram.com/davidmoriya/

SAL Links:

https://strongasianlead.com/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/strongasianlead_ /

Crowdfunding -  https://strongasianlead.com/crowdfunding

SAL’s Feature in Feedspot’s Top 20 Asian Film Podcasts - https://blog.feedspot.com/asian_movies_podcasts/

SAL Podcast Team:

Project Manager - Sanjana DeSilva (www.theangryelephantproductions.com)

Podcast Producer - Kenna Tanouye (Connect with her on LinkedIn)

Episode Transcript: Transcript of the episode’s audio.

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