Asian Gangs

Cast: Lewis Bennett
Director: Lewis Bennett, Calum MacLeod
Country: Canada
Genre: Documentary | Short | Biography | Comedy | Crime

Asian Gangs will screen at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival as part of Short Cuts Canada Programme #2

On October 28th, 1994, Grade 5 student Lewis Bennett got into a schoolyard fight that resulted in a stern warning from his principal: “Change your ways, or you’ll end up in an Asian gang.”

Seventeen years later, this comedic documentary finds Bennett revisiting his past to ensure that his life path didn’t take a wrong turn.

Many of the scenes, where Bennett is seen asking questions to his mother and friends, had me laughing out loud due to the absurdity of the inquisition.   I was especially impressed with Bennett’s interview with a former Asian gang member explaining his current life path after leaving a gang years before.

This 10-minute short was all-encompassing with humor, wit, and awareness about gang related activities.    I felt that I walked away well-informed and satisfied with Bennett’s final conclusion to his dilemma.  Asian Gangs is part of a series of 12 short films that Bennett is doing this year (one per month).

Check out the trailer and be sure to watch the full short at TIFF:

Saturday September 8 TIFF Bell Lightbox 4 6:15 PM
Sunday September 9 TIFF Bell Lightbox 3 9:00 AM