The Fam
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Oizoioi. Build a bridge, start a conversation
We are a third culture. Our parents were immigrants. We are seen as foreigners even though we were born here. We’re stuck between two worlds and still don’t quite know how we fit in Australia. Our fashion is a bridge. Our brand is Oizoioi – people ask us: How do you say that? What does… Continue reading
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PODCAST: Bao Pham, founder Team Bliss Esports
Bao Pham, a gamer, helped his friend build a team of PUBG gamers. He ended up creating an esports organisation called Team Bliss Esports. Now there are several Bliss teams competing internationally. Brisbane-based Team Bliss HQ has become a training centre for professional gamers, with state-of-the-art gaming hardware, and a gaming-oriented internet cafe. It is… Continue reading
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Watercolour by Shinji Ogata. Thanks Shinji!
I found this when clearing out some files! I was playing my friend Sophie’s piano, around 2015. Shinji Ogata is an artist in Brisbane. Here’s something about him. Continue reading
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‘Origins’ by EASTMODE
‘Origins’ is the first music video from EASTMODE, a collective of Brisbane-based Asian Australian rappers. I love that they’re writing, defining, collaborating, making an artistic statement. They care. They’re beautiful. They brought me into The Fam, and I’m humbled by it. Videographer and rapper David Deggs Fischer even included me in the video. When I… Continue reading
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Bao Pham, Founder, Team Bliss Esports
This is an unexpected Fam story. I met Bao Pham at a recent music video shoot for Eastmode, and I really liked talking with him. He’s got a well-established flower business, and on the side he’s building a enterprise around his passion – esports! So here is something about Bao Pham and his Team Bliss… Continue reading
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Eastmode video shoot – BTS
EASTMODE is a collective of four Brisbane-based hip hop artists, and they are launching their EP ‘Origins’ with a music video. Art evolves over time and these seasoned rappers have come together to make music to please themselves rather than chase a trend. The Eastmode musicians all have Asian roots, from the Solomon Islands, Vietnam,… Continue reading
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Chong Ali at the Flamin’ Galah
Photography 📷 @le_akira Last year I reviewed Chong Ali at The Flamin’ Galah for Scenestr, but I never put it on my blog. In these Covid lock-down times I thought it would be good to relive some of that. I’ve reshaped it and have included more photos. Akira Le took all the photos, and it… Continue reading
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I am Yang
Above: From JACKS [2020] a Visul and 13th Street Films production. Cinematography: Trimedium This is my first time in a short film! My friend and actor Sen Shao called me and asked if I wanted to cast for the role of Yang in ‘Jacks’, which is a crime comedy written by Joel Stephen Fleming. Sure… Continue reading
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Sen Shao – if looks could kill…
Actor Sen Shao plays ZHI, a cold-blooded professional killer in crime-comedy short film ‘Jacks’. Sen is tall and lean; kit him up in black and he’s the quintessential assassin. ‘Jacks’ is written and directed by Joel Stephen Fleming, and is a collaboration between 13th Street Films and Visul production company. Above: From JACKS [2020] a… Continue reading
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Barber Q
Above: Quang Le by Akira Le When you meet Quang Le, or ‘Barber Q’ as he’s known, you think: this is a cool dude. He’s got the skills, they got the music going at Crooners Barber Shop, you can talk to him about the tracks and the fades. Just relax and smile, you’re in good hands… Continue reading
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Australia Independent Film Festival (AIFF) 2019
Opening Night for the three-day Australia Independent Film Festival 2019 (AIFF) in Brisbane was Friday Nov 1. It featured the festival’s best short films, or “Australian shorts” as they call it. I know almost nothing about film and wanted to see what good short films are like. The thought that I might even meet someone… Continue reading
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Sen Shao, model & actor
Sen Shao was born in Xi’an, Shaanxi, China, famous for its terracotta warrior historical site. His parents moved to Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, a burgeoning technology hub of nearly 13 million residents, considered to be China’s equivalent of Silicon Valley, before he came to Australia in 2010. When Sen arrived in Brisbane he could barely… Continue reading
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Chong Ali and Akira Le: growing the fam
Photo of Chong Ali by Akira Le. A lovely thing has happened to me. I am meeting creative Asians in Queensland. You know, the ones who didn’t pursue STEM careers. There are a lot of them! I started meeting some on film sets. Then I joined the Asian Creative Network on Facebook, and was invited… Continue reading
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Review: Laughing Buddha by Chong Ali
Laughing Buddha is a new single by Vietnamese Australian emcee Chong Ali, who hails from Brisbane. It premiered on Australian music portal Tone Deaf on July 23 2019. I love this. Chong Ali is a poet. With a big heart and a fighting spirit, he is an inspirational voice for his community. More about him… Continue reading
About Joanna
Joanna is British Australian. She worked mainly in financial news in London. In her forties she moved to her parents’ birthplace, Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, where she became a pianist in a hotel and wrote a blog about musicians. The blog became a book before Joanna came to Australia in 2012. In this blog she writes mostly about music, gardening, and trips to Sabah. Oh, and Wookie the Havanese.
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