SINNERS Cultural Consultant Dolly Li on the Delta Chinese, Docs, and That Licking Line

How did a documentary and Ryan Coogler’s Chinese family ancestry lead to a role consulting on the blockbuster film SINNERS? Journalist, documentary filmmaker, and SINNERS cultural consultant Dolly Li joins IN PROXIMITY podcast host Paola Mardo to talk about her work on SINNERS, her documentary THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICA’S SOUTHERN CHINESE, and why Remmick’s (Jack O’Connell) iconic lines about licking to Grace Chow (Li Jun Li) were so integral to the story. Learn more and read the transcript of this conversation at ProximityMedia.com.

(00:00) These lines about licking

(01:30) How Dolly started working on SINNERS

(06:15) The Delta Chinese community's reaction to the film

(08:00) How the Delta Chinese felt about the grocery stores in the film

(08:35) Working with production design

(09:10) The role of Chinese-owned grocery stores in the segregated south

(09:50) What it was like for Dolly to see the film

(12:00) These lines about licking (the full story)

(14:36) Grace Chow (Li Jun Li) and the internet discussion around her role

(21:30) The Mississippi Delta Chinese and Dolly's documentary with AJ+

(29:42) Asian American representation in film today

(31:08) Voice Memo from Jun Stinson Yamagishi (journalist, supervising producer)

(35:06) The Process: "Are You Ornamental? Are We Always Foreigners?"

(40:14) The Process: Chinese in Mississippi in 1960

(41:55) The Process: Visual art, watercolor, and motion graphics

(45:21) Shifting from producer to on-camera host

(47:57) Prox Recs

IN PROXIMITY
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PROXIMITY MEDIA
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IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA

Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo

Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian

Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson

Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino

Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana

Editors: Patrick Epino, Brittani Brown, Ken Nana

Production Assistants: Isabella Miller, Devin Saddler

Sound Production Assistant: Isabella Miller

Post-Production Coordinator: Celine Mendiola

Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana

Production Intern: Jun Sawada