Latest news with #generationaltrauma
Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Independent Singapore
The Harvest: A genuine portrayal of immigrant families from the set to the big screen
Premiering on June 20, The Harvest brings to the big screen a deeply personal story of generational conflict, cultural expectations, and the quiet strength of family. This family drama follows an Asian son who returns home to his immigrant family to take care of his ailing father, only to confront the weight of cultural tradition and generational trauma. The film stars Doua Moua as the son, Perry Yung as the father, Dawn Ying Yuen as the mother, and Chrisna Chhor as the sister. Photo credit: Courtesy of Doua Moua In an exclusive interview with The Independent Singapore, director Caylee So and actress Dawn Ying Yuen spoke about the authenticity of the film, not just in the story, but in the way each character was brought to life. 'I wanted to bring an authentic Southeast Asian way to it,' said So. 'One of the things Doua and I talked about was that even though the film is from the son's point of view, we wanted the mom and dad to have their own inner life and narrative.' She continued: 'We expanded the script by asking, what's the relationship outside of the dialogue? I didn't want it to be a simple 'parents had a bad childhood' kind of story. I wanted the conflict to be more nuanced — more about differing perspectives rather than right and wrong.' See also Gal Gadot produces Israeli-Palestinian romantic drama The film leans heavily towards the dramatic side of a family's story. When asked how she helped her cast members unleash the emotional aspects of the film, she said, 'You know, in film school, they say that 90 per cent of a director's job is to cast well. So you find collaborators that, when you're on set, you have interesting conversations about the characters.' So shared that despite having limited preparations due to the restrictions of COVID-19 back then, as they filmed, the cast members found their dynamics. 'What I found interesting, though, and what I really enjoyed about working with all four of them was that we were able to find the scenes as we went — we were able to play, I guess you could say,' the director added. Dawn Ying Yuen, who plays the mother, spoke about her experience on filming, saying, 'What I really like about this film is that we were all able to play the role from our perspective. See also Will Smith appears in new sci-fi movie with hi-tech clone Everybody just did their own thing, and then when she [Caylee] brought us together, it just worked. The family dynamics were actually really good, I must say.' Dawn also shared how she relates to her character in some ways, given her life experiences. This has helped her understand where her character is coming from and how she prepared for her role. 'Although I didn't grow up with a mom, I grew up with my unmarried aunt, who helped a lot around the house,' she said. 'I observed her closely — how she acted under stress, how she reacted to situations, and brought those nuances into the role. So I usually surround myself with a lot of older folks, like my aunt and my mother-in-law.' Dawn added, 'So I see a lot of this kind of people who always look very strong and try to pull everybody together, but actually deep down inside they are also going through a lot.' When asked who her character represents in today's society, the actress simply answered: 'The mother who takes care of the family. The mother who has to carry the burden on their shoulder, to make sure everybody is well-taken care of. But you know, at some point, she got burned out. She needed her own space. She needed more than just doing the work. She needed love and compassion from someone.' Photo credit: Courtesy of Doua Moua Through The Harvest , Caylee So wanted the audience to immerse themselves in the film and see themselves in it. 'I hope that we represented an authentic family that is struggling and is confronted with things that everybody is confronted with, and this is specifically how they deal with those challenges. I do hope that the audience relates to it in that way.' Dawn added, 'This film can really educate people who are not from our culture. This is what Asian families are like.' The Harvest is currently available for pre-order for Apple users. You can watch the official trailer here: The film is available for purchase on June 20 on Amazon, Apple TV, and YouTube. Poster credit: Courtesy of Doua Moua
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Edinburgh filmmaker warns 'we need to be honest about what's happening on schemes'
An Edinburgh BAFTA winning TV and film director and creator has called for society to stop failing youths from working class schemes. Gary Fraser, originally from Muirhouse, has recently seen his online three-part series, Supply and Demand, picked up by STV's streaming service. The 46-year-old created the project to explore the dark side of the criminal underworld that exists in the capital. Although the series is fictional, many elements are borrowed from lived experiences which have taken place on the capital's housing schemes. READ MORE: Edinburgh couple's joy turned to despair after noticing sonographer's concerned look READ MORE: All the targets on hit-list of 'Mr Big' as Edinburgh gang war escalates Gary believes Supply and Demand shows a different side to the often glamourised criminal underworld. His focus is on the psychological impact and generational trauma experienced by those experiencing crippling addiction and violence. The third instalment of the series, which is currently in production and requires £10,000 in further fundraising in order to be completed, will delve into the impact of crime, violence, societal abandonment and family breakdown, on youths living in areas of deprivation. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Gary, who has worked alongside director Danny Boyle, has a chequered past as a recovering addict, former dealer and convict. But having turned his life around, he now works with Police Scotland's Aid and Abet programme mentoring youths in the justice system, and is keen to stop the generational cycle which often sees kids trapped in a life of poverty, addiction and crime. 'It does not feel right to glamourise the criminal underworld which I think is the case with TV, film and the media,' he said. 'The romanticisation of gang culture is problematic because you do not see the trauma, PTSD and crippling effect that exists in schemes. 'I really want to explore the psychological impact of existing in areas of multiple deprivation, something I think we did well in the first two parts. But part three moves on from the old and focuses on the new generation. 'A lot of the older characters have been wiped out and it is about the new members coming through. These are the grandkids of the 80s generation and there is a generational trauma passed down to them. 'We explore the circumstances which lead to youths selling drugs or committing violence from their point of view. The reality is it is learned behaviour through their environments, they see adults committing serious crimes and if that is your only role model, then the kids want to emulate that. 'There is a real focus on the breakdown of families due to drug addiction. But we also explore how the education system has failed our kids, with youths from schemes on reduced timetables across the capital becoming all too common.' Through his role with the police, Gary said every child he has encountered going through the justice system, is on a reduced timetable, not getting a full education. He accused the country of failing generations of working class kids. 'Schools are failing kids through under-resourced staff, a lack of learning assistants in classrooms, and rolling out these reduced timetables,' he continued. 'If kids are only at school a few hours a week, what are they getting up to the rest of the time? 'Every kid I mentor, who is facing charges, is on a part-time timetable. For me you have areas of multiple deprivation across the capital, and within that there are failed mental health services, youth centres and schools. 'I really respect Stephen Graham and what he achieved with Adolescence but I wanted to do something different for Scotland while focusing on areas of deprivation. There is a contemporary youth culture which has been imported from England and amplified by shows like Top Boy. 'You go to Edinburgh's schemes and the kids are carrying knives, wearing balaclavas doing drill rap, riding Sur-ron's and there is even a culture of 10-year-olds selling crack. I've taken a psychological approach in looking at the cause and effect of this youth culture in part three. 'Kids on our schemes can experience and witness people being chopped up or stabbed which has not only a traumatic effect on them but also the whole community. 'I want to look at that impact and the aftermath rather than create 'hard' characters to be celebrated." Gary said too often outsiders look at people caught up in the criminal underworld of capital schemes as leading lives to fund lavish holidays and cars. But he said the reality is often far different, with many seeing it as their only viable option to survive after being continuously failed by society. 'There are circumstances leading to people selling drugs or committing violence,' he said. 'There is a massive breakdown of families in these communities because of Scotland's failed drug policies. 'If you do not stay in the scheme, you just see a Mr Big selling drugs and destroying the area. But the truth is the majority of people caught up in this life do not sell drugs for foreign holidays or cars, it's to feed their own habit and to survive. 'Whatever is going on with the gangland stuff in Edinburgh now I cannot comment on but I think the media and others have played a role in sensationalising and romanticising it. The use of words like 'empire' and stuff like that is not portraying reality. 'I hope with Supply and Demand we can create a more empathetic culture where we better understand the generational trauma of growing up and existing in a scheme. It is fiction and is not a reveal-all documentary, but I hope it helps in working towards getting kids away from violence and addiction. 'In Edinburgh the deprivation is hidden because it simply cannot exist. Glasgow has a more open relationship than us because they are not seen a tourist city by the powers that be. 'We need to be more honest about what goes on in Edinburgh's schemes.' Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox In order to get the Part Three completed, Gary has launched a £10,000 fundraiser in order to pay actors, sound, audio and visual staff working on the series. Gary, who runs a workshop for aspiring creatives in working class communities, often uses locals with lived experiences as part of the cast and crew. Both parts One and Two sold out cinemas in Edinburgh with the series being released for free on Youtube to alleviate any economic factors. STV have committed to placing the series on their streaming platform STV Player upon its creation. This will open Supply and Demand up to overseas companies who will be able to bid to show the series. To support the fundraiser, click here.
Telegraph
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
How Brooklyn joined Prince Harry in the fightback against their ‘perfect families'
After Brooklyn Beckham skipped his father's 50th birthday party, the family must have hoped for a swift reconciliation. However, behind the scenes the estrangement between the Beckhams and their eldest son seems to be deepening, a source has told the Telegraph. Far from a petty squabble, the rift stems from Brooklyn's long-felt unhappiness over his treatment within the family, the source close to the 26-year-old said. The source claimed the Beckhams are 'a family that is publicly charming' but can be very different behind the scenes. They claim Brooklyn and his wife, Nicola Peltz-Beckham (the daughter of US billionaire Nelson Peltz), feel that they've not had any meaningful private connection with the family. The Beckhams' eldest son believes he has been made to feel like he is an 'idiot' and 'stupid'. With his wife's 'support', the source said, Brooklyn is 'for the first time standing up against' his parents. They described what he is doing as 'breaking generational trauma'. It's a phrase that will be familiar to Prince Harry – whom Brooklyn had dinner with in California last week. The Beckhams' eldest son and his wife were guests at a Montecito party also attended by the Sussexes. There, Peltz, 30, and Meghan are said to have found 'common ground' over their casting as meddling American wives breaking up Britain's most famous families. The source told the Telegraph the couple had 'found Harry and Meghan to be particularly kind, caring and generous' at the gathering, hosted by Brian Robbins, a neighbour of the Sussexes in Montecito and the CEO of Paramount, a streaming service on which David is currently appearing on a football chat show. 'Empathetic', was the word used by a source in the Sun, which conjures an image of two young couples commiserating over their shared experiences. 'Harry was fully aware of the situation and offered Brooklyn his unwavering support,' the source told the newspaper. Since abandoning life as a working Royal, writing a tell-all book and conducting several interviews about his experiences growing up inside the Firm, Harry has often spoken about the 'generational trauma' he alleges he experienced. In 2021, the prince said he left the UK because he wanted to 'break that cycle' of 'genetic pain'. Much like the Sussexes, the Peltz-Beckhams are said to hold the ultimate goal of a reconciliation. 'After many attempts by Brooklyn to set boundaries with his family and encourage honest and positive change in their relationship, he's become discouraged and disheartened,' the source tells the Telegraph. They add there is 'not a quick fix' for the gulf forming between them. 'Nicola wants nothing more than for Victoria and David to repair the relationship with their son.' Just two weeks ago, when in the UK for the court ruling over his security, Prince Harry said he would 'love a reconciliation' with his family. 'There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious,' he told the BBC. There are eerie similarities between the Beckhams' conflict and the division which has long plagued the Royal family. The splits reportedly began, in both instances, around the time of the couples' weddings. In the case of the Peltz-Beckhams, there were said to have been clashes between Nicola and Victoria ahead of their ceremony in 2022. In response to the fracturing in their relationship with their eldest son, the Beckhams appear to have taken the same approach the Royals have adopted over the years – that of a dignified silence in the face of a torrent of allegations. A source told the Sun after the story of the Montecito dinner broke that Victoria and David were 'blindsided by the news – they didn't see it coming'. The couple are said to have been attempting to reconcile with Brooklyn. A source told the Daily Mail that 'as parents David and Victoria are very concerned for their son and they have tried to get in touch but he isn't interested'. Harry and Brooklyn have a number of things in common. They both grew up in the spotlight, the sons of two of the most famous families not just in Britain but in the world. Like the prince, Brooklyn undoubtedly enjoyed enormous amount of privilege (his parents are said to be worth £500 million). As boys became men, both struggled to find their purpose, pursuing one cause or passion before stumbling onto the next. As an adult, Brooklyn has dabbled in photography and later food. And when they met the women they wanted to marry, both seemed to struggle to reconcile their old life and the new. So when Brooklyn and Harry went to dinner last week, 13 years after their last meeting – when Brooklyn was just a teenager and the prince in his twenties – they should have had plenty to talk about. Chief among them, their shared protectiveness over their wives, perhaps. Amid the family conflict, the source told the Telegraph, Brooklyn's decision to side with his wife has ultimately caused 'a major disruption in the Beckham fairytale', for which there is a sense that Nicola has largely shouldered the blame, adding she 'gives him the support and strength he's never had'. If the Sussexes are to be seen as the test case for what happens when a rupture like this one begins to form, it could be a long road to reconciliation.
Fox News
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Wynonna Judd wishes bond with mom was like their music, but 'there was a lot of dysfunction'
Editor's note: This story discusses suicide and sexual assault. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673. Wynonna and Ashley Judd admitted in a new docuseries they had a complicated relationship with their late mom, Naomi Judd, who also dealt with her own trauma on her road to success. In the A&E docuseries "The Judd Family: Truth Be Told," the sisters opened up in the first three episodes about growing up with a young mom, the abuse they experienced from one of their mother's exes when they were children, leaving Los Angeles behind to move home to Kentucky and how Wynonna and Naomi found and dealt with superstardom in country music. "I've loved her more than I've loved myself, but mother was both in love with me and terrified of me because I represented what she didn't know and couldn't control," Wynonna said at the beginning of the docuseries. Wynonna said she believes her mother's suicide was partly to blame on "generational trauma" her mother experienced. "One of the reasons I have decided that Mom left this world is because of trauma, generational trauma, family stuff that never got healed or fixed," Wynonna said in the first episode of the show. Growing up, Naomi Judd had a judgmental mother, her younger brother died of Hodgkin lymphoma as a child, and she was a teen mom when she gave birth to Wynonna. Wynonna called the closeness with her mother a "blessing and a burden" because she felt "responsible for making her feel better." "As a child, she did not get what she needed," Wynonna said. "That is a fact." But she admitted that she was "not allowed to be a child" growing up. "I was the adult," Wynonna said of her relationship with her mother. Ashley added that their mother lived with a "constellation of her sufferings" that spiraled into severe depression before her death. "I've loved her more than I've loved myself, but mother was both in love with me and terrified of me because I represented what she didn't know and couldn't control." Wynonna said, from a young age, Naomi was always looking for approval from her own mother, who judged her for loving an audience as a kid, which Ashley said continued into her professional music career. "It wasn't about ego and grandiosity and self-importance," Ashley revealed. "It was actually something much more humble than that. It was about basic self-worth." Naomi died by suicide in April 2022. After splitting from their father, their mother met a man who Wynonna described as "creepy," Ashley and Wynonna said. "Mom had a really, really not healthy boyfriend," she explained. "She saw him as James Dean. The reality was he's not James Dean. He's a guy who's creepy. "I was old enough to know that something was wrong. I just remember being very, very aware of this man watching us in the bathtub, and, you know, laying on top of me while I was watching television." Wynonna said their mother often wasn't home, and she became "incredibly, incredibly protective of Ashley." Ashley said one time the live-in boyfriend discovered the girls had written on the walls, "and he hung me out the bedroom window by my ankles." Naomi wrote in her memoir about how he moved to an apartment across the street from them after she broke up with him so he could stalk her. One night, she said, she discovered someone was inside her house. When she went inside, her ex grabbed her in a jealous rage, demanding to know if she'd been with another man. "As he was raping me, I prayed he wouldn't kill me because my kids needed me," she wrote. Ashley said she felt "abandoned" by her parents as a child, adding that everyone thought she was a "very capable child" and so "nobody needed to take care of me." Naomi's widower, Larry Strickland said that while he was on the road touring with Naomi and Wynonna, Ashley was left alone. "Ashley, I'm sure, felt left behind. You know, she suffered, she suffered because of that. It changed her," Strickland said in the docuseries. She moved in with her father in her junior year of high school, but she said he wasn't home much and was using drugs as well. "My hunch is the justification for abandoning me came from this belief that I was this very capable child … so nobody needed to take care of me. And both of my parents had those beliefs," Ashley said. She also remembered dealing with chickenpox by herself in a motel room when she was a young girl. "Mom was working and then going out at night, so I was in this strange place with the chickenpox. I just slept all the time," Ashley said. Naomi had moved with the girls back to Kentucky at that time, but she was still struggling with nine-to-five jobs, before she and Wynonna found musical success. "That was a bout of childhood depression," Ashley said, referring to a disease she would continue to battle, much of the time unnoticed. "I would just watch the commercials and get out the cleaning products that were advertised and just copy what I saw on television," Ashley remembered of taking care of herself at the motel. When she was 14 years old, Ashley was sent to model in Japan, where she said she was raped twice. She said that when her mom later found out from Ashley's diary about the assault, Naomi "sneered" at the idea, referring to the man who raped her as her "boyfriend." "But I was a little girl. I was not a participant. I was a victim. There's no such thing as consent, and Mom and I had a lot of these conversations later in life," Ashley said. "And her understanding of sexual assault and rape was not the perspective into which she grew and evolved. She just didn't have that information and perspective. "So, her reaction was to sneer at me. I was shut down. My own experience and reality invalidated and denied, which in her heart today would be a very painful lament." "One of the reasons I have decided that mom left this world is because of trauma, generational trauma, family stuff that never got healed or fixed." But she added that her experience of her mother is a "description not an indictment. Everyone was doing the best they could." Dan Potter, musical director for the Judds, said he understood why Wynonna struggled with her weight in her singing career. "She was wanting to not be attractive," he told the producers of the documentary. "Things happened to her that caused her to not want to be attractive." "I was molested at 12, so my whole sexuality thing was really stamped out because I, just at 12, really shut down," Wynonna revealed. "So, I carried the weight, literally and figuratively." Her weight, which she said she put on because food became a "soother" to her like drugs or alcohol, became an issue after she and her mom found success as a country duo. "Mom was very hard on me," she said, "because she was terrified of losing me, of course, but she never would say it that way. It was always, 'Well, if you lost 20 pounds, you'd be a pop star.' I remember that conversation very well." Wynonna noted it was the same kind of thing her grandmother said to her mom growing up. "That's why I would get so angry because I knew it was being passed down," she added. She said her mother's sexuality on stage when they performed together "so aggravated" her. "She was 36 years old. She was ready to be fire," Wynonna laughed. "As kids would say today, she had drip. She was foxy and ready to rumble. Man, she had the modes down, but then I was so aggravated by her sexuality." She added that she wished her bond with her mom could have been harmonious like their music, but "there was a lot of dysfunction." Strickland, who is also a musician, admitted in the docuseries he was "jealous as crap" of Naomi's success early on in her career. Naomi wrote in her memoir that after she found out that their song "Mama He's Crazy" was No. 1, Strickland stood up and walked out the door. "I was jealous as crap of her, you know," the 76-year-old admitted of his late wife, "so we just kind of fell apart a little bit." Naomi described in a 1987 interview played in the docuseries that Strickland "left me" when he found out that "Mama He's Crazy" had gone No. 1. "But we're back together now." Naomi wrote in her memoir that she met Strickland in 1979 when his gospel group, The Stamps Quartet, walked into the building where she was a secretary in Nashville. The group had toured with Elvis Presley for the last three years of his life. "I mean, it was almost a love at first sight kind of thing," Strickland said of Naomi in the docuseries. He said they didn't have any money at that time, and he'd started his own band, Memphis, which toured around the country playing clubs. "I was trying to find my way," he said. "Naomi, she was the breadwinner. We were dirt poor. It was trying times, very trying times." Strickland said Naomi would work during the night at her new job as a nurse, and she would knock on doors on Nashville's Music Row during the day. "So, she was doing it all," he said. "Only a handful of people make it through [into the industry]," he added. After years of hard work, Naomi and Wynonna got their big break after meeting Nashville producer Brent Maher at her nursing job and signing with RCA Records in 1983. "If you can imagine all of those years of Naomi fighting the fight, all of the meetings, all of the 'no's, it had to be staggering," Maher said of when they signed with RCA. Naomi wrote in her memoir that, one night, while she and Wynonna were on the road, Strickland called long distance. "He wanted to change his life," she wrote of Strickland. "'I'm getting off the road. I love you, so I'm asking you to marry me. What's your answer?'" "I was just being funny, but I said, 'How would you like to be buried with my people?'" Strickland told the producers of the docuseries. "That's an old saying." Naomi wrote in her memoir of that time, "We'd had the greatest year of our entire lives, not only professionally but personally as well." Strickland and Naomi wed in 1989 and remained married until her death in 2022.
