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Deborah Lum and her mother
Anna Lum, a
Tai Chi Master at St. Louis. (Photographed by Dale Dufer Studios)
By Scanews staff
Deborah Lum, a native of St. Louis, returns home from California, the world's
film-making capital, for the screening of her film, "A Great Deal!". "A
Great Deal!" is showing at Webster University in the St. Louis Filmmaker's
Showcase on Friday, July 23 at 7:00pm. The film tells the story of an
agoraphobic woman and her dominating Chinese mother, played by Laureen Chew
("Chan Is Missing", "Dim Sum"). Lonely and overly manipulated by her
mother, she gets an opportunity to try something new from a strange source-a
wily telemarketer with a seductive charm. Set in San Francisco, Lum uses lush
visuals and black comedy to explore Chinese American cultural questions, and
the competing demands of manipulation, obedience and desire. "A Great Deal!"
has screened in film festivals across the country from Washington DC to
Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Lum first broke into the film business as an editor on "The Joy Luck Club."
She had a successful career as an editor and producer of critically acclaimed
documentaries, including the Emmy award wining "A.K.A. Don Bonus" and "Kelly
Loves Tony." Learning from eminent directors such as Wayne Wang, Philip
Kaufman and Spencer Nakasako, Lum was inspired and encouraged to create her
own work. She wrote and directed "One April Morning", an idyllic
story about the pitfalls of ideal love that played in numerous film festivals, and she
has more screenplays coming down the pipe. Her current work entitled,
"Gentlemen Don't Always Prefer Blondes" is a black comedy about a Caucasian
man who only dates Chinese women. Lum's stories speak to the Asian American
condition with clarity, humor and aesthetic sensitivity. And like all
independent filmmakers, she is looking for investors and new talent for her
next major project.
Suburban St. Louis, where Lum grew up, gave her an unlikely mix of influences
that have infused her films with a unique perspective. Living a stone's throw
from the Creve Coeur Cinema, she remembers summer-long traffic jams from the
nation's first blockbuster STAR WARS. By contrast, her father, a
third-generation Chinese American transplant from Hawaii, would drive her
family to the Tivoli to watch all the latest art films. Her mother, a New
Yorker, originally from Chongqing, Siquan, likewise, would drive her to north
St. Louis, where she trained at a competitive gymnastics club. She attended
John Burroughs High School, graduating in the top of her class. She holds a
B.A. from Brown University and will receive her M.F.A. in film from San
Francisco State University.
Deborah
Lum (Photographed by Dale Dufer Studios)
"A Great Deal!" has been accepted for the St. Louis International Film Festival in November, 2002
Debbie Lum's film, "A Great Deal!" has just been accepted for the St. Louis International Film Festival in November. 22 of the 90 films shown 2 weeks ago at the St. Louis
Filmmakers Showcase were selected. For more information,
check www.sliff.org
(L to R back row) Chris Clark, program manager, Cinema St. Louis, Debbie Lum, producer, director and editor of "A Great Deal!", Cliff Froehlich, executive director, Cinema St. Louis. (front row) Andrea Sporcic, administrative coordinator, Cinema St. Louis. The photo, by Dale Dufer, was taken Friday evening, July 26, 2002 in Moore Auditorium, Webster University, after the screening of Debbie Lum's Film, "A Great Deal!"
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