The Shangri-la Cafe is a 2000 short film written and directed by Lily Mariye. The film is about a Japanese American family who conceal their heritage and reluctantly adopt discriminatory practices in order to operate a Chinese restaurant in Las Vegas in the late 1950s.[1] The Los Angeles Times calls the film well-reviewed, and it won awards at festivals such as the Brussels Independent Film Festival and Nashville Independent Film Festival.[2]

The director began working on the film in 1998, working with the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women.[2]

Cast

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  • Montana Tsai as Annie Takashi
  • Joanne Takahashi as Emiko Takashi
  • Sam Anderson as The Man
  • Christopher Chen as Tad Takashi
  • Albert Chien as Jimmy Takashi
  • Cedric Harris as Reverend Charles Osteen
  • Montae Russell as George Brooks
  • Margaret Laurena Kemp as Mildred Brooks
  • Kelli Kirkland as Helen Osteen
  • Charles 'Brick' Tilley Jr. as Man #2
  • Bob Bergen as Television Announcer (voice)

Reception

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The Los Angeles Times calls the film well-reviewed, and it won awards at festivals such as the Brussels Independent Film Festival and Nashville Independent Film Festival.[2] It was positively reviewed for its portrayal of 1950s racism by SFGate, which called it "unusually sensitive to the heightened experience of children."[3] The Chicago Reader wrote that Mariye set "a preachy tone" in the film.[1] Edward Guthmann from the San Francisco Chronicle, Jonathan Kaplan, and Lesli Linka Glatter praised Mariye's directing debut. The Hollywood Reporter's Michael Rechtshaffen described the film as a "tender, bittersweet childhood recollection of a not always glittering Las Vegas past."

Awards

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Official selection

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References

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  1. ^ a b Asian American Showcase, Chicago Reader, April 19, 2001, retrieved May 3, 2023
  2. ^ a b c Elber, Lynn (August 9, 2002), ‘ER’ Nurse Pulls a Shift as a Film Writer-Director, Los Angeles Times, retrieved May 3, 2023
  3. ^ Guthmann, Edward (May 10, 2002), 'The Shangri-La Cafe' a good place to stop / Short KQED movie ably captures '50s racism, SFGate, retrieved May 3, 2023
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