Kennedy Kao is a filmmaker based in Toronto. His short film “Danica’s Mom” won the Grand Prix Prize at Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinema 2020 and screened at the Canadian Film Fest in 2021. His new film “We Don’t Need Your Kind” is currently making its festival run.
I’m interested in making stories about Asian Canadians (broadly speaking, Asian Westerners) and about the Asian diasporic experience. My films work towards dismantling the model minority myth that has harmed many Asian Westeners by exposing a narrative to Asian characters that reveal flaws, insecurities and complexities about their relationship with the West.