Addressing structural barriers to Asian Canadians advancing in their country’s entertainment industry, Yoon argued change would only follow awareness by White Canadian gatekeepers. “As Asians in the film community, we know our industry doesn’t believe it’s racist, the Canadian film and TV industry really doesn’t believe it because they mean well,” she told a virtual panel hosted by the Asian Canadian Film Alliance.
Yoon said local broadcasters and TV producers assume Asian-Canadian creators lack experience when pitched on projects. “The industry doesn’t recognize the way they treat Asians is fundamentally racist, so you have closed doors, you have assumptions about how much we bring to the table. That is unbelievably frustrating,” she added.