Rob Buscher BS Rauthors 092617

Rob Buscher

Contributor

BSR Contributor Since September 26, 2017

Rob Buscher is a film and media specialist who has served as festival director at Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival since 2014. Rob teaches film studies at Arcadia University, University of Pennsylvania, and Fleisher Art Memorial, and is a contributor to the Japanese-American national newspaper Pacific Citizen.

Rob Buscher is a film and media specialist who has worked in many aspects of cinema including production, administration, and distribution. Due in part to his biracial Japanese-American heritage, Robʼs expertise is Japanese and East Asian Cinema although his work as a professional film programmer has expanded to include a wide variety of diverse cinema genres. Since 2014 Rob has served as the festival director at Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, the largest Asian-American and Pacific Islander film festival on the east coast. Career highlights include co-founding Zipangu Fest -- the UKʼs premier Japanese Film Festival, and creating the Japanese Cinema Studies and Asian-American Studies curriculum at Arcadia University. Rob also teaches at University of Pennsylvania and Fleisher Art Memorial, and is a contributor to the Japanese-American national newspaper Pacific Citizen. Visit paaff.org or pacficcitizen.org to read more about his work.

By this Author

43 results
Page 1
Who’s really got a seat at the table? Awkwafina and the cast of ‘The Farewell.’ (Image courtesy of A24.)

Lulu Wang’s ‘The Farewell’ and the duality of mainstream success

Saying hello to true racial equity—onscreen and off

What happens when white-dominated spaces control access to films created by and starring nonwhite artists? Can films like ‘The Farewell’ truly advance a more diverse and equitable society? Rob Buscher considers.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 5 minute read
The author with relatives in Hiroshima, including a survivor of the atomic bomb at top left. (Photo courtesy of Rob Buscher.)

Does a new ‘One Thousand Paper Cranes’ film eclipse people of Japanese heritage?

Who should tell this story?

A newly announced film about the beloved story of Sadako Sasaki and her paper cranes raises questions about who should tell this Japanese story—the white director and actors slated to anchor the movie? Rob Buscher considers.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 6 minute read
Elizabeth Estrada with an Innovation Award for her work with Atrévete. (Photo by R. Brooks.)

PhillyCAM's 2018 Cammy Awards

The Cammies zoom in on Philly

The second Philadelphia Cammy Awards celebrated PhillyCAM's diverse, dynamic community access television and radio heroes. Rob Buscher considers.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 3 minute read
Debra Messing and John Cho add fine performances to the director's unique vision. (Photo via imdb.com.)

Aneesh Chaganti and Sev Ohanian's 'Searching'

Searching for a daughter, finding a new paradigm

Aneesh Chaganty's mystery drama 'Searching' might be the first film for and about the digital age. Rob Buscher reviews.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 3 minute read
PAAFF organizers (including Buscher, in the grey T-shirt) gather before the film's #GoldOpen event. (Photo courtesy of Rob Buscher.)

The triumph of 'Crazy Rich Asians'

Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival's #GoldOpen

The 'Crazy Rich Asians' filmmakers started a grassroots campaign to buy out theaters and ensure a successful opening weekend for this landmark Asian-American movie. Rob Buscher considers.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 4 minute read
Terence Nance's HBO series was a standout at this year's BlackStar Film Festival. (Photo courtesy of BlackStar.)

BlackStar Film Festival and HBO present Terence Nance's 'Random Acts of Flyness'

HBO gets super fly

Terence Nance's 'Random Acts of Flyness,' which premiered at the BlackStar Film Festival, brings short video sensibility to a season-long HBO series. Rob Buscher reviews.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 3 minute read
Henry Golding and Constance Wu might be carrying the future of Asian-American-led film on their crazy attractive shoulders. (Image via IMDB.com.)

The crazy importance of 'Crazy Rich Asians'

A big first step

'Crazy Rich Asians' might not have the empowering message of 'Black Panther,' but it could still empower a generation of Asian American filmmakers and moviegoers. Rob Buscher considers.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 3 minute read
Diggs (left) and Casal play Collin and Miles: best buddies, onscreen and off. (Photo by Ariel Nava, courtesy of Lionsgate Films.)

'Blindspotting,' by Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs

Between masks and labels

Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal's 'Blindspotting' falls between comic buddy flick and horror movie but lands on a cultural moment, with gentrification and police violence as tense catalysts. Rob Buscher reviews.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 4 minute read
Atari is voiced by an 11-year-old Japanese-Canadian boy, Koyu Rankin. (Photo via IMDB.com/Fox Searchlight Films.)

'Isle of Dogs,' by Wes Anderson

Dogged by doubts

Does Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs' make dogs more human than Japanese people? Rob Buscher considers.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 4 minute read
Shai Avivi's Ariel tries to uncover clues to his lost son's life. (Photo via imdb.com.)

Israeli Film Festival and Penn Middle East Film Festival present 'Longing' by Avi Gabizon

Longing for more

Avi Gabizon's 'Longing' brings a stunning performance and careful camera work to the Israeli Film Festival and Penn Middle East Film Festival. Rob Buscher reviews.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 3 minute read
Byron Pang's Yuan appears in the film's first vignette (and on the movie poster), in a section seemingly unrelated to Ryo. (Photo via imdb.com.)

qFlix film festival presents 'Voyage,' by Scud (Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung)

Into the great beyond

The qFLIX festival presents Scud's 2013 film 'Voyage,' which uses beautifully filmed vignettes to examine suicide and sadness around the world. Rob Buscher reviews.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 3 minute read
Valerie James, the director's mother, plays an outsized role in her daughter's documentary. (Photo via imdb.com.)

Women's Film Festival presents 'A Fine Line,' by Joanna James

Missing ingredients

The Women's Film Festival brings 'A Fine Line,' Joanna James's look at female chefs, to its lineup. Rob Buscher reviews.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 3 minute read
'Black Panther' offers the kind of "what if" scenario for African Americans that many Asian Americans wish to leave behind. (Photo courtesy of Disney/Marvel Studios.)

Will Asian Americans get their 'Black Panther' moment?

'Black Panther' through an Asian American lens

Asian Americans have yet to enjoy a major U.S. film breakthrough on the scale of 'Black Panther,' but that might be okay. Rob Buscher considers.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 3 minute read
The cast and comedy of 'Tiger Style!': Rob Buscher says if you can't relate, it's not for you. (Photo by Stephanie Price.)

A critical look at the critics of PAPA's 'Tiger Style!'

The show we've been waiting for

Did the non-Asian critics who reviewed Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists' production of Mike Lew's 'Tiger Style!' miss the point? Rob Buscher considers.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 2 minute read
JODI's 'My Desktop OS X 10.4.7' (2007) replicates in video the electronic chaos of contemporary life. (Video still courtesy of Electronic Arts Intermix, NYC.)

Institute of Contemporary Art presents 'Broadcasting: EAI at ICA'

Digital killed the video star

The Institute of Contemporary Art's 'Broadcasting: EAI at ICA' examines video art and the pop-cultural detritus that comes with it. Rob Buscher reviews.
Rob Buscher

Rob Buscher

Articles 4 minute read