Andy Wong, Director of Small Bites, is an Asian-Canadian film maker from Vancouver. After finishing the film program at Simon Fraser University, he very quickly began working in various departments in Vancouver’s booming film and TV industry before finally settling in as an assistant director, with credits such as Supergirl, DC Legends of Tomorrow, and The Detour. He discovered soon after that his passion lies in producing, and began producing “The Star of Therapy” with his two friends under the company “Come On In Productions” and ultimately starting his own production company “Lonely Artists Production”. With multiple completed short films, and other projects in post-production, Andy has built a strong foundation as a producer in only a couple of years. Most recently he produced a short film that received funding from the National Film Board and the Canadian Arts Council called “Hekademia”. His passion, drive and well-rounded experience in the film industry has made him a strong asset on any production team.
Lissa Neptuno, Writer and Producer of Small Bites, is an Asian-Canadian actor, writer and producer who was born in Brunei and raised in Western Canada. Growing up in a creative household, she first discovered writing and imitating cartoon voices as a way to express herself, and was soon drawn to acting and drama classes in high school. Upon graduation she was awarded a scholarship to Vancouver Film School, and after graduating that program entered into one of Western Canada’s most prestigious acting schools, Studio 58, the only conservatory program in the region. Since graduating, her training and experience in both theatre and film has brought her to Toronto and Berlin, and all over BC. In 2015 she co-produced the play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, and has been producing ever since. When Covid-19 struck in March 2020 she was inspired to write Day 60, in response to violence against Asians in Canada and around the world. Working in film, television, stage, and print ads, Lissa has since been awarded Best Performance for her lead role in Small Bites, a film featured in the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon for the Vancouver Asian Film Festival. Currently based in Vancouver, she continues to pursue her dreams of being the next great film and stage actor. Her favorite credits include Morris in “The Nether”, Anne in Virgin River, and Mr. Average Joe in Supergirl.
Mike Li, Producer of Small Bites was born in Hong Kong, the only child of Josephine, an educator, and Eddie, a social worker. His first stage role was “Officer #2” in a high school production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Since going on to tackle character roles like “Templeton” in Charlotte’s Web and “Mercutio”, Mike jumped straight into acting classes after graduation and began auditioning before the age of 19. After finding small successes on shows like the CW’s Arrow and Showcase’s Travelers, he landed his first feature film role acting opposite Blake Lively in The Age of Adaline (2015); scenes that were ultimately cut for time. Mike made his proper feature film debut in the Dwayne Johnson blockbuster Skyscraper (2018). His first recurring role was playing a Yakuza on the third season of Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle, which he followed up with a couple of appearances on CBS’s Salvation season two. An avid video gamer, it was a dream come true for him to join the voice cast of United Front’s “Sleeping Dogs” starring Will Yun Lee. Mike spends much of his time collaborating with fellow actors and filmmakers to write and produce his own projects, working part-time co-producing with Thought Swerve Media as well as his company, Fiasco Entertainment.
When friends Annie, Robbie, Jason, and Dave meet up for a hike, Dave asks Annie questions that are micro-aggressive in nature. Climbing this mountain trail Annie is continually bitten by mosquitoes when Dave asks her seemingly harmless questions about her race and ethnicity. As the trail progresses, Jason and Annie’s friendship comes into question when Dave goes too far and pushes Annie to challenge him. Left with an ally in Robbie, who has been considerably bitten as well, Annie is forced to reconsider her position in this group, and in the world.
Small Bites will be showing as part of our TEAL program exhibiting July 15-19th, 2021!
