Slanted Interview: Using Satire and Body Horror to Confront Racism
5SXSW 2025 welcomed a number of filmmakers to present their feature debuts, and some of that exciting new talent scored the biggest prizes of the festival. That is certainly the case for Amy Wang, the writer-director behind Slanted, which won the grand jury prize in the narrative section. The film follows a Chinese-American teenager named Joan Huang (Shirley Chen), who decides to go through with transracial surgery in the lead-up to her high school prom. Believing that if she were white there would be higher chances of her winning the title of prom queen, her transformation results in a physical and emotional nightmare.
Slanted's scathing commentary on racism and beauty standards won the audience over at the festival. Featuring known names such as McKenna Grace and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and rising stars like Chen and Amelie Zilber, this coming-of-age story uses body horror and satire to make a statement that is continually relevant.
Ahead of the film's debut at SXSW, Wang and the cast stopped by the Collider Media Studio at the Cinema Center for a sit-down conversation with Perri Nemiroff. During the interview, the director addressed how the Atlanta spa shootings inspired her to come up with the main concept for Slanted. She also spoke about working closely with her cast and crew to develop the characters and to get the financial backing necessary to bring her vision to screen. The cast sang Wang's praises for her collaborative set and even shared what they loved most about tackling a controversial matter alongside the filmmaker.
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