Fil-Jap actress Stefanie Arianne of ‘Plan 75’ shares thoughts on ‘inclusion rider’ in Hollywood contracts
Scene from “Plan 75”
Filipino-Japanese actress Stefanie Arianne said she just can’t stop talking about “proper representation” of Asian artists, particularly Filipinos, on the global scene.
“If you watch Hollywood shows now, let’s say ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ you’ll see that it’s all a big joke. You know it’s just television because there’s no Filipino in the emergency room. Everyone knows that there are a lot of Filipino nurses in America. Filipinos are a lot of other things, too. We are also teachers and nannies. We are all over the place,” said Stefanie, who admitted to also having plans of setting up an acting career in Hollywood.
The actress is part of Japanese director Chie Hayakawa’s dystopian drama, “Plan 75,” which won the Special Mention award under the Camera d’Or competition of the prestigious 2022 Cannes Film Festival in France.
The film is currently participating in the 27th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.
Since Stefanie is active in the promotion of Filipino artists globally, we asked the Japan-based actress what she knows about a contract provision in Hollywood called the “inclusion rider,” which provides for a certain level of diversity in casting and production staff.
American education
“I’ve heard more of this in relation to American education. Schools and universities are asked to accept a certain number of minorities, but I’ve never heard of it in Hollywood. Whether or not it’s a good thing really depends on certain things. If the production outfit is bringing in Asians or other minorities just for the sake of bringing them in and not for representing them, then I don’t think that’s a good thing. It doesn’t solve the problem. But if they do bring them in and listen to how they want to be portrayed, then it’s a really good step for representation.”
Stefanie said this change can have a huge impact on Filipino artists in particular, and Asians in general. “Asia is so big. When we say Asians, the first thing they would imagine are the Koreans, Chinese and Japanese. They forget about us. Sometimes, people would ask me, ‘Are Filipinos the same as Mexicans?’ since our names are so similar. So I give them the long history of Spaniards staying in our country for 300 years,” she recalled.
“It would be a good thing when the representation is right because not everyone knows our culture or our history. That’s why one of my biggest dreams is to have a film adaptation of something very Filipino like the ‘Noli Me Tangere’ or the ‘El Filibusterismo’ but created in Hollywood,” she said. “Like Singaporeans, we speak good English. It’s easier for us to put ourselves out there.”
Stefanie Arianne —PHOTO BY KEVIN DOUGLAS DANAO
Asked which nationality she identifies with more, being that her father is Japanese and her mom is Filipino, Stefanie said: “I carry a Japanese passport, but I’m very much a Filipina. My Lola is there, and Jollibee is there. Seriously, I’m ‘half,’ because there are things unique to the Philippines that I resonate with; it’s the same with being in Japan. It’s really a mixture because I grew up in the Philippines and I’m living my adult life in Japan.”
She admitted that work for starting artists in Japan isn’t always self-sustaining so most of them have to find other jobs. “I call this my ‘Hannah Montana’ life. On the side, I’m doing all these movies and interviews, while on the other, I work for a call center for kids. I sing nursery rhymes to them. We sing, read stories and learn English together. And, yes, I’ve been singing ABCs for quite a while now,” she recalled.
Fondest memories
These days, asking Stefanie to recall some of her fondest memories while growing up in the Philippines would often make her cry. She left for Japan at age 18. “My No. 1 prayer is for my Lola, who was hospitalized recently, to get well. I told her we will still see each other and that we will eat Jollibee together when I come home. My Lola was my rock in the Philippines. Whenever I do something I really dedicate it to her, even though in the beginning she didn’t want me to pursue acting. She’s OK with it now, but back then, she was worried about me having to deal with all the chismis, scandals and paparazzi,” said Stefanie, with voice cracking.
“I also pray for more acting jobs so that I can finally be a full-time actress and be financially stable. People in the Philippines would tell me, ‘you’re probably very rich now.’ I always say being an actress is very expensive. You not only have to look like one, you also have to spend on training,” she declared. “I pray for financial stability for my sake and my family’s.” INQ
