VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Justin Chon On Working With Rich Brian On ‘Jamojaya’ At Sundance Premiere

In the film Jamojaya, we follow Indonesian rapper, James (Rich Brian) as he tries to expand his career in the U.S. while not damaging the relationship with his father and former manager (Yayu Unru).

In an exclusive interview with uInterview, director Justin Chon discussed why he wanted to make the film.

“He’s [Rich Brian] a dope rapper, and I’m friends with his manager, I’ve known his manager since we were 18 and we talked about you if there was a possibility to do a film so we built it over five years,” he said. “We started talking five years ago and then slowly built it. I got to know him, asked him questions here and there. I landed on a father-son story, because you know he has a very close relationship with his father, so I thought that be a good place to start.”

Chon also revealed his favorite moment when working with Brian.

“There’s a scene where he raps in front of a huge crowd,” he began. “When people see that happen, people understood why he is the way he is. Before then they’re like, ‘oh he’s just some Indonesian kid,’ because he’s so unassuming but then you watch him perform and understand.”