Tag: Erik Escobar

CHOPSO spoke with Erik Escobar, founder and producer of Fil Am Fun Fest, and Bay Area comedian Diane Belale. The festival runs October 22–24, 2026, at venues throughout Orange County. For more information, visit the festival’s website.

In 2016 — perhaps even earlier — while I was developing my now-defunct Chinese feature Morning, Paris! in Beijing, I met Ludi Lin, then a starry-eyed young actor with unmistakable charisma. Over the past decade, we’ve stayed close as friends, and honestly, I’ve rarely witnessed an actor’s trajectory evolve with such dynamism, discipline, and sheer cinematic momentum. When Ludi decided to venture into stand-up comedy, I introduced him to my comedy partner-in-crime, Keith Nahanee, who invited him to perform live at Vancouver’s Rez Comedy showcase. Later, when financing finally aligned for Season 3 of Comedy InvAsian, Ludi was one of the very first people I called about joining the ensemble.

Co-created by filmmakers Koji Steven Sakai and Quentin Lee, Comedy InvAsian—the first and only stand-up comedy television series of its kind—is now filming its third season. The first two seasons are currently available on AAM.tv, Amazon Prime, Peacock, and Tubi. CHOPSO took the opportunity to speak with Canadian Screen Award–winning showrunner and creator Quentin Lee about the series.