I first came across Shalemar Coloma’s documentary work at “Reclaiming the Past and Rallying the Present,” an A/P/A BRIDGE (Asian/Pacific/Americans Building Relationships to Inspire Diversity, Growth, and Empowerment) activism installation held in April. A sophomore at Tisch, Shalemar has been exploring intersectional identity through her filmmaking. (She also wears an amazing hot pink fur coat that I want to cop.) Because it was finals week, we met Shalemar in the lobby of Bobst, where we were lying on one of the black couches, staring up into the abyss of failed hopes and dreams, to talk about London Tipton, being Filipinx, and her recent work. -Elaine

Something we haven’t really talked about on Lunar Stories is the intersection of business and art, but Misty Goh’s got you covered. Misty is an NYU Tisch junior majoring in Cinema Studies and minoring in BEMT (Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology) and French. She’s got a lot on her plate: she currently works at Chelsea Music Festival, is Video Strategy Intern at Fullscreen Media, a global network of content creators and brands, and is in the process of producing a new film. We chatted about Cinema Studies vs. Film, the business side of the film industry and her Singaporean roots on comfy lounge chairs at the adorable Maman Tribeca last month. -Elaine

Born and raised in New York, Saki studies at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and is somehow able to pull off all the fluorescent hair colours of your wildest middle school dreams, flaunting that effortless cool that New Yorkers seem to be born with. We talked about the importance of producing quality art, representation, and the art of storytelling. -Amy

You may have seen photos from Sam Soon’s series Sad & Asian floating around online spaces lately. They’re eye-catching, vibrantly colored portraits of members of Sad & Asian, a 4,000-strong Facebook group that serves as a community for those identifying as creative Asian femmes, and a catalyst for dialogue on contemporary issues. Sam is a junior at NYU Tisch majoring in Photography and hails from San Mateo, CA. We chat about her vision and inspiration for the series, Asian representation in the media, and her ties to the West Coast and family.

Ally is my memelord roommate. We met almost one year ago while studying abroad in Paris. Since then we’ve shared many candid photos, memes, and late nights writing papers, out in the city, and talking about race relations and queerness on our quintessential Brooklyn fire escape. Full of insight, vision, and an inspiring fearlessness, Ally talked to us about family, the essentialism of identity politics, and her art over dinner at a soba joint. -Amy

Anyone who knows Nina personally knows that she is one of the most genuine, inspiring, kindhearted, and just engaged in life person ever. She’s from Irvine, California, and is majoring in Media, Culture, and Communications with minors in Digital Art and Design and Metropolitan Studies. She’s the digital director for Washington Square News, NYU’s student newspaper, is a black belt in Taekwondo, and if you didn’t think that was enough, she’s so stylish I literally want to steal her entirely found-from-Goodwill outfit every time I see her. We talk about what it means to be a woman of color, her many different creative interests, and her passion for urban environmentalism. -Elaine

The first time I met Tia was at a Halloween party at which she was dressed as a Space Cat (exactly as it sounds). We’ve become closer friends over the last few months, and every time I’m with her I feel so fortunate to be able to take part in her kindness, warmth, depth, and passion. She’s a writer-poet, makes damn good fried rice, and she’s not afraid to tell it like it is. We hung out at Tia’s apartment in Gramercy to talk about Asianness, the 2016 presidential election, her family, and poetry. (Note: this interview was conducted on November 10th, 2 days after the election.) -Elaine