All's Well That Ends Well
San Francisco, California | Film Feature
Documentary, LGBTQ
Reflecting on the hardships faced by queer people in China, East Asia, and other conservative societies—from a relative lost to a marriage of convenience to shrinking queer spaces—I hope to explore a gentler path toward understanding, acceptance, and coexistence.
All's Well That Ends Well
San Francisco, California | Film Feature
Documentary, LGBTQ
1 supporter | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$50
Goal: $30,000 for production
Reflecting on the hardships faced by queer people in China, East Asia, and other conservative societies—from a relative lost to a marriage of convenience to shrinking queer spaces—I hope to explore a gentler path toward understanding, acceptance, and coexistence.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Story
Yujie Li, a filmmaker born and raised in Zhangzhou, China, is given a cruel ultimatum by his parents after coming out as gay to them: marry a woman and have children, or they will cut ties and revoke the financial support promised for his graduate school tuition in San Francisco. Caught between the pursuit of his education and the urge to live authentically, Yujie decides to orchestrate a radical compromise—a lavender wedding.
The Mission
Our film explores a vital question: how do queer individuals navigate relationships with their loved ones within highly restrictive social environments while clinging to their authentic selves? Using the contemporary queer landscape in China as a lens, we examine how LGBTQ+ individuals can reclaim agency—retaining their freedom and subjectivity without severing ties with their families of origin, and finding ways to love one another against all odds, even if the price of admission is a lifelong lie masquerading as a wedding.
Why Now?
Across the globe, major world powers are witnessing a regression in civil liberties, placing the queer communities in both the United States and China under escalating pressure.
- 2020: Shanghai Pride announced its permanent closure.
- 2021: Official social media accounts of dozens of prominent LGBTQ+ student organizations at top Chinese universities were purged overnight—a crackdown that continues to expand.
- 2023: The Beijing LGBT Center was forced to cease operations due to "force majeure."
- 2024: Dozens of Mainland Chinese Danmei (boys' love) fiction authors were arrested, facing severe fines or criminal prosecution.
- 2025: Queer dating applications underwent repeated takedowns and "rectifications"; upon their eventual return to app stores, absurd regulations emerged, such as banning users from indicating "Top or Bottom" preferences on their profiles.
Queer communities in Asia, particularly in mainland China, are facing a slow, systemic erasure—a phenomenon akin to "boiling a frog in warm water." Now more than ever, we need the power of cinema to capture the macrocosm through the microcosm, to immortalize these times, awaken collective consciousness, and challenge the deteriorating reality of queer existence.
Why This Subject?
This is not the first documentary about a convenience marriage within the Asian queer community, yet it remains desperately necessary.
We are no longer interested in timidly testing the waters of East Asian social acceptance, nor are we content with wallowing in insular self-pity. Instead, this film is an active quest to discover a new baseline for coexistence.
The path chosen may be dangerous, perhaps even morally ambiguous. However, I believe that underneath this frantic pursuit of theatrical conflict lies the courage to confront an uncomfortable truth: in this wedding, someone is bound to be unhappy. I hope the joy and heartbreak captured in this frame will serve as an epiphany, or perhaps a cautionary tale, for queer individuals living under the heavy shadow of East Asian traditional culture.
When the groom stands in his tailored suit and rainbow bow tie next to the bride, do the parents truly feel a sense of pride and joy? I want to dissect what drives homophobia in an East Asian familial structure where religious influence is virtually non-existent. Ultimately, this film investigates the true meaning of "starting a family." Why do elders view their children's marriage as the ultimate culmination of their own lifelong happiness? Does "seeing a child settled" finally liberate parents from the perpetual burden of parenthood?
This is more than a documentary about a fake marriage—it is a freeze-frame of East Asian emotional culture.
With Your Help
Since principal photography began in 2024, we have successfully documented several critical phases:
What We Have Achieved So Far (2024 - Present):
- Reconstructing the backstory and romantic history.
- Staging and rehearsing parent-introduction meetings.
- The full 350+ person wedding ceremony executed in Zhangzhou, China in December 2025.
What’s Next & Where the Funds Go:
- Cinematic Elevation: Upgrading visual equipment, coloring, and lighting.
- In-depth Investigative Research: Shedding light on mental health crises and suicide realities of Chinese LGBTQ+ youth.
- Post-Production Pipeline: Commencing crucial editing, sound design, and scoring.
Throughout this journey, a much grander narrative scope has steadily revealed itself to us.
Moving forward, our immediate focus will be on elevating the film’s cinematic aesthetics, conducting deep-dive interviews, and exploring the profound psychological distress and alarming suicide rates within the Chinese queer community. Concurrently, we are entering one of the most vital chapters of this filmmaking journey: post-production.
To allow us to immerse ourselves fully and unreservedly into this creative process, we desperately need additional budget support. Every contribution you make, no matter the size, will become an invaluable and lasting part of this film.
1. Post-Production & Technical
Editing– $5000
Color Grading – $3000
Sound Design – $4000
Deliverables – $1000
2. Rights, Music & Archival Materials
Archival materials – $5000
Original Score – $2000
Music license – $2000
3. Further Production, Promotion & Contingency
Production (post-interview, etc.) – $3000
Travel Expenses – $2000
Film Festival Fees – $2000
Contingency – $1000
Thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to consider supporting this project!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Production&Promotion
Costs $8,000
Production (post-interview, etc.) – $3000 Travel expenses (event, screening) – $2000 Festival fee – $2000 Contingency– $1000
Music&Archival
Costs $9,000
Archival materials– $5000 Original Score– $2000 Music license – $2000
Post&Technical
Costs $13,000
Editing – $5000 Color grading – $3000 Sound design – $4000 Deliverables – $1000
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Yujie Li
Born in Zhangzhou, Fujian, China. MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University (SFSU). Since 2017, he has been dedicated to crafting queer short films and character-driven documentaries. His works focus closely on the intersections and collisions of traditional Chinese culture and queer consciousness, with a signature sensitivity for capturing the complexities and nuances of familial intimacy.
His narrative short films, including SheMale Role On Stage, Teacher Mr. Husban, Wave Me Before You Leave, In Between Mist, and Caterpillar, all center around queer and domestic themes. He also directed the documentary Hélène et Iris in France, a project focused on women that further explores the profound nature of Chinese-style familial bonds.
Laeli Ella
Area-based producer, assistant director, actor, musician, and founder of Sixth String Pictures.
Laeli strives for projects that “...explore(s) Asian and mixed race identities in fresh, authentic, and creative ways.” As a producer, she works to bring meaningful and unique stories to life in a way that is collaborative, accessible, and ethical.
Matthew Huang
A Paris-based LGBTQ activist and filmmaker from Chengdu. He co-founded the Chengdu LGBT Center, joined the U.S. State Department's IVLP in 2017, and led his organization to win the French Republic Human Rights Prize in 2022. He was a jury member for MIX Copenhagen 2024.
Credits: All's Well That Ends Well (Feature Doc, Producer); Homeland Afloat (Narrative Short, Producer/Co-writer); Schrödinger's Matthew (Doc Short, Director/Producer).
Xinyi Cao
Born in 2001, she holds a BA from the Communication University of China and an MA from ESRA Paris. A distinguished writer, she was named Grand Champion of the Shanghai Writers Association’s New Literary Talent.
Feature Credits: Endless Flowing Water, Chang'e (Writer/DP); Whispering Tides (Co-writer); I Am the Happiest Baby in the World (Story Editor).
Short Credits: High Tide, Swallowed Alive, Playhouse (Writer/Director); Hélène et Iris (Producer).
Ben Friedman-Hibbs
Producer
Film & Television Production MFA at the University of Southern California
Los Angeles-based, San Francisco born and raised
Writer / Director / Editor / Producer of award-winning undergraduate thesis film “The Katan Valley” and many other narrative short films, short documentaries, music videos and commercials in the San Francisco Bay Area. He's now pursuing his masters in Los Angeles.
Ben is focused on using history as a framework for current events in his work
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Story
Yujie Li, a filmmaker born and raised in Zhangzhou, China, is given a cruel ultimatum by his parents after coming out as gay to them: marry a woman and have children, or they will cut ties and revoke the financial support promised for his graduate school tuition in San Francisco. Caught between the pursuit of his education and the urge to live authentically, Yujie decides to orchestrate a radical compromise—a lavender wedding.
The Mission
Our film explores a vital question: how do queer individuals navigate relationships with their loved ones within highly restrictive social environments while clinging to their authentic selves? Using the contemporary queer landscape in China as a lens, we examine how LGBTQ+ individuals can reclaim agency—retaining their freedom and subjectivity without severing ties with their families of origin, and finding ways to love one another against all odds, even if the price of admission is a lifelong lie masquerading as a wedding.
Why Now?
Across the globe, major world powers are witnessing a regression in civil liberties, placing the queer communities in both the United States and China under escalating pressure.
- 2020: Shanghai Pride announced its permanent closure.
- 2021: Official social media accounts of dozens of prominent LGBTQ+ student organizations at top Chinese universities were purged overnight—a crackdown that continues to expand.
- 2023: The Beijing LGBT Center was forced to cease operations due to "force majeure."
- 2024: Dozens of Mainland Chinese Danmei (boys' love) fiction authors were arrested, facing severe fines or criminal prosecution.
- 2025: Queer dating applications underwent repeated takedowns and "rectifications"; upon their eventual return to app stores, absurd regulations emerged, such as banning users from indicating "Top or Bottom" preferences on their profiles.
Queer communities in Asia, particularly in mainland China, are facing a slow, systemic erasure—a phenomenon akin to "boiling a frog in warm water." Now more than ever, we need the power of cinema to capture the macrocosm through the microcosm, to immortalize these times, awaken collective consciousness, and challenge the deteriorating reality of queer existence.
Why This Subject?
This is not the first documentary about a convenience marriage within the Asian queer community, yet it remains desperately necessary.
We are no longer interested in timidly testing the waters of East Asian social acceptance, nor are we content with wallowing in insular self-pity. Instead, this film is an active quest to discover a new baseline for coexistence.
The path chosen may be dangerous, perhaps even morally ambiguous. However, I believe that underneath this frantic pursuit of theatrical conflict lies the courage to confront an uncomfortable truth: in this wedding, someone is bound to be unhappy. I hope the joy and heartbreak captured in this frame will serve as an epiphany, or perhaps a cautionary tale, for queer individuals living under the heavy shadow of East Asian traditional culture.
When the groom stands in his tailored suit and rainbow bow tie next to the bride, do the parents truly feel a sense of pride and joy? I want to dissect what drives homophobia in an East Asian familial structure where religious influence is virtually non-existent. Ultimately, this film investigates the true meaning of "starting a family." Why do elders view their children's marriage as the ultimate culmination of their own lifelong happiness? Does "seeing a child settled" finally liberate parents from the perpetual burden of parenthood?
This is more than a documentary about a fake marriage—it is a freeze-frame of East Asian emotional culture.
With Your Help
Since principal photography began in 2024, we have successfully documented several critical phases:
What We Have Achieved So Far (2024 - Present):
- Reconstructing the backstory and romantic history.
- Staging and rehearsing parent-introduction meetings.
- The full 350+ person wedding ceremony executed in Zhangzhou, China in December 2025.
What’s Next & Where the Funds Go:
- Cinematic Elevation: Upgrading visual equipment, coloring, and lighting.
- In-depth Investigative Research: Shedding light on mental health crises and suicide realities of Chinese LGBTQ+ youth.
- Post-Production Pipeline: Commencing crucial editing, sound design, and scoring.
Throughout this journey, a much grander narrative scope has steadily revealed itself to us.
Moving forward, our immediate focus will be on elevating the film’s cinematic aesthetics, conducting deep-dive interviews, and exploring the profound psychological distress and alarming suicide rates within the Chinese queer community. Concurrently, we are entering one of the most vital chapters of this filmmaking journey: post-production.
To allow us to immerse ourselves fully and unreservedly into this creative process, we desperately need additional budget support. Every contribution you make, no matter the size, will become an invaluable and lasting part of this film.
1. Post-Production & Technical
Editing– $5000
Color Grading – $3000
Sound Design – $4000
Deliverables – $1000
2. Rights, Music & Archival Materials
Archival materials – $5000
Original Score – $2000
Music license – $2000
3. Further Production, Promotion & Contingency
Production (post-interview, etc.) – $3000
Travel Expenses – $2000
Film Festival Fees – $2000
Contingency – $1000
Thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to consider supporting this project!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Production&Promotion
Costs $8,000
Production (post-interview, etc.) – $3000 Travel expenses (event, screening) – $2000 Festival fee – $2000 Contingency– $1000
Music&Archival
Costs $9,000
Archival materials– $5000 Original Score– $2000 Music license – $2000
Post&Technical
Costs $13,000
Editing – $5000 Color grading – $3000 Sound design – $4000 Deliverables – $1000
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Yujie Li
Born in Zhangzhou, Fujian, China. MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University (SFSU). Since 2017, he has been dedicated to crafting queer short films and character-driven documentaries. His works focus closely on the intersections and collisions of traditional Chinese culture and queer consciousness, with a signature sensitivity for capturing the complexities and nuances of familial intimacy.
His narrative short films, including SheMale Role On Stage, Teacher Mr. Husban, Wave Me Before You Leave, In Between Mist, and Caterpillar, all center around queer and domestic themes. He also directed the documentary Hélène et Iris in France, a project focused on women that further explores the profound nature of Chinese-style familial bonds.
Laeli Ella
Area-based producer, assistant director, actor, musician, and founder of Sixth String Pictures.
Laeli strives for projects that “...explore(s) Asian and mixed race identities in fresh, authentic, and creative ways.” As a producer, she works to bring meaningful and unique stories to life in a way that is collaborative, accessible, and ethical.
Matthew Huang
A Paris-based LGBTQ activist and filmmaker from Chengdu. He co-founded the Chengdu LGBT Center, joined the U.S. State Department's IVLP in 2017, and led his organization to win the French Republic Human Rights Prize in 2022. He was a jury member for MIX Copenhagen 2024.
Credits: All's Well That Ends Well (Feature Doc, Producer); Homeland Afloat (Narrative Short, Producer/Co-writer); Schrödinger's Matthew (Doc Short, Director/Producer).
Xinyi Cao
Born in 2001, she holds a BA from the Communication University of China and an MA from ESRA Paris. A distinguished writer, she was named Grand Champion of the Shanghai Writers Association’s New Literary Talent.
Feature Credits: Endless Flowing Water, Chang'e (Writer/DP); Whispering Tides (Co-writer); I Am the Happiest Baby in the World (Story Editor).
Short Credits: High Tide, Swallowed Alive, Playhouse (Writer/Director); Hélène et Iris (Producer).
Ben Friedman-Hibbs
Producer
Film & Television Production MFA at the University of Southern California
Los Angeles-based, San Francisco born and raised
Writer / Director / Editor / Producer of award-winning undergraduate thesis film “The Katan Valley” and many other narrative short films, short documentaries, music videos and commercials in the San Francisco Bay Area. He's now pursuing his masters in Los Angeles.
Ben is focused on using history as a framework for current events in his work