Grant Street Dragons follows two brothers, Victor and Thomas Wu, who clash over what justice really means after their grandmother is attacked in an asian hate crime.

Thomas, an SFPD police officer, barely clings to his belief in the justice system. Victor, a financially successful but unfulfilled corporate worker, has already lost faith in it.

Between them lies a lifetime of comparison and quiet resentment, what it means to be “successful” in a minority household, and how far you’ll go to protect the people you love.

[Image credit: pexels]

Motivation

Grant Street Dragons started with three aspiring asian american actors frustrated with the lack of opportunities for Asian actors in the San Francisco Bay Area. These friends decided to address this frustration by making their own action movie! With shows like Brother’s Sun and Warrior rising in popularity, they got to thinking; What happens when characters are pushed to take justice into their own hands? And so, the idea for this action drama film was born

2 years later, the other actors have moved on to other projects. But I, Justin Wong, stayed determined to turn this idea into a reality and found a crew of brilliant creatives excited to make it happen. Our vision is a film that stars asian american actors playing nuanced characters in a compelling storiy while still including gripping action.

[image credit: Still from The Brothers Sun]

Asian Hate

Hate crimes towards Asian Americans surged during COVID-19, sparking the creation of organizations like Stop AAPI Hate and the Stop Asian Hate movement. But asian hate didn't dissapear with the end of lockdown. Last year marked the third highest asian american hate crime incidents in history and remain 3 times higher than pre-pandemic averages according to the AAJC

Half of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders faced hate in 2024,

according to a survey reported by The Guardian

Yet they're still widely underreported. One study found 72% of AAPI Hate Victims In California Never Report Incidents, Study Finds [link]

[credit: image from stopaapihate]

Asian Americans throughout the country have been feeling not only afraid and angry, but powerless. How do we bring justice and lasting change? 

When the characters’ grandmother is attacked in a violent hate crime in San Francisco’s Chinatown, they're faced with this question like a suckerpunch to the stomach.

It’s an ongoing question and we don’t claim to have all the answers, but we are determined to tell a story not about victimhood, but about resistance, healing, and refusing to stay silent.

Great Expectations & the Asian American childhood

Our main characters, Victor and Thomas, both grew up in an Asian household with a lot of expectations, desperately hoping to make their family proud. We felt that Hollywood doesn’t often show the potential aftermath of this kind of childhood and the way it can either tear siblings apart, or bring them closer than ever.

[Image: one of my sisters and I]

In childhood, Victor and Thomas were incredibly close and called themselves the Grant Street Dragons. As a team they’d get into scraps protecting the neighborhood kids from bullies and dreamt of one day becoming heroes. Years later, the two brothers begin to feel more like arch nemeses. Between them lies a lifetime of comparison, quiet resentment, and thoughts on what it means to be “successful” in a minority household.

Jaded careers in the face of social injustice:

Victor has traded his heroic dreams for corporate success in an all-consuming and unfulfilling job. Thomas failed to get into college and instead joined the SFPD hoping, at the time, to make a real impact on the safety of the Asian American community in San Francisco. Over time he became more and more disheartened by the response to racially motivated crimes and wondered if he truly made the right choice.

When their grandmother becomes the victim of a brutal hate crime, the brothers are forced to reunite and decide how to respond.

In the Mood for Revenge:

We've been inspired by films like The Brothers Sun, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and John Wick that blend action packed choreography with emotional moments. We filmed a proof of concept that shows our stunt capabilities

Grant Street Dragons aims to emulate their use of action scenes to externalize inner conflict and build tension, while quiet moments provide emotional grounding, leaving the audience with both a visceral and emotional punch.

Why an Action film?

Even as a high schooler I wanted to make action films. I made short films with my friends outside my parents house at night consisting mainly of tense fights and amateur stunts. After college I began to more seriously wonder “huh, how do they actually do that?” And so my training as a stunt performer began under the mentorship of Andrew Neis of Action Arts in Richmond, CA. After a few stunt projects, I became interested in what it was like to be part of the story, and began to train in acting.

Unlike many portrayals of Asian men as stoic action figures, Grant Street Dragons centers layered, complex people who fight not because they are assumed to be martial arts experts but because they feel pushed to violence out of desperation and love.

The film speaks broadly to people interested in social justice, family-driven stories, and action films with emotional depth, including:

• Action film lovers
• Film festival audiences
• Asian-American viewers seeking authentic representation
• Allies and advocates working against systemic injustice

All donations to this campaign are tax deductible through our fiscal sponsor BAVC

Follow @justinwong or @granstreetdragons on instagram to follow along our journey