Keep (Everything) Safe follows Lia, a college student who is tasked with returning home to help her dad move out of the house she grew up in. Going through her old bedroom puts Lia face-to-face with her past, and she struggles to pack up her childhood for good—a struggle that irritates her father, who doesn’t understand why she can’t bring herself to throw anything away.

A still from Move to Heaven (2021)

After an argument, Lia’s dad finds an old camcorder and, from there, the film becomes a collage of home videos showing how Lia grew up with her dad. The order of the home videos is eventually shown to reveal how Lia and her father reacted and changed in response to the same struggles after Lia’s mother’s departure—Lia, as a child whose innocence clashes with her realization that not all is right in her family, and her father, who tries his best to keep things as normal as possible for her.

The latter half of the narrative shifts to focus on Lia’s dad as both he and his daughter grapple with their lingering shared past and the silent grief that comes with it. As they finish moving out of Lia’s room, they both confront the fact that they can’t truly say goodbye to the past but must put it behind them in order to move on to the next stage of their lives.

A still from Half of It (2020)

LIA is a hyper-independent college student in her early twenties who struggles to cope with growing older and suppresses her complicated feelings about it. She is often unable to face the truth and is driven by her emotions, for better or for worse. The audience meets her as she sees her bedroom for the first time in a while, a place that was once comforting but is now a shrine to her guilt and loss. 

She is greeted by her DAD, a stay-at-home father who struggles to keep up with his perception of who she is as she grows older and changes. Lia’s loner nature and her dad’s cold, stoic exterior drive a wedge between them—despite this, her dad does his best to do what he believes is right, though his actions may not always reflect his intentions. The way that both of them suppress their feelings about the past further drives them apart, resulting in a sense of isolation and tension, which bubbles over after an argument about Lia’s unwillingness to pack up her room.

A still from Little Tiger (2022)

The relationship that YOUNG LIA had with her dad in the past, in contrast, was a close and caring one; unlike her older self, Lia as a little girl was bubbly and naive in the way she navigated life. Despite not being as present, Lia was really close with her MOM until her dad had to step in as a full-time parent—a dynamic that started out rough but developed into a tight bond as they learned to live with each other. The devotion she and her dad had for each other brought out her extroverted and creative nature but didn’t quite make up for how much she missed her mom and the time she lost with her.

I remember going to my grandparents’ house in Brooklyn with my dad one day after not seeing them for ten years. They lived in a basement that you had to enter through a rickety staircase, and my dad always told me to watch my head and feet no matter how old I got. As I couldn’t speak Cantonese with my grandparents, only my dad spoke to them as I observed their room and silently ate my bao. I looked around their room, wondering about all of the times I've been here and how it's changed. What caught my eye was all of my school photos neatly hung up in the corner right next to where my grandparents usually sit in the living room. Once we finished up our time with them and got inside our car, my dad asked me, “did you see how they had your photos there?”. I nodded in thought until he said, “That’s how they see you”.

That memory became a sad yet profound thought that still lies vividly within me. I always thought about how they saw my photos every day, smiling back at them. I thought about how they saw me grow in photos and how they were putting the pieces together of how my life is going. I can imagine my parents sending them a new photo as if it was unlocking another piece to my puzzle. I have vivid memories after this moment where I made sure my next school photo was the best for them. I always hoped that they thought I had a good life from what they saw. I questioned how they thought of me and how I could have probably asked if I knew how to speak Cantonese.

The film is inspired by this memory; how objects can hold such meaning for us, and how they can tell our lives and stories. Language and love come in many different forms, and through the eyes of Lia and her dad, I hope to understand the complexities and guilt that form within familial bonds. The story aims to explore the ideas of perception within memories, and the construction of these perceptions alter how one might see us. For years, I have struggled with answering the questions I have asked and laid within my imagination of different scenarios of what they would say if I could talk to them. Since they have passed within the makings of this film, my questions will still remain unanswered. Your support will help me get closer to them and my answer and to honor them through the work I put into this film.

Aris’ Statement:

The promise of being able to go back home every summer vacation has always been something that’s anchored me during my time studying in the United States, living outside of Canada, where I was born and raised, for the first time. My parents recently dropped the bomb that they’ll be moving back to their home, to China, before I graduate, which has shaken my safety net apart. Even though the house I grew up in will still be there, the people and things that made it a retreat for me in adulthood won’t be. Growing up is a different kind of grief, one that Keep (Everything) Safe has no interest in sugarcoating. I’ve been enamored with this story ever since Becky first approached me with it, and I can’t wait to help bring it to life. As producers, our goal is not only to support the film creatively but to make sure Becky and our crew have the resources they need at their disposal to focus on their art without worries. As students, any donation would be an incredible help.

Bel’s Statement:

We’re lucky to be creating something of a home base as we shoot Keep (Everything) Safe. Much of the film takes place in that one house that Lia returns to. While the house we’ve rented will be a key player in putting together Lia and her Dad’s story, it’ll also be a key player in crafting our on-set environment. We’ve rented a beautiful house in the small town of Norwood, Massachusetts, to bring this story to life and to house some of our crew members as we shoot. Unfortunately, the rental wasn’t cheap, and transportation won’t be either as we figure out how to feed and move our crew back and forth over the five-day shoot. We have an incredibly talented cast and crew and a script that gave me chills the first time we read it. We would love your support in ensuring that we can financially make this film come to life.