Mandarins was inspired by the mothers and daughters in my life. I’m biracial and my connection to my Asian heritage has primarily been through my mom. Our relationship wasn’t always the best. Most of us can point to a period of time like this with our parents (particularly in those tumultuous teenage years), however I came to realize there was an added layer of cultural nuance there. In college, I finally matured enough to get curious. I started having conversations with my mom about her past. We became closer and I learned about the trauma she went through, not only as a Chinese woman born into poverty, but also at the hands of her own parents. The more I learned, the more I realized my experiences were not unique. My mom had seen the ghosts of forced illiteracy and foot binding in her mother’s eyes. My cousins had gone through their own journeys of healing with my aunts. Friends with immigrant parents had stories that echoed one another.

But Mandarins isn’t just a story about hurting and conflict. Despite the hardships the Chinese women in my life have faced, they remain fiercely loyal to their families and embody an unresolved, aching forgiveness. This film is an ode to the wonderfully imperfect women I’ve had the joy of growing up around and a love letter to a uniquely American culture where relocated communities gather in transformed spaces to preserve their heritage and history. Touching on the oft hidden, yet widespread issue of intergenerational trauma in immigrant communities, Mandarins considers the ways in which we can forgive and love our ancestors while still honoring our pain.

Mandarins follows Olivia Chu, an emotional and compulsive black sheep that reunites with her estranged family by crashing her mother’s funeral. Determined to say something but ill-prepared, Olivia unintentionally delivers an offbeat eulogy that sends her two dutiful older siblings, Jenny and Michael, scrambling to save face in front of friends and family. Competing eulogies ensue, painting a larger picture of each of the siblings in relationship to each other and the complex woman they’ve come together to honor that day. 

Christine Chang is an actress currently recurring on NBC’s medical drama New Amsterdam. For over 25 episodes and four seasons, she’s played Dr. Agnes Kao, Chair of Neurology. Christine has appeared in Law & Order: SVU in the episode “Counselor, It’s Chinatown” and also played a role in the film Lucky Grandma with Michael Tow. Her additional TV appearances include The Other Two and Madam Secretary. Christine is a proud advocate for AAPI equity and representation in film/TV and is honored to help bring this beautiful story of a Chinese-American family in grief to the screen in Mandarins. 

Michael Tow is an actor and award-winning creator of Asian American social impact films and videos. As an actor, he is known for his roles in Oscar-winning film Sound of Metal with Riz Ahmed, and Lucky Grandma where he stars as the gangster Little Handsome. He has also appeared as counselor Josh Wang on Law & Order: SVU, computer hacker Del Toro on NBC’s Blindspot, as well as numerous other films and TV shows, including the much anticipated upcoming sequel Hocus Pocus 2.

Sarai Koo, Ph.D. is the Chief Visionary of Project SPICES and CEO/Founder of MAPS 4 College. Dr. Koo is a motivational speaker, author, facilitator, comedian, emcee, leadership coach, and culture change engineer. She appears on national and international media; coaches and facilitates people globally; and speaks at universities, companies, nonprofit organizations, non-governmental associations, schools, and governmental agencies (CIA, ODNI, State, etc.). Sarai is also an actress and appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming American thriller film Kimi, Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 Driverless Robotaxi Commercial, and more. Dr. Koo is the author of the book Seoul Food, the first creative non-fiction book about second-generation Korean Americans growing up in Los Angeles County. She is currently writing a TV pilot (Delusional Seoul) and a feature film.

Mandarins’ look and feel is inspired by the films of Wong-Kar Wai. Rich, deep colors of orange, red, and brown will permeate the set design, with each shot’s background props meticulously selected and placed. Dramatic shadows will drape the faces of our characters with two-tone contrasted lighting further emphasizing the aged, traditional beauty of the Chinese community. Three distinct color palettes will mirror Olivia’s emotional progression throughout the film, beginning with cool muted blues and grays and breaking into rich colors of red, orange, and brown as she reunites with the culture she tried to leave behind.

The film score, developed in tandem with the script, evolves alongside Olivia. It starts as an unstable conversation between aching cello and piano - a somber back and forth between Olivia and the ghost of her mother. As she progresses through her emotional arc, the music swells and reaches for catharsis, all while keeping roots in an anguish that runs back for generations. Almost a character in itself, the score helps immerse the viewer in Olivia's journey. It's a reminder that progress is often marred with claw marks of the past.

We are a team of producers, cinematographers, art directors, composers, musicians, and artists hailing from the DC metro area, NYC, and Boston. Some of us knew each other beforehand (Christina and Chelsie have been best friends since high school), but most of us met each other through a combination of word of mouth and the internet. However, what rings true for all of our team members and what brought us all together is our shared passion for storytelling. We all have full time jobs (or are exceptionally talented full time students - we see you Caroline), but we’ve chosen to spend hours of our free time every week working on this project because of our fierce belief in it. 

We’re also very good at what we do! Most of these faces look pretty young, however throughout our young careers our team members have collectively garnered over 30 festival acceptances and awards for previous works, including an Emmy (yea Sammy!!). We’ve got a lot of talent, good vibes, and heart and we can’t wait to show you what we can do. 

Your support will go towards location rental fees in DC’s Chinatown, props and set design, camera equipment, cast and crew pay, food to feed our crew during production, insurance, and more.

Our plan for the film is to have a long and robust festival run across the country (and possibly internationally!) in 2023. Once the 2023 festival season is over, we plan on releasing the film publicly for free. 

Safety for our cast and crew is our number one priority. As a SAG signatory production, we will be following the most up-to-date Covid-19 rules and regulations provided by SAG to keep our cast and crew safe. Since most of our team is local, we also have a little more flexibility to pivot should something unexpected happen.  

We are proud to be shooting the entirety of the film in DC’s Chinatown and, more specifically, in a historic Chinese church that has served as a beacon and support system to the community since 1935. The existence of Chinatowns has often been a direct community response to racism and discrimination. Shooting the film in a Chinatown, and in particular one that has largely been eradicated by gentrification and discriminatory policies, is deeply meaningful and poignant. It’s truly an honor to tell this story here.

We understand that we're still in a pandemic and that supporting the film financially isn't an option for everyone. That being said, there are other ways for you to help! 

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" I'm so excited for the upcoming DC-based indie short @mandarinsfilm ! Christine Chang from NBC's New Amsterdam is starring in it and the whole thing is being shot in DC's Chinatown. Check them out and support the project here: https://bit.ly/mandarinsfilm "

" Looking to support local independent artists and Asian American women in the arts? Check out  @mandarinsfilm , an indie family drama set in DC's Chinatown and created entirely by independent artists. Join the campaign here: https://bit.ly/mandarinsfilm "

From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!