“Xiang“, dressed in a silk qipao, awakens in a hazy banquet hall somewhere in New York’s Chinatown, unable to remember her own name. Dance and melody trigger her memory, guiding her back to her home, and her love.

Director's Statement

"My Home, My Love" is a short film that questions typical identity expectations through queer relationships and explores the difficult reckoning of belonging and not belonging for diasporic communities, where abandoned places, time periods, and homelands are represented by intimate character portrayals of our beloved "Xiang", "Jia", and "Leather Shoes".

In many ways, I consider this film a meditation on the concept of "home" as written about in "Giovanni’s Room" (1956) by James Baldwin. Closely, we ponder: "Do we truly not have a home until it is left? And upon return (of some shape or form), how are we met, and who are we met with?" This is a passion project that my team has propelled with a strong sentiment to bolster both local and international AAPI/Asian diasporic-queer communities during trying times, produced by a passionate and fierce team, composed exclusively of AAPI/Asian diasporic-queer cast and crew.

Our narrative references:

Hiroshima, mon amour (1959), Rouge (1987), In the Mood for Love (2000)

I began writing the first draft of this script on New Year's day this year, and proceeded to finish it in its entirety by that very evening. It felt all too clear to me that this story was an accumulation of the self-reflection that I have fought to earn in these past four years of my life: I draw inspiration from my own experiences growing up in a highly homogenous environment that I often found myself unable to identify with—where everything felt familiar and unfamiliar all at the same time—but also from the laboured foundation that my parents had to struggle to build as members of the first wave of Chinese immigrants that found themselves settling in Finland during the 90s.

A still from a home video of my brother and I, filmed by my Dad in 2004 in Helsinki.

Intentions & Approach

While some of you may already know of the terrific joys I find in experimenting with different forms and visual structures, at the core of all my work lies a common principle to tell nuanced stories that spotlight subjects, people, and connections that are often underestimated and fall risk to eventually being forgotten completely. My films examine the complexities of choice and the subtleties of differing perspectives (whether cultural, linguistic, socio-economic, or generational), with strong and compelling narratives centered around hybrid/fragmented identities. While the history of diasporic, queer, and marginalised communities is often disheartening and embodied by loss, I wish to tell stories that extend these old endings with new beginnings, as it reflects the faith that I have for my generation's ability to affect change.

Our visual references:

Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003), Yi Yi (2000), Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996)

As a filmmaker, I compose my team with care, treat my partners and co-writers with sincerity, and encourage actors and crew the creative space and freedom to adjoin their own artistic interpretations onto the text that guides us. My hope is to promote processes of collaboration that support equitable-learning, community-building, and creative innovation—to convince you once and for all that independent filmmaking is worth betting on.

Process

As of now, our key crew has been on-boarded and we are in the process of finalising our casting. You can read about everyone attached to the project on the Team page! Our Location, Camera, and Art departments have already begun the pre-production process, in order to ensure the best visual immersion into our nostalgic call back to New York Chinatown's early 2000s. Production has been set to occur over two days in mid-April. Once we're finished shooting, I'm hoping to move quickly into post-production and finish the film by the end of the summer. Once post-production is finished, we will then begin submitting to film festivals with the goal of premiering the film in 2026.

Our 80s and '90s canto/mandopop references for the film's Original Soundtrack:

Leslie Cheung, Teresa Teng, Sarah Chen, Tsai Chin, BEYOND

I will aim to post regular updates on our Seed&Spark page, so be sure to follow the project here and to follow me @haohaoqliu and @myhomemylove.film on Instagram for production and screening updates. Please help us share our fundraising campaign with friends, family, and loved ones!

The process of realising this film has already taught me a great deal about believing in my voice as an artist, and taught me the strength of being part of sturdy communities. Please allow me the chance to deliver their stories to the big screen!

Thank you for supporting me as a storyteller. Excited to share this journey with you all!



The last photo I took when I visited my grandpa in Yungang, Beijing in 2023.

This is only one fragment of what home means to me.