Synopsis
Jen, a first generation Chinese American, finds herself back in familiar territory - home - dancing the fine line between complacency yet also clashing with her family
about their cultural differences. However, as the weekend concludes and she is freed of her duties, she begins to recognize they have more in common than ever.
Trailer
Cast & Crew
SAMI
MA
"Jen"
A queer, first-generation daughter of Chinese immigrants navigating the messy & exciting terrain between her traditional Chinese culture and her über-American upbringing. She is continuously in pursuit of her familial & cultural history/identity and how it intersects with activism & politics.
KAREN
TSEN LEE
"Helen"
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Karen Tsen Lee is an American actor born in New York City, New York, USA. Karen Tsen is known for The Sentinel (2006), Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) and Blue Bloods (2010).
GEOFF
LEE
"Walter"
American-Asian musician and actor, native New Yorker. The acting bug bit hard when Geoff studied drama with Mako (East/West Players, Pacific Overtures). Most recently Geoff was seen playing two roles, Knowledge and Liu The Ancient, in the action-comedy feature film Made In Chinatown which premiered at the Newark International Film Festival in 2019.
ROBERT
LEE LENG
"Eric"
Robert Lee Leng is an Asian American actor, writer, producer and award winning filmmaker based in New York City. He has studied acting at the renowned Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute as well as the Upright Citizens Brigade up to the 401. He is a member of the theatre company Primitive Grace, co-founded by Paul Calderon and David Zayas.
JASMINE
WANG
Writer
Director
Jasmine Wang is a Chinese American filmmaker, producer, writer, and editor. She is the Co-Founder of Incurrent Media, a production company focused on telling human stories for brands such as TED, TransferWise, Nokia, Facebook, Marriott, and MasterCard. Together with her husband, Danny Monico, they have collaborated on numerous short films and programs which have screened on PBS, Montclair Film Festival, and Manhattan Film Festival.
DANNY
MONICO
Co-Director
Danny Monico is a New York-based filmmaker, producer, & editor. With a keen eye for narrative and documentary work, Danny has produced films for TED in various countries around the world to capture the world’s most important innovators, inventors and researchers of today.
PRODUCERS
DANNY MONICO | JASMINE WANG | TONY NAUMOVSKI
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
TATJANA KRSTEVSKI
EDITORS DANNY MONICO JASMINE WANG | CASTING DIRECTOR TONY NAUMOVSKI | MUSIC ALI HELWEIN
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CECILIA DELGADO | PRODUCTION DESIGN KENDRA EAVES
1st ASSISTANT CAMERA BOSKO TRIFUNOVIC | 2nd ASSISTANT CAMERA IVAN RADAVIC
GAFFERS ADAM LUKENS SMOKEY NELSON | GRIPS MIKE FARINO NESTOR CELAYA LESTER BECK
ASST PRODUCTION DESIGN JESS ARENA | HAIR & MAKEUP KATE COHEN
SET PHOTOGRAPHER ELIANA ARIAS | HEALTH & SAFETY EVGENIYA RADILOVA
SOUND DESIGN & MIX JORDAN MOSER | COLOR MIKE FARINO
GRAPHIC DESIGN OLIVER LISTER
Director's Statement
When we think of home, we like to think of a safe place of belonging and acceptance, of love and comfort. But for many immigrants and for children of immigrants, home is often a complicated word.
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Tender Ears explores the loss of identity that is shared amongst each member of the family. The loss of identity that often comes with being an immigrant in the case of the mother and father and the sacrifices they have made; the brother and his quiet life of expectation and compliance; and finally the loss of identity experienced by Jen in her desire to be American.
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The only thing that keeps this family together is their shared love of food and their common language.
Behind the Scenes
Technical
SHOOTING FORMAT
ARRI ALEXA DIGITAL
ASPECT RATIO
16:9
LENGTH
24 MINUTES
LANGUAGE
ENGLISH, MANDARIN
Logline
A Chinese American woman reluctantly returns home to visit family and attend her future sister in-law's bridal shower.
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24 minutes, USA, 2022