Brooklyn, NY – Rifts can grow between parents and kids. It starts in those teenage years. Maybe earlier. But by young adulthood? It’s a full-on chasm. And no matter how much the two sides scream across to each other, wholeheartedly calling to one another, the cries often go unheard. This happens often in immigrant families. Especially between mothers and daughters.
Writer-director Remoy Philip captures this rift in his latest short – A Distance. We watch as twenty-something Grace–who left home years ago to start her own media company–angrily falls apart on a phone call with her mom. Funnily enough, in the phone call just before? Where Grace had to deal with a work firestorm? She handles it effortlessly. But as she and her mom talk expectations and relationships in two parts English and one part Cantonese, the real fire erupts.
“That pressure of assimilation, it can squeeze a family in so many interesting ways,” Philip says. “It puts pressure on each person differently—to successfully fit into the greater culture. But after you’ve internalized the pain of your experience, it’s almost impossible to see anyone else’s pain. Even if they’ve gone through something similar. You see this, feel this, in immigrant families often.”
Watch the Official Trailer for A Distance as directed by Remoy Philip
Chinese-American actor-director Joyce Keokham brings this phenomena to life in her performance of Grace. Keokham shines on screen showcasing two very different emotional experiences via two very different phone calls. It’s a sight to see. To watch in just nine short minutes, one character crosses these broad emotional and experiential spectrums. Keokham does it with ease.
Actors Vivian Lee and Stephanie Butts round out the all female cast. Portraying the mother. And Grace’s work colleague. We never see them on the screen. Yet, only through their voices they’re able to each animate Grace differently.
Director of Photography Minos Papas pushes his lens closer and closer towards Grace. But she always keeps her distance. Walking and talking through her apartment always keeping her distance. Never letting the viewer close. Until… when producer-editor Liz Sargent captures a final quiet moments… where a bridge forms, even just for a half-second. Where finally, mother and daughter hear each other.
A Distance is coming to a festival near you. It’ll be premiering in festivals across the country this winter into spring. Keep up with which festival near you at: https://beacons.ai/a.distance/home
Did this press release inform you? Would you like to comment on this article? If you do, we would respond. Do let us know your thoughts if you have any suggestions. So hit us up on Facebook, Instagram! or Twitter.
Follow Remoy Philip on Social Media
Website
IMDb
MORE STORIES FOR YOU
In Conversation with Michael Oblowitz Director of Confidential Informant
Confidential Informant stars Mel Gibson, Dominic Purcell, and Kate Bosworth
