Season 8

Lucky Fish

Emily May Jampel

Two Asian-American teenagers meet in the bathroom of a Chinese restaurant while having dinner with their families.

Live Action

Difference

Comforting

Why we chose this film.

This film captures the loneliness of feeling misunderstood by your family—and the joy of connecting authentically with someone who embraces the real you.

Filmmaker

Inspiration

I really wanted to make a film about two individuals who feel like outsiders in their own families who are able to relate to one another and find meaningful connection through this shared experience of disconnection.

The story was inspired by my own personal experiences growing up with the Chinese side of my family and the sense of generational and cultural disconnect that I experienced in those spaces. I really wanted to revisit this time in my life with a sense of humor and optimism and explore these feelings of isolation while offering a small form of relief from it. It was also very exciting for me to get to tell a story about two queer Asian-Americans that I felt I hadn’t seen before that wasn’t necessarily a coming out story, and more so simply about two young individuals existing and connecting, and to be able to bring that experience into the world for others to experience alongside them.