
This collection of AAPI short films highlights the power of connection and community, reminding us that we are never alone in our journeys. Through stories of family, friendship, resilience, and solidarity, these films celebrate the ties that bind us and the strength we find when we come together. Each short offers a unique lens, yet together they reflect a shared truth: we’re in this together.
When an empty nester loses her ability to summon her daughter back from the afterlife, she is forced to find help from the person she resents the most: her ex-husband's mistress.
Director Dorothy Xiao
Dorothy Xiao is a Los Angeles based award-winning narrative film director and writer with a degree in Psychology from UCLA. A Chinese American daughter of immigrants, Dorothy creates grounded family dramas with a hint of fantasy, focusing on the complexities of vulnerable emotions like loneliness and grief. Dorothy has directed 13 short films and has worked on over 30 film and video projects with companies like CBS, HBO, and Disney. She is an Alliance of Women Directors - Directing the Actor Lab Fellow and winner of the 2023 CAPE Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge.
Dorothy’s films total over 600,000 views online and have screened at multiple film festivals such as the Nevada City Film Festival, DTLA Film Festival, and the Oscar-qualifying Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. She directed the award-winning short film COLORFUL MINDS for the 2022 CBS Leadership Pipeline Challenge, which won a donation of $75,000 from CBS to the nonprofit Painted Brain. Her short film DIVE BAR played on board Alaska Airlines. She is an alumnus of the Jubilee Media Fellowship, where she wrote and directed the short film EXPOSURE, which now lives on a Youtube channel with over 7 million subscribers.
Dorothy is an avid supporter of empowering underrepresented voices in media, and when not making films, Dorothy binge watches anime with her stuffed bunny Rabby, reads juicy romance novels, and drinks copious amounts of boba milk tea.
- Year02/05/2024 00:00
- Runtime0:11:58
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States, United States
- GenreDrama, Fantasy
- AwardsLos Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Los Angeles, CA May 3, 2025 World Premiere Official Selection
- Social Media
- DirectorDorothy Xiao
- ScreenwriterDorothy Xiao, Jane Han
- ProducerBrielle Yuke Li
- Executive ProducerCAPE, Janet Yang Productions, Julia S. Gouw
- CastLee Chen, Norma Maldonado, Elaine Whae, Calix Quan
- CinematographerSilvia Lara
- EditorMengyao Mia Zhang
- Production DesignTim Molina; Casting Director: Tanya Giang
- MusicGeorge Shaw
This collection of AAPI short films highlights the power of connection and community, reminding us that we are never alone in our journeys. Through stories of family, friendship, resilience, and solidarity, these films celebrate the ties that bind us and the strength we find when we come together. Each short offers a unique lens, yet together they reflect a shared truth: we’re in this together.
When an empty nester loses her ability to summon her daughter back from the afterlife, she is forced to find help from the person she resents the most: her ex-husband's mistress.
Director Dorothy Xiao
Dorothy Xiao is a Los Angeles based award-winning narrative film director and writer with a degree in Psychology from UCLA. A Chinese American daughter of immigrants, Dorothy creates grounded family dramas with a hint of fantasy, focusing on the complexities of vulnerable emotions like loneliness and grief. Dorothy has directed 13 short films and has worked on over 30 film and video projects with companies like CBS, HBO, and Disney. She is an Alliance of Women Directors - Directing the Actor Lab Fellow and winner of the 2023 CAPE Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge.
Dorothy’s films total over 600,000 views online and have screened at multiple film festivals such as the Nevada City Film Festival, DTLA Film Festival, and the Oscar-qualifying Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. She directed the award-winning short film COLORFUL MINDS for the 2022 CBS Leadership Pipeline Challenge, which won a donation of $75,000 from CBS to the nonprofit Painted Brain. Her short film DIVE BAR played on board Alaska Airlines. She is an alumnus of the Jubilee Media Fellowship, where she wrote and directed the short film EXPOSURE, which now lives on a Youtube channel with over 7 million subscribers.
Dorothy is an avid supporter of empowering underrepresented voices in media, and when not making films, Dorothy binge watches anime with her stuffed bunny Rabby, reads juicy romance novels, and drinks copious amounts of boba milk tea.
- Year02/05/2024 00:00
- Runtime0:11:58
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States, United States
- GenreDrama, Fantasy
- AwardsLos Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Los Angeles, CA May 3, 2025 World Premiere Official Selection
- Social Media
- DirectorDorothy Xiao
- ScreenwriterDorothy Xiao, Jane Han
- ProducerBrielle Yuke Li
- Executive ProducerCAPE, Janet Yang Productions, Julia S. Gouw
- CastLee Chen, Norma Maldonado, Elaine Whae, Calix Quan
- CinematographerSilvia Lara
- EditorMengyao Mia Zhang
- Production DesignTim Molina; Casting Director: Tanya Giang
- MusicGeorge Shaw