Stream the curated UCLAxFilmFest 2025 Official Selections here!
Synopsis
A young woman, Nikki, asks the guy she’s been dating if they’re exclusive, to which he responds with a yes, but a ‘polyamorous’ yes. Taken aback and confused, Nikki walks away to ponder the concept of polyamory and searches to identify her own feelings around the subject.
She seeks counsel from friends who have varying sexual orientations and identities. Roaming the streets of New York, she struggles to come to terms with what to do next. The following morning Nikki is offered a new perspective from her polyamorous roommate, which opens her mind to explore.
Director's Statement
This film is an exploration of the topic of polyamory, through conversation with differing points of view. I, myself, find that I never know what my opinion of it is, yet that doesn't necessarily mean I'm opposed to it.
This film was also an experiment in filming technique. Just myself and the cinematographer created this film over 13 hours one day in New York. I wrote the synopsis and scene breakdowns, plus the character relationships and their personal opinions on polyamory. With this, we then worked with the actors and let the dialogue carry naturally through improvisation.
Once I had directed the scene to where it felt like it flowed in a wide shot, we then selected lines to shoot close-ups of. Through this reverse engineering of story, we ended up with dialogue that felt natural and real, because it was. I elected to have no musical score to avoid steering the audience. Everyone is going to have a different opinion when watching this film and we want to allow for that. I also didn't want any musical composition to take away from the raw nature of the conversations being had. Our boom was mounted on a c-stand, where we wrapped t-shirts around it to mitigate wind pick-up, whilst using our backpacks for sandbags.
I know this is not typically what filmmakers would highlight when talking about their films, however I think it's a remarkable feat we achieved with literally no resources. A subtle, clear narrative with a through-line where the actors feel like real people and the ending conclusion is to just remain OPEN. It's important that people remain brave enough to outwardly have these conversations, not only for an understanding of social dynamics but also for self-discovery as well.
Love is love.
- Tanya Jade
Crew Bios
Tanya Jade: Writer/Director/Co-Producer/Co-Editor/Actor
Tanya Jade is a Canadian-Australian writer, director, actor of Singaporean and Dutch descent. Her work centers around love, identity, cultural displacement and violence against women. Tanya is fascinated in the celebration of our differences, as well as our commonalities. She strives to tell stories that make people feel less alone.
Her award-winning short film, WALLPAPER, has screened extensively around Canada and internationally. As a writer, Tanya's short script, WAH LAU, is on Coverfly’s Red List in the Top 4% of comedy shorts and has won a multitude of screenplay contests.
In November 2024, she won the Feature Pitch Competition with WAH LAU, the feature, to become Chilliwack Independent Film Festival’s Official Nominee for Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch Program. This is a script she has been working on in UCLA’s Extension – Feature Film writing program.
Before discovering film, Tanya worked as a Senior Communications Professional, managing multi-million dollar marketing campaigns for government agencies, private and non-profit companies. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies) from Curtin University of Technology.
As an actor you can catch her on Yellowjackets, The Good Doctor, Wild Cards and Schmicago!
Joel Crane: Cinematographer/Co-Producer/Co-Editor
Joel Crane is a cinematographer and photographer. Originally from Texas, he now resides in Melbourne, Australia. Some of his previous work includes PALE BLUE EYES, CAGED IN, and the upcoming short film, IT WAITS IN THE DARK.
Joel strives to pursue authentic and meaningful projects in his work, having spent his entire life creating images in one form or another. It's a passion that took hold of him from a very early age. A passion, Joel suspects, will continue for many more years to come.
- Runtime11:43
- LanguageEnglish
Stream the curated UCLAxFilmFest 2025 Official Selections here!
Synopsis
A young woman, Nikki, asks the guy she’s been dating if they’re exclusive, to which he responds with a yes, but a ‘polyamorous’ yes. Taken aback and confused, Nikki walks away to ponder the concept of polyamory and searches to identify her own feelings around the subject.
She seeks counsel from friends who have varying sexual orientations and identities. Roaming the streets of New York, she struggles to come to terms with what to do next. The following morning Nikki is offered a new perspective from her polyamorous roommate, which opens her mind to explore.
Director's Statement
This film is an exploration of the topic of polyamory, through conversation with differing points of view. I, myself, find that I never know what my opinion of it is, yet that doesn't necessarily mean I'm opposed to it.
This film was also an experiment in filming technique. Just myself and the cinematographer created this film over 13 hours one day in New York. I wrote the synopsis and scene breakdowns, plus the character relationships and their personal opinions on polyamory. With this, we then worked with the actors and let the dialogue carry naturally through improvisation.
Once I had directed the scene to where it felt like it flowed in a wide shot, we then selected lines to shoot close-ups of. Through this reverse engineering of story, we ended up with dialogue that felt natural and real, because it was. I elected to have no musical score to avoid steering the audience. Everyone is going to have a different opinion when watching this film and we want to allow for that. I also didn't want any musical composition to take away from the raw nature of the conversations being had. Our boom was mounted on a c-stand, where we wrapped t-shirts around it to mitigate wind pick-up, whilst using our backpacks for sandbags.
I know this is not typically what filmmakers would highlight when talking about their films, however I think it's a remarkable feat we achieved with literally no resources. A subtle, clear narrative with a through-line where the actors feel like real people and the ending conclusion is to just remain OPEN. It's important that people remain brave enough to outwardly have these conversations, not only for an understanding of social dynamics but also for self-discovery as well.
Love is love.
- Tanya Jade
Crew Bios
Tanya Jade: Writer/Director/Co-Producer/Co-Editor/Actor
Tanya Jade is a Canadian-Australian writer, director, actor of Singaporean and Dutch descent. Her work centers around love, identity, cultural displacement and violence against women. Tanya is fascinated in the celebration of our differences, as well as our commonalities. She strives to tell stories that make people feel less alone.
Her award-winning short film, WALLPAPER, has screened extensively around Canada and internationally. As a writer, Tanya's short script, WAH LAU, is on Coverfly’s Red List in the Top 4% of comedy shorts and has won a multitude of screenplay contests.
In November 2024, she won the Feature Pitch Competition with WAH LAU, the feature, to become Chilliwack Independent Film Festival’s Official Nominee for Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch Program. This is a script she has been working on in UCLA’s Extension – Feature Film writing program.
Before discovering film, Tanya worked as a Senior Communications Professional, managing multi-million dollar marketing campaigns for government agencies, private and non-profit companies. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies) from Curtin University of Technology.
As an actor you can catch her on Yellowjackets, The Good Doctor, Wild Cards and Schmicago!
Joel Crane: Cinematographer/Co-Producer/Co-Editor
Joel Crane is a cinematographer and photographer. Originally from Texas, he now resides in Melbourne, Australia. Some of his previous work includes PALE BLUE EYES, CAGED IN, and the upcoming short film, IT WAITS IN THE DARK.
Joel strives to pursue authentic and meaningful projects in his work, having spent his entire life creating images in one form or another. It's a passion that took hold of him from a very early age. A passion, Joel suspects, will continue for many more years to come.
- Runtime11:43
- LanguageEnglish
