Saving Face (2005)

"I actually had the poster of Saving Face hanging in my room for a long time. It was the first Asian-American movie that I saw that really connected with me. I’ve seen some Asian-American indies, but that really kind of opened up my search for them. I didn’t even really know about the genre when I first saw it. It was written and directed by an Asian-American woman, Alice Wu, and it centers around, an Asian-American lesbian. It stars one of my favorite actresses ever – Lynn Chen – and Michelle Krusiec. This girl, she’s from Queens, and she takes the 7. It was the first time I’d ever seen a movie with an Asian American on a 7 train! I think that was the first time I really understood what representation was. But it hit closer to home because she was an Asian-American woman and because, you know, she is from Queens. And she went to Flushing all the time, and her mom [Joan Chen] was kind of this Flushing socialite who actually becomes pregnant. And she kind of has to go between both worlds of being the good Asian daughter and also coming to terms with her sexuality. It was one of those movies that I think explored a lot of layers about the Asian-American experience and the negotiation that come with it. And, so, I love that movie so much. I still have the poster somewhere."