Saving Face

Film

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Feature Film
20th Anniversary

A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.

Information

Programme History

Part of Queer East Festival 2024

Director: Alice Wu
Runtime: 94 Mins
Year: 2004
Country: USA

Alice Wu’s debut feature is a romantic comedy about Wil Pang, a young surgeon living in New York, who hides her sexuality from her family. Forced to endure her traditionalist mother’s attempts to set her up with eligible bachelors, Wil instead meets Vivian, a dancer who happens to be the daughter of Wil’s boss, and sparks begin to fly. This twentieth anniversary screening allows audiences to revisit this groundbreaking film, which transcends the rom-com format by subtly depicting the allyship between queer and straight women overwhelmed by patriarchal tradition. Anticipating later cinematic trends in which the struggles of LGBTQ+ characters are shown to intersect with other marks of identity, Saving Face features fantastic performances by Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec, and Lynn Chen as the trio faced with the weight of cultural expectation.