OUR HOME HERE
Cast: Dianne Doan, Brandon Soo Hoo, Raquenel (Maria Raquenel Portillo), Nick Fink
Crew: Producers: Xinlei “Summer” Yang, Elena Aksenova – Screenwriters: Angela Chen, Yumiko Fujiwara – Cinematographer: Michal Wronski – Composer: Hanan Townshend
Email: theangela.chen@gmail.com
Web: ourhomeherefilm.com
Synopsis
Parallel stories of broken relationships between parents and their children striving for the American Dream all revolving around one explosive night at a fast food joint in Texas.
Director
Angela Chen is a director born and raised in the heart of Texas with family roots in Taiwan and China. Her films have won numerous awards and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, SXSW, Austin Film Festival, and more. Angela’s current narrative feature is the recipient of the Russo Brothers’ AGBO Films and AFI’s Development Grant. She was an Armed with a Camera Fellow at Visual Communications and a recipient of the ITVS Diversity Development Fund. Angela has worked as a professional freelance producer, 1st AD, and director for the past 13 years on over 130 projects with companies such as Sony, the CW, Kia, Audi, MTV and Google while teaching filmmaking to underserved communities. As the eldest child of immigrant parents growing up in a broken home riddled with secrets, she is drawn to unique stories of connection between characters living within flawed societies. She brings an emotional soul and strong cinematic eye to storytelling along with her passion to inspire forward-thinking while evoking conversations of the human condition relating to class and social structure. Angela is a graduate from the Directing program at the prestigious American Film Institute Conservatory and studied Film at the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently developing two features and a comedy series while collaborating with a variety of artists and filmmakers on commercials and art projects.
Filmmaker’s Note
When I was in college, I lived for a year with my younger brother out of necessity. On one evening at a fast food drive-thru, a group of strangers began harassing us. Coming from a broken home and our mother’s abandonment, we did our best to protect each other. Within the span of 30 seconds, a random act of violence led to the stranger’s hospitalization and my brother’s arrest. To this day, I strive to understand how our complex, interwoven society puts us at odds with each other and how power and authority in the wrong hands leads to prejudices and propels systematic oppression. OUR HOME HERE offers an opportunity for perspective as we examine the stories of those who became involved in this specific night through their unique dreams and aggressions.
