On Tuesday, June 4, 2024, AABANY’s LGBTQ Committee, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Goodwin Procter LLP, hosted a Pride Reception where guests were given a unique opportunity to be the first official viewers of the upcoming short film TAL 탈. The Committee gave the audience a chance to view a work from a group of minds diverse in both origin and ideas, in the continued effort of enhancing visibility and representation for Asian and LGBTQ groups.
The film’s writer and lead actor Wesley Han and director Charlie Gillette, as well as a small group that worked on the piece––some actors, cameramen, and producers––presented their vision: TAL 탈 is a short horror film full of emotion and thrills, that grapples with ideas of filial piety and shame. They sought to shed overworked themes and motifs that often permeate the media that represents Asian-American culture, while incorporating Han’s own anecdotal experiences for inspiration. The result is a fright-fest where Gabriel, an ex-actor and young associate at a top litigation firm in New York City, is hunted by a literal inner demon.
After a script-reading of the film, the panel took questions from the audience. In their answers they expressed their hopes that the film would resonate with the quintessential modern Asian experience, and also shared the process of assembling the film. Han expressed that the film had a youthful energy and would hopefully be impactful for a broad audience, but especially with Asian-American second and third-generation immigrants. Gillette discussed how the film was born of friendship and the SAG-AFTRA strike––the core team had known each other from previous works and had not been working at the time of the first screenplay’s inception.
After the panel, everyone was served complementary beverages and delicious desserts from LGBTQ-Asian-owned bakery ANDO. Guests and panelists alike mingled, met new people, made new connections, and exchanged advice and experience with friends and colleagues new and old. All of this was made possible thanks to the support of Goodwin Procter LLP, our hosts for this event and program.
For everyone that attended the event we extend our profound thanks for your support. To learn more about the AABANY LGBTQ Commitee please click here. To learn more and support the upcoming short film TAL 탈 please click here. And to learn more about Goodwin Procter, please click here.