Anna Chi stumbled across a cache of dog-eared documents one day and was suddenly thrust headlong into the ancient customs of her ancestors - a handful of which inspired her to shoot the poignant film - "Dim Sum Funeral".
"The tradition of honoring a parent with a seven-day funeral is the highest honor a child can give."
The idea of the long-held tradition piqued her curiosity.
On the heels of the revelation, she started up a collaboration with her writing partner, which resulted in a final draft on the subject matter ripe for her insightful lens.
In the opening scenes of "Dim Sum", four siblings - three daughters and one son - are summoned to the family residence by a longtime confidant to commence with arrangements for their mother's last rites in the wake of her untimely death.
When it is revealed that their mother desires that they respect her wishes for a week-long ceremony, the angry four balk at the notion.
As the story unfolds, it is revealed that each of the children were not only "at war" with each other, but were unanimously out-of-sorts with their strict unfeeling mother, too.
Essentially - each harbored a grudge based on their hurtful perception that the grand Dame (to the Manor born) was selfish, overly critical, and incapable of public or private displays of affection.
Once the seven-day "ordeal" commenced, however, many startling revelations unfolded.
The wise "elders" of the Ancient Societies were obviously cognizant of at least one fact.
The painstaking rituals would surely give rise to reflection - and ultimately - lead to a cry for forgiveness.
Such was the case here, after a dramatic - and unexpected turn of events - ultimately healed.
In addition to the underlying themes of love and relationships, Chi's scripted words underscore how much Asian-Americans appear to have one foot in the "old country" and the other in the ever-changing frontier that is America.
Will the two that tug at each other split the community asunder?
In a sort-of sub-pot, Bai Ling appears as the lesbian lover of one of the daughters.
"I represent the modern Chinese woman who is bold and not afraid to let go of traditions," she stressed in a deliberate tone.
She was inclined to philosophize a little, too, on the issues that raise their ugly head in the thought-provoking drama.
"There is a glass wall. We know it's there. But, it's difficult to break through."
Gosh, that's twice this week that Ms. Ling has taken me by surprise with her profound thoughts.
At "premieres", Ms. Ling - the "sexy" spitfire - often sashays onto the carpet with a big splash as two-dozen-or-so media hounds snap away furiously from the sidelines.
But, at the kick off ro4 the - "Rally for Kids with Cancer Scavenger Cup" - Ms. Ling was low key.
"Children are our future and we must give for their best welfare."
As Shakespeare would opine:
"I have never seen such a young body with such an old head."
For those of you interested in production matters, at the Q & A post-screening, it was noted that in spite of all the intricacies of the storyline and a difficult shoot, the movie was wrapped without any delays or snafus.
A remarkable accomplishment, no?
"But, I should point out that Anna (the director) used to be in the Red Guard, " one of the producers laughed.
"Each day she marched onto the set ready to deal with production problems with military-style precision."
It worked.
"Dim Sum Funeral" is an insightful and entertaining film without any "fat" dragging it down.
Maybe that's why Ms. Chi and her team were able to secure a distribution deal so quickly out-of-the-gate.
"Dim Sum Funeral" is being released on June 12th (2009) at Laemlle 5 in West Hollywood and Laemlle 7 in Pasadena.
Enjoy!
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