Synopsis: Grappling with a heartbreak, Duy, a gay, Vietnamese American creative drifts through the cycle of disappointment, rejection, and quiet despair, spiraling into self-destruction until he confronts the weight of familial scars and rediscovers his true self.

This short was shot as a proof of concept, for the feature film, which bears the same title, SummerWinterSummer. The feature delves deeper into the recurring cycle of trauma and heartache faced by a gay Vietnamese American artist in his pursuit of love.

“SWS ORIGIN” — DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

“No Asians…Chinks need not apply..” For as long as I have lived openly as a gay man, the racial rejection in the LGBTQ dating scene has been harsh, prevalent, and eye-opening. It reached a point where I began to self-loath. A defining moment was when a stranger vehemently defended his “No Asians” profile headline on Grindr as “free speech” and a matter of “personal preference.” He callously suggested that I leave the US if I disagreed. As though grabbed by the throat, I felt strangulated by my inability riposte. But as a result, the incident fueled the fire I did not realize I had in me.

As a sensitive soul drawn to beauty through words and images, being political and standing up against unjust was not something that I had in mind in my pursuit of a career in film. Yet years of quiet anguish and unvoiced pain compelled me to write, SummerWinterSummer (SWS). In SWS, I also confront the psychological scars inflicted by my father's war-induced PTSD and its ripple effects on my relationships, particularly within the LGBTQ community. What started as an outlet for my pain became a cathartic process, demanding change both within me and in the world around me.

For gay Asian men, the injustice is not always marked by explicit verbal or physical assaults. It emerges when we are silenced by the apathy towards our pain and the lack of resources to acknowledge and validate our struggles. The journey of bringing SWS to the screen has been arduous but also rewarding, as it has initiated an imperative process of personal healing. My vision for SWS is to offer insight to those facing similar struggles, while igniting meaningful conversations and contribute to greater acceptance of LGBTQ Asian Americans.

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