NARRATIVE SHORT
FEBRUARY 12, 2021
USA | 6 minutes | 2020
Drama short film directed by Andy Yi Li
Starring Lily Kweon
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Invisible Child
Misty looks like she has everything under control, but she struggles with depression, anxiety, and concurrent mental health issues. Despite living with her mom, she keeps this a secret from her, and processes her emotions through writing in her journals. An emotional breakdown forces her to reevaluate her life.
Invisible Child tells us an all too common story of someone who seemingly has everything going for them on the outside, but are slowly falling apart on the inside. Andy Yi Li shows us a tender portrait of a mother-daughter story that, due to generational differences and with mental health is viewed as taboo, do not communicate enough with each other.
Misty (Lily Kweon), is a a seemingly perfect and beautiful 25 year old. But what others don’t know is that she struggles with depression, anxiety, and other concurrent mental health issues – and had to deal with a breakup from the man she thought was her true love, Robin (Ryan Keem). Her mom, Cecelia (Heidi Shon), like a lot of Asian mothers, have high expectations for her daughter, always expecting her to be the best. Misty deals with her emotions and thoughts through journaling. After hitting her breaking point, and with the encouragement of her therapist (Maelina Gibson), she decides to attempt to open up to her mom, overcome her fears, and appreciate her life.
The soft lighting and narrative structure choices are excellent in allowing us to observe the characters, especially Misty at her most vulnerable. Each moment is powerful and emotional, relatable to many who have gone through heartbreak and ever felt that they were incapable of living up to others’ expectations. And in the end, we so deeply want to be hopeful and have mother and daughter understand each other.
Invisible Child is one of the many great projects shared with CineAsian Films through our submissions process. If you’d like to join them, submit your film.
Credits
Director, Writer: Andy Yi Li
Producer: Nisha Money
Cinematographer: Naomi Shroff-Mehta
Editor: Nisha Money
Composers: Mathias Coppens
Also featuring: Maelina Gibson, Heidi Shon, Ryan Keem
CineAsian Films 