NARRATIVE SHORT
MARCH 29, 2023
USA | 14 minutes | 2021
Drama short film directed by Amie Song
Starring Cynthia Hu, Grace Lin
Ten Months
Chinese Title: 十月
A Chinese mother, who comes to New York for a short visit but gets stuck due to COVID travel restrictions, and her Americanized daughter navigate their ten months living together in a small New York City studio apartment.
Director’s Statement
The film is titled TEN MONTHS not only because it’s how long the mother and daughter stay together during COVID, but also because it’s where their relationship started. “十月怀胎” is a Chinese phrase frequently used when talking about a mother-daughter relationship, describing the ten months of pregnancy.
At the core of the story, I’m interested in exploring how a Chinese mother and her “Americanized” daughter come to terms with their relationships as two adults with different experiences and worldviews. I also hope to capture the isolation of the lockdown and a twisted sense of time. Ten months can feel like a day and yet each moment stretches. In addition, I wrote the film to reflect on the socio-political conversations that were happening, such as debates over masks, the rising anti-Asian sentiment, and the BLM movement.
The story is drawn from the experiences of many of my Chinese friends who had their parents stay with them longer than they hoped for due to the extremely strict international travel restrictions China put in place, even on its own citizens.
– Amie Song
Ten Months is one of the many great projects shared with CineAsian Films through our submissions process. If you’d like to join them, submit your project.
Credits
Director, Writer, Editor: Amie Song
Producer: Mariel Iezzoni
Cinematographer: Mitch Blummer
Also featuring: Amy Lee, Tung Ching
In Mandarin Chinese, English.
CineAsian Films 