cherry-colored funk world premiering at 34th florida film festival
MANDARINS
Narrative Short
2023
Mandarins follows Olivia Chu, an emotional and compulsive black sheep that reunites with her estranged family by crashing her mother’s funeral. Determined to say something but ill-prepared, Olivia unintentionally delivers an offbeat eulogy that sends her two dutiful older siblings, Jenny and Michael, scrambling to save face in front of friends and family. Competing eulogies ensue, painting a larger picture of each of the siblings in relationship to each other and the complex woman they’ve come together to honor that day.
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
Chelsie Pennello
STARRING
Christine Chang
Michael Tow
Sarai Koo
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Chelsie Pennello
Nathan Colby
Corbett Blair
Tina Xia
original SCORE BYCorbett Blair & Caroline Ho
FILM FESTIVALSCinequest 2023
Cucalorus 2023
New Hampshire 2023 (Best Short Drama)
Oak Cliff 2023
Woods Hole 2023
New/Next 2023
FilmFest DC 2023
Tide 2023
Tacoma 2023
Micheaux 2023
District Dreamers 2024
DC Shorts 2023
PAAF 2023
HAAPIFest 2023
DCAPAFF 2023
BAAAF 2023
Alexandria 2023
AS SEEN ON
Film Shortage
Retrospective of Jupiter
Original Poster Illustration by Regina Linke
Poster Design by Andrea Carlota | Title Logo Design by Monica Tan
WATCH THE FILM
STILLS
Director’s Statement
Mandarins was inspired by the mothers and daughters in my life. I’m biracial and my connection to my Asian heritage has primarily been through my mom. Our relationship wasn’t always the best. Most of us can point to a period of time like this with our parents (particularly in those tumultuous teenage years), however I came to realize there was an added layer of cultural nuance there. In college, I finally matured enough to get curious. I started having conversations with my mom about her past. We became closer and I learned about the trauma she went through, not only as a Chinese woman born into poverty, but also at the hands of her own parents. The more I learned, the more I realized my experiences were not unique. My mom had seen the ghosts of forced illiteracy and foot binding in her mother’s eyes. My cousins had gone through their own journeys of healing with my aunts. Friends with immigrant parents had stories that echoed one another.
But Mandarins isn’t just a story about hurting and conflict. Despite the hardships the Chinese women in my life have faced, they remain fiercely loyal to their families and embody an unresolved, aching forgiveness. This film is an ode to the wonderfully imperfect women I’ve had the joy of growing up around and a love letter to a uniquely American culture where relocated communities gather in transformed spaces to preserve their heritage and history. Touching on the oft hidden, yet widespread issue of intergenerational trauma in immigrant communities, Mandarins imagines the path to forgiveness as a messy, awkward, and ultimately defiant act of vulnerability.
THE TEAM
Directors of Photography
Nathan Colby
Sammy Yoon
Edited by
Nathan Colby
Production Designer
An-Phuong Ly
Composers
Corbett Blair
Caroline Ho
Nathan Colby
Sammy Yoon
Edited by
Nathan Colby
Production Designer
An-Phuong Ly
Composers
Corbett Blair
Caroline Ho
Producers
Jeremie Cander
Emai Lai
Jeremie Cander
Emai Lai
Art Directors
Kate Walker
Sierra Ho
Makeup
Sharon Macorol
Valerie Fleming
Angie Reyna
Hair
Stephanie Paek
Camera Operator
Robin Groulx
Gaffer
Jiwon Baeq
Kate Walker
Sierra Ho
Makeup
Sharon Macorol
Valerie Fleming
Angie Reyna
Hair
Stephanie Paek
Camera Operator
Robin Groulx
Gaffer
Jiwon Baeq
1st AC Brett Wineland
2nd AC Vinh Le
Sound Mixer Harry Slattery
Grip
Alex Kane
Nicolas Mackall
Color Company Darling
Colorist Patrick Samaniego
Title Design Monica Tan
Sound Mix Corbett Blair
Asst Editor
Nicolas Mackall
Sammy Yoon
2nd AC Vinh Le
Sound Mixer Harry Slattery
Grip
Alex Kane
Nicolas Mackall
Color Company Darling
Colorist Patrick Samaniego
Title Design Monica Tan
Sound Mix Corbett Blair
Asst Editor
Nicolas Mackall
Sammy Yoon
Exec Producer
Tian Zhang
Meg Murthy
Violinist Anna Kong
Prod Asst
Graham Pearson
Sheila Tilert
Cecile Brulé
Special Thanks
Linda Wong
Larry Brown
Andre Manley
Jar Har Senior Center
Chinese Community Church
Tian Zhang
Meg Murthy
Violinist Anna Kong
Prod Asst
Graham Pearson
Sheila Tilert
Cecile Brulé
Special Thanks
Linda Wong
Larry Brown
Andre Manley
Jar Har Senior Center
Chinese Community Church
WATCH THE MANDARINS’ Q&A
MANDARINS SEED AND SPARK CAMPAIGN
Mandarins was funded entirely by a Seed & Spark crowdfunding campaign. We ran the campaign in April of 2022 and raised $19,405 out of our $18,000 goal from 156 pledges. Below is the campaign video we made for our campaign page with a zero dollar budget. If you’d like to check out the full campaign page, you can visit it here.
Mandarins was funded entirely by a Seed & Spark crowdfunding campaign. We ran the campaign in April of 2022 and raised $19,405 out of our $18,000 goal from 156 pledges. Below is the campaign video we made for our campaign page with a zero dollar budget. If you’d like to check out the full campaign page, you can visit it here.
SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL 156 OF OUR SEED & SPARK BACKERS
Jake Rubenstein
Kaan Ibici
Sheila Tilert
Wendy Zhou
Emmet Sheehan
The Creative Folks
Talia Fayaz
Joseph Le
Bessie Tassoulas
Chii-Hui Peterson
Anna Kong
Fiona O Caretto
Chris Chi
Steven Sung Hun Lee
Aashil Chawla
Nathalie Pollack
Ally Thibault
Rami
Sara Zadrima
Reagan Holston
Hisaho Blair
Madeleine Davison
Chanel
Michael Nguyen
Jenna Levine
Sydney Julianne
Kai
Haeun Ro
Gabrielle Krawczuk
Andrew Park
Kevin Yi
Kalena Blackman
Yeom David
Travis D. Artist
Ching Tien
Inmyverse
James Loizou
Cameron Couch
Graham Pearson
Patty Terhune
Howard Blair
Crystal Au
George
Jamey Smart
Brad Meader
Julia Pines
Justine Sim
Kelsey Cohen
Rachel Ruth Bonner
Loretta Leiher
Chang Wang
Sarita Lewis
Allie Fascione-Hutchins
Ben Wallace
Alex Kane
Sarah Wides
Erika Blair
Bradford Blair
Sonah
Adam Katz
Jeff Lee
Yari Jamali
Paul Best
Susann Shin
Lee-Arng Chang
Ashley Franco
Ryan Kim
Elaine Wah
Thomas Pennello
Jeremke
Sam Song
Lauren Travis Everett
Jacqueline Kasal
San T R Miguel
Paula Wang
Ben Aqua
Liz Hum
Sharon Hong
Blanc Neil
Erin F
Claire S Zhu
Robert Kramer
Renee Huang
Alexandra Cooper
Agnes Modi
Seigo & Hiroko Saito
Erica Goodwin
Joyce Pearson
Chije Wangati
Tiffany Lewis
Luna Bella
John Owen, Alan & Blanche
San SunOwen
Carol Chang
Elbert Kim
LQ Bach
Tasheena Pautsch
Nidheya Suresh
Leon Jackson
Shuyuan Tung
Amanda Conner
Derrick Owens
Yesel Y
Chris Jun
Walter Plush
Geoffrey G Carson
Fangfei Yin
Sam Choi
Jacob Zabawa
Maggie Winters Gaudaen
Xena N
Evan Luzi
Catherine Schneider
Simon Myhill
Kimberly Stamets
Emily Sun
Maria P
Connell Oberman
Theresa Nardone
Adam Alma & Alex
Chase Weaverling
The Nagy Family
Tian Zhang
Alexander Oshiro
Michael N. Cho
Kasper
Joyce Pearson
Cathy
Zach Goodwin
Paul Bellora
Sammy’S Mom
Linda Parsons
Amy Lee
Peter Le
Francisco Mejia
Jing Wang
Dylan Hernandez
Yangwang
Brittany Conley
Patrick Pho
Adam Narimatsu
Katie Collins
Tyler G.
Divya Kapoor
Gina Latture
Andrew Peri
Mo Hinojosa
Matthew Ahearne
Leejah Chang
This film changed the trajectory of our careers and found us lifelong friends in the process. We will love it forever.