Glorify God

#GlorifyGod #Filmmaking #Dementia #AsianAmerican #FilmFestival #ShortFilm #AlzheimersLA #SanGabriel #Screening #VCFilmFest

Author: Jiming Sun Lindal

A Christian, who likes to write

We as Christians have always said, "glorify God," but for a long while, I did not know the meaning behind that phrase, and saying it just felt repetitive and lifeless. Until...recently, I finally grasped the meaning of those words and can say it from my heart, "All the glory to you, my Lord!"

I became interested in producing a film after my short script, "Fragmented," was placed as a Semifinalist (top 2.8%) in the BlueCat Screenplay Competition 2021. It was a script about Asian Americans and about Dementia.

Little did I know that it would take two years in the making.

I wrote an eight-page script, which, according to Hollywood's rule of thumb, was supposed to be an eight-minute short film, but it turned out to be sixteen minutes. Just as the length of the film was unexpected, a lot in the making of this film was also unexpected.

When I talked to my mother-in-law about making the film, she was interested in reading the script. After reading it, she approached me with tears in her eyes and said, "It was just like that." My father-in-law had Dementia, and my mother-in-law became his sole caregiver for several years, so she could relate to the story. Truthfully, I wrote the script because I was touched by my mother-in-law's love for my father-in-law. The story was about an Asian American family, where the wife takes care of the frail old husband who is in the late stage of Dementia. My mother-in-law generously funded half of the film.

I was looking for a director and contacted an alumnus from our college who knew a filmmaker -- a UCLA film school graduate. I was happy to meet her through Zoom, as we were in the middle of the Covid pandemic. We applied for the Roy Dean short film grant. She created a pitch deck and other materials, and our project was awarded as a Finalist.

Unfortunately, we did not get the grant, and her projected budget for the project did not feel realistic. We went over the budget line by line—I later learned this was the line producer's job—but we could not pin down a number. When she said, "Money is never enough,” I decided to end our collaboration.

However, I did not give up. I asked a lady in our writer's group if she could be the Director since she had directed before. She agreed, and I was overjoyed. Everything seemed to go smoothly at the beginning, but soon we faced the tasks of finding the Director of Photography, actors, sound mixer, art director, hair and makeup artist, composer, studio teacher…and, by then the load was totally on me. I was exhausted, pulling everything together. Four days before the principal photography, we had a big fight over major creative differences, and she told me I did not know anything about filmmaking. I called the whole production off.

My husband John was initially against calling the production off because he thought I would not realize my dream. But I said, "It's the right thing to do. If God wants me to make the film, He will provide." John agreed.

I had already started the fundraising, and people donated money to our project. How could I quit? These were the people who trusted us with their money; they trusted this project and its mission. They wanted to see it made, and we owed them a responsibility to make the film. The only choice I had was to carry on.

I posted on Facebook that I needed a director. Our sound mixer posted on his feed as well. Among his feed, one woman replied with her reel, and the sound mixer asked whether she spoke Chinese. I watched her reel and liked her work, so I contacted her. This person turned out to be our Director -- T. L. Quach.

I met T. L. in person for the first time at Panera Bread in Glendale. She came in with a straw hat and a short, colorful dress; I was in a white maxi dress. She sat down and started to talk. She told me her grandma has Dementia and teared up. I appreciated her vulnerability. Before our meeting, we talked over the phone, and she created a lookbook and conveyed her thoughts on incorporating peonies into the film. I liked her passion for this project. Little did I know, she cried while reading the script. I was concerned about her not speaking Chinese, but she assured me she could understand eighty percent of Mandarin and spoke a few sentences. I later found a Chinese scripter to help her translate if she ever needed one. 

T. L. Quach was a blessing from God, and I feel grateful that she was the Director. She executed the film flawlessly and had communication skills that made others feel comfortable collaborating with her.

After we wrapped up the post-production in October 2023, the film entered the film festival circuit. For several months, we received rejections. I was disappointed, but T. L. reminded me that our purpose for this film was to raise awareness for Dementia in the Asian American community. Our Editor and Colorist, Cynthia Chen, reassured me that the film would find its audience. By that time, I already forged a relationship with Alzheimer's LA, and we were planning a community screening in November 2024.

In March 2024, we received our first acceptance from VC Film Fest, aka the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, a prestigious Oscar-qualified film festival. Our film had its World Premiere on May 3rd, 2024.

What a night! We all dressed up, taking pictures in front of the VC Film Fest background board, and our "red" carpet was yellow. We sat in the David Henry Hwang theatre in Little Tokyo and gasped as the audience watched our film. I took pictures with my friends, some driving over an hour to make the screening. The screening started at 9:00 p.m., and it was not until 11:00 p.m. that we drove home. And I was so excited that it was hard to fall asleep.

It was like a dream, but the dream was far from over. Acceptance from various film festivals kept coming. Soon, seven film festivals officially selected us.

On November 16th, 2024, we had our first community screening at the San Gabriel City Council. Kristy Huang of Alzheimer's LA was the force behind organizing and marketing the event, and they obtained a grant to fund the refreshments. San Gabriel Community Service provided the location and technical support. We had many meetings and several walk-throughs beforehand. I joined T. L. Quach, Ge Geng (leading actor), and Paul Wong (leading actor) for the Q&A session.

Ninety people were in the room, and while Kristy Huang was concerned there would not be enough audience participation, the room was active, with many asking questions.

After the Q&A, so many people came to talk with either T. L. or me. One of them was this gentleman who said, "My wife had Dementia, and I took care of her. Your film nailed it." While saying that, he choked up and teared up. It was rewarding to know our film resonated with and touched the hearts of caregivers. It was better than any awards we could ever receive.

Though our film had been officially selected by seven film festivals and had successful community screenings, it had not yet received any awards.

Until we received a mysterious box from the Houston Asian American & Pacific Islander Film Festival. The box arrived on January 27th, 2025, two days before the Chinese New Year. It was addressed to T. L. Quach but was sent to my address. I asked T. L. to come and pick it up.

T. L. came several days later. Neither of us knew what was in the box, so T. L. suggested we open it. Upon opening, we pulled out something from the box—a crystal statue on which was laser-printed "Audience Choice Award Best Narrative Short Film!" We uttered "wow" and were speechless.

It never crossed my mind that the box would contain our award. I was in awe.

It came to me that it was all because of God. All. Because of Him. My heart cried out in joy -- all the glory to you, My Lord.

Finding T. L. through a Facebook post, having a team that included dedicated professionals in the industry, partnering with Alzheimer's LA, who told us that the timing was just right for them to obtain funding for the screening, and being selected by film festivals and awarded—these were all unimaginable when I started the journey of making the film.

My husband, John, was always by my side throughout this journey. We walked hand in hand and were steadfast during the highs and lows. I am grateful for him and for the Lord giving me such a wonderful spouse.

I am also grateful for our entire cast and crew and those who donated to our project.

My special thanks go to my dear parents, Pingming Han and Dinghe Sun, Elsie Cokeh, Florence Ding, Patrick Chou, Nina and Glenn Bach, and Michael Dalling. Thank you for all the support you provided me and the project.

May your name be glorified, my Lord.

Short film "Fragmented" is streaming on YouTube. Dear readers, we hope you will like and benefit from our work. Here's the Link:

https://youtu.be/1d6XuiZD8JY?si=VRjhqmJrhf93IsgL