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Aye, Boy (The Short)

In this coming-of-age story inspired by true events, Mads, an exuberant tomboy in the 90’s struggles to balance relationships with friends, family, and her own sexuality.

  • My-Hanh Lac
    Director
  • My-Hanh Lac
    Writer
  • My-Hanh Lac
    Producer
  • Kristin Higgins
    Producer
  • Nga Nguyen
    Producer
  • Yhana Sibelle
    Key Cast
    "Mads"
  • Ted Harvey
    Key Cast
    "Lo"
  • Ashley Heimbach
    Key Cast
    "Ellie"
  • Marjan Safa
    Key Cast
    "Nance"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Coming-of-Age, Drama, lgbt, gay/lesbian
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 31, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    17,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Alexa
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - My-Hanh Lac

A transplant from Northern Virginia to the San Francisco Bay Area, My‑Hanh Lac is a director and filmmaker with a passion for narrative drama. My's work is influenced by her own life experiences, love for storytelling, and her drive to carve out a place for women in the male-dominated film industry.

My's creative approach transcends the filmmaking process and influences her to create exceptional experiences for those viewing her films. Her first narrative short film, “Budai”, which was featured in the 2017 Festival de Cannes Short Film Corner, is a dream sequence of a young My reliving the night of her mother’s escape from Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon in 1975. This piece featured minimal dialogue and first-time actors, yet told a compelling story and premiered with an original score and live orchestra.

In the Spring of 2018, Multi Storied Pictures selected My as the inaugural grant recipient for The Storied Screenplay Development Program. The grant will allow her to develop the script for her feature film, “Aye, Boy,” a coming-of-age story of a young My, discovering her sexuality and navigating a toxic relationship with her father.

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Director Statement

This autobiographical story follows Mads, an exuberant tomboy in the 90’s, as she struggles to balance relationships with friends, family, and her own sexual identity. It shines a light on some of the challenges many young adults face whilst coming of age and how pressures from society and home environments can amplify them. Mads’ very stringent home that centered on conventional standards with little room for self exploration was modeled after my own home growing up.

I have reached a point of vulnerability where I am ready to share my childhood experiences that have shaped who I am today. Coming out as LGBTQ+ and processing my childhood experiences has been an educational and liberating process. By sharing my journey through film, my hope is to help heal those who share a similar traumatic past.

After receiving a Feature Screenplay Development Grant from Multi Storied Pictures in 2018, MTLACfilms—the team behind Aye, Boy—embarked on the production of this concept piece. The short was crewed up by some of the Bay Area’s best independent creatives and wrapped production in the summer of 2019. The majority women and non-binary crew was key to resonating with one another and the audience, and echoed throughout the making of the film. Aye, Boy (The Short) shows us just the beginning of Mads’ turbulent path in finding herself and our hope is to reveal much more of her journey in the feature length film.