Private Project

Chopin (蕭邦)

Chopin, a second-generation Taiwanese American, returns home to small town America to mend an estranged relationship with his workaholic father and tend to his ailing grandmother.

  • Vincent Lin 林子璿
    Director
    Love, NY
  • Vincent Lin 林子璿
    Writer
    Love, NY
  • Guo Guo 郭嘉怡
    Producer
    Smoking Tigers, Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power
  • Matthew D'Amato
    Producer
    Street Heroines, Snakehead, Clementine, Hello from Taiwan, In France Michelle is a Man's Name, Porno
  • Eddie Liu 劉立德
    Key Cast
    "Chopin"
    Kung Fu, Never Have I Ever, NCIS: Los Angeles, Silicon Valley
  • Violett Beane
    Key Cast
    "Kimberly"
    Death and Other Details, God Friended Me, The Flash, The Resident, Truth or Dare
  • Leon Dai 戴立忍
    Key Cast
    "Kirk"
    Your Name Engraved Herein, Cannot Live Without You, The Master
  • Min Wu 吳敏
    Key Cast
    "Ama"
    Two Wrongs Make a Right, The Mad King of Taipei, The Queen!, Pian Wang Zhi Wang, Tong Zi Gong
  • Janet Hsieh 謝怡芬
    Key Cast
    "Valerie"
    Big Three Dragons, Fun Taiwan, The Ghost Bride
  • Jake Manley
    Key Cast
    "Brent"
    Outlaw Posse, The Order, Infamous
  • Ashley Ingram
    Casting Director
    The Wonder Years, P-Valley, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, When They See Us, Mudbound
  • Michael D’Amato
    Casting Director
    The Wonder Years, P-Valley, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, When They See Us, Tesla
  • Tyler Weinberger
    Director of Photography
    Gwafi, Slutever
  • Jenn McLaren
    Production Designer
    The Resort, Why Women Kill, The Shrink Next Door
  • Ruoxuan Li 黎若萱
    Costume Designer
    In This Land We're Briefly Ghosts, Jiejie, Distant Vision
  • Moung Hui Park
    Make-Up Department
    Minari, The Accidental Getaway Driver, Smoking Tigers
  • Akihiro Sawada
    Make-Up Department
    Smoking Tigers, A Great Divide, Ms. Purple
  • Longwei Deng 鄧龍威
    Sound Mixer
    Smoking Tigers, Cherry, Joy of Life
  • Emily Blevins
    UPM
    The Art of Self-Defense, 60 Days In
  • Michi Que Doan
    Assistant Director
    The Accidental Getaway Driver, A Great Divide, The Mattachine Family, Ms. Purple, Gook
  • Cari Pak
    Script Supervisor
    Minari, Smoking Tigers, Launchpad
  • Zekun Mao 毛泽坤
    Editor
    Everything Everywhere All at Once, American Girl, A Nomad River
  • Aashish D'Mello
    Editor
    Everything Everywhere All at Once, American Girl, A Nomad River, The Rehearsal
  • Cali Wang 王米加
    Composer
    Home, Wolf Pack, The Fastest Woman on Earth, Phoenix Rising
  • Sung Rok Choi
    Sound Designer
    Snowpiercer, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
  • Sam Daley
    Colorist
    Succession, Barbarian, The Florida Project, Swallow, Sorry to Bother You, Christine, Martha Marcy May Marlene
  • Patrick Conaty
    Visual Effects
    The Last of Us, Aladdin, Thor Ragnarok, Rogue One
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, Comedy, Asian American
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 36 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 11, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    1,000,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    Chinese - Min Nan, English, Mandarin Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Academy Award Nicholl Screenplay Fellowship Semi-Finalist (Top 50)
  • Panavision New Filmmaker Grant
Director Biography - Vincent Lin 林子璿

Vincent Lin (林子璿) is a writer, director, and founder of VALIANT PICTURES, a leading bicoastal minority-owned commercial production company (Inc. 5000, Forbes Next 1000). A son of immigrants, a proud Taiwanese American, and Top 50 semi-finalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, he’s won some of advertising’s top awards for directing including Cannes Lions, Clios, Tellys, and made Taiwanese American’s “Best of 2020” List. Along with producing feature film "Clementine" (Dir: Lara Gallagher, IFP Film Lab, Sundance Creative Producing Summit, Tribeca ‘19), Academy Award qualifying short film "In France, Michelle is a Man's Name" (Dir: Em Weinstein, Grand Jury Award Outfest ’20 and Slamdance ’21), and "Snakehead" (Dir: Evan Jackson Leong, Acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Roadside Attractions), he is a winner of the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant Program, a member of The Producer’s Guild of America (PGA), a former board member for Taiwanese American Professionals (501c3), on the judging committee for NYU’s The Purple List, the Shots Awards, and an Outstanding 50 Honoree by the Asian American Business Development Center.

He once planted a Pokemon card to see if it would grow a Pokemon. It did not.

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Director Statement

Chopin (蕭邦) is a story about family. It's a story about how we sometimes fall apart and how we can come back together, as imperfect as family can be.

Bridging international superstars Leon Dai (7-time Golden Horse Award Winner), Wu Min (40-Year Primetime TV star), and Janet Hsieh (1.1MM Followers) in their first ever US production, with American talent Violett Beane (Hulu's "Death and Other Details", "God Friended Me", "The Flash") and Eddie Wu ("Kung Fu", "Never Have I Ever") -- and key crew from powerhouse films including "Snowpiercer", "The Accidental Getaway Driver", "Minari", and "Everything Everywhere All at Once" -- Chopin (蕭邦) showcases the incredible talent of today's top Asian and Asian American storytellers.

Chopin (蕭邦) follows an estranged Taiwanese American who returns to small town America where he grew up to tend to his sick grandmother and make amends with his distant, workaholic father. Through his familial relationships and reconnecting with old acquaintances; generational and cultural values, sacrifice, and identity are explored. It’s a contemporary story about an immigrant family that I believe is relatable to any family and the lasting impressions we embrace and push away into adulthood.

Growing up as a son of immigrants, I had trouble pinpointing why I felt so isolated -- too Asian to be American, too "White" to be Asian -- I believe there's generations of us who grew up this way and have always felt "in the middle". To put all the emotions of regret, isolation, triumph, and misunderstanding (of which I still can't say I fully understand) into a story, became Chopin (蕭邦). Even the title stems from growing up with a name like mine, Vincent... What is this Asian American doing with a French name? I guess, as it's been said -- what's in a name?

Movies were always a way to connect with my family. There was naturally a disparity within my household and between my friends and relatives abroad. But something magical happens when we put on movies. We are engrossed in a world that transcends differences. Storytelling is a way to entertain of course, but also an opportunity to spark discussion and explore characters who may be from different backgrounds, but ultimately embrace the same universal flaws, insecurities, fears, and weaknesses we all share.

I hope you enjoy our movie and don't forget to call your parents after.