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Go Ah (Orphan)

Featuring Tony Sears (Black Panther), and edited by Lisa Lassek (Leave the World Behind), Go Ah tells a story of an adult Korean American adoptee, fixating on suicide – until she finds herself in a dress she never wanted to wear, seeing ghosts in a Southwest desert.

  • MiYu
    Writer
  • MiYu
    Producer
  • Tony Sears
    Director
    The Queen of Sunset Boulevard, The Path
  • MiYu
    Key Cast
    "Junie"
    Baby's Breath, Fate, Floating World, Double Cross
  • Diane Kelber
    Key Cast
    "Eloise"
    The Patient, Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet, Florence, Marriage Material
  • Nick Heyman
    Key Cast
    "Kai"
    Ambush, Shameless, Spring Break, '83, Joshua Tree 1951: A Portrait of James Dean, Animal Kingdom, Westworld
  • Ron Guillory
    Key Cast
    "Barry"
    Three Bills, Disgruntled Employees
  • Tony Sears
    Key Cast
    "Amédée"
    Black Panther, The Chosen, National Treasure, The Son, American Crime, ALIAS, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Drop Dead Diva, Nashville, Army Wives
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    31 minutes 43 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 18, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, French, Korean
  • Shooting Format:
    Arriraw 3.4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.66:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Ojai Film Festival
    Ojai, California
    United States
    November 3, 2024
Director Biography - Tony Sears

Tony Sears is an Actor/Director who lives in the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region of France.

His directing career started on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he was the associate artistic director of the Hilton Head Island Playhouse (now the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina), directing plays and musicals for nearly a decade.

As a transplant in Los Angeles, he directed plays, shorts, informational videos, and a documentary, The Queen of Sunset Boulevard, while also teaching acting workshops from Coast to Coast.

Tony has guest starred on a number of popular TV series, including ALIAS, Nashville, The Chosen, National Treasure, The Son, Army Wives, and Drop Dead Diva. He played the French Ambassador in BLACK PANTHER, which won a Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast.

Tony has recently turned to writing, with two completed features and several TV pilots.

Like his character in Go Ah, Tony is passionate about gardening, and tends to over 50 varieties of roses, a fruit orchard, a vegetable potager, and many species of seasonal native plants and flowers on a daily basis.

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Director Statement

I grew up gay. In the South. In the 60's.

When my friend MiYu came to me with Go Ah (Orphan), a very personal story about a Korean born adoptee’s struggle to find her own identity after being raised by a Jewish mother in America, I was immediately transported back to the trauma of my own childhood identity struggles. I knew this film, if we could make it, would speak to an audience of all nationalities, all races, all genders. Because the journey to figure out who we are is a universal quest that sometimes takes a lifetime.

Thoughts of suicide. Are very real. And I think they pop into the minds of most of us now and again, whether we admit it or not. I confess that it was a little cathartic to be able to capture that for an audience.

Besides all the thematic merits, there was an added bonus in directing this film. I got to do what I love with people I love in places that I love. The entire cast and some of the crew have known each other for twenty years or more. All the actors studied together when we were younger.

Inclusivity has aways been important to me, and working with such a diverse group of people for a story that amplifies “the family of choice” was amazing. The cast alone is made up of Bi-racial, Jewish, Korean, Gay and Norwegian actors. The crew includes native born members of five continents. The only project I’ve ever worked on with as much diversity is Black Panther.

I am very proud to be a part of the team that made Go Ah.