Good Brother

Jay is a lonely ghost who doesn’t remember anything, longing for a chance to start over. Yin Yin is a 10-year-old girl who has the ability to see ghosts. When Yin Yin meets Jay, she does what any child who finds a lost and confused creature would do - she takes him in and becomes his friend.

When Yin Yin’s mom finds out, she only sees danger and bad luck. Like most adults, she’s terrified of ghosts and does not want her daughter anywhere near one. She hires a Daoist master, little more than a slick salesman in a robe, to exorcise Jay.

The Daoist master demands an unreasonable payment for his questionable services. When Yin Yin talks back, the Daoist master begins to threaten Yin Yin and her mom. It now falls upon Jay to become the unlikely hero and stumble to the rescue. But in order to do so, Jay has to first overcome his past wrongdoing.

  • Kevin Lee
    Director
  • Kevin Lee
    Writer
  • Michael Lalo Wong
    Key Cast
    "Jay"
  • Kaitlyn Song
    Key Cast
    "Yin Yin"
  • Hao-Hsiang Hsu
    Key Cast
    "Master Ho"
    Lucy
  • Juliet Yeh
    Key Cast
    "Yin Yin's mom"
  • Kevin Lee
    Producer
  • Laticia Fan
    Producer
  • Michael L Wong
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    好兄弟
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Drama, Short
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes 10 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 28, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    S35 Redcode RAW 5K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Kevin Lee

Kevin was born in Irvine, California and grew up in Taiwan. After graduating in journalism from the University of Washington, Kevin worked in Taipei as a video director for Comedy Central Asia’s web portal “Hahatai.” He then switched to freelancing, working on a variety of video projects such as web commercials, comedy skits, documentaries, and music videos.

His notable works include: Winning best picture & best screenplay for the 48 hour film competition – Taipei, comedy skit “My English Good” that garnered over 8 million views on Facebook, and 12 million views on Chinese video platform MiaoPai, and an Animated Web Comedy series "English Second Language" for WebTvAsia.

“Good Brother” is Kevin’s first short film for festival submissions, and is currently developing a feature script set in Taiwan during World War II.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

“Good Brother,” or “Hao Xiong Di” -- that is literally what we call lonely ghosts in Taiwan. When I first heard the term, I immediately found it funny. I asked myself, did we really give them such an endearing name out of respect? Or is it really because we fear them? (similarly, we sometimes refer to gangsters as “brothers” in Taiwan)

In Chinese culture, there are a lot of rules and taboos regarding ghosts and the ghost month (every July in the Chinese calendar). For example, my dad used to snap at me whenever I whistled at night, fearing that it might attract ghosts. I wanted to make a short film that explores this topic from a more lighthearted angle. When I was a kid, I never saw these ghosts as dangerous threats. I just imagined them as normal people, devoid of warmth from family and friends. That is why I wanted to center the film around the friendship between a young child and a ghost.

The little girl character is based on one of my students when I was teaching English at an elementary school. Despite being the only girl in class, she was tougher than all the boys – definitely the type of kid who wouldn’t be afraid of ghosts.

Usually, ghosts in horror films are portrayed to be terrifying, evil, and full of hate. But I believe that the majority of ghosts are just like us, just trying to find peace in a hectic world, and that humans are always more capable of harm than ghosts.