Take A Pizza My Heart

TAKE A PIZZA MY HEART is a joyful and uplifting story, and telling such stories is a radical act. Even more radical is centering fully-realized Asian American female characters who, although messy and flawed, can still grow into their strengths and mentor others.

Our film offers a new story from the perspective of a struggling singer/songwriter in her late 30s who meets a heartbroken 12-year old girl. They connect and heal through music and food. By exploring the life of a complicated, messy, and loveable Korean American woman with singer/songwriter dreams, we shake up the tired, historical depiction of Asian American women as victims of war, overly sexualized fetishes, or nerdy scientists.

Now is the time to invest in stories that center Asian American women, stories where racial identity is not the central oppression for our protagonist to overcome. By supporting more narratives that show Asian Americans as whole humans who experience heartbreak and healing, we invite audiences to empathize with us, to recognize our humanity, and to stand together with us against hate and division.

  • Christine Hoang
    Writer
    People of Color Christmas, A Girl Named Sue, Fly Girl, Romeo & Katrina
  • Christine Hoang
    Director
  • Christine Hoang
    Producer
  • Hanna Huang
    Producer
  • Betty Soo
    Key Cast
    "Naomi"
  • Vanessa Hoang Hughes
    Key Cast
    "Sam"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Drama, musical
  • Completion Date:
    October 31, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Christine Hoang

Christine Hoang is a Vietnamese American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and performer based in Austin, Texas. She was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her screenplays and stage plays are centered on funny, messy, and complicated people of color in the American South who are trying to find their way.

In 2015 Christine wrote, produced, and performed in her first play PEOPLE OF COLOR CHRISTMAS: THE WHITE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. In 2017 the City of Austin awarded her a commission to remount and tour her holiday comedy, becoming the first play to tour all four of Austin's cultural centers. In 2017 Christine's second play A GIRL NAMED SUE won the Austin Critics Table’s David Mark Cohen Award for Best New Play. That same year, PBS and its show Arts In Context created a documentary chronicling Christine’s behind-the-scenes process of creating A GIRL NAMED SUE.

In 2019 Christine wrote her first screenplay FLY GIRL, a comedy feature. FLY GIRL went on to become a 2020 Winner of The Writers Lab, 2020 Tribeca Film Institute Network selection, 2020 & 2021 Sundance Second Rounder, and Austin Film Festival Pitch Finalist. FLY GIRL is currently in development with Maven Screen Media and Tanbark Pictures, female-forward production companies who champion projects where women are in front of and behind the camera.

Currently, Christine is writing ROMEO & KATRINA, a musical theatre play set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. PBS nationally featured Christine and her process of creating ROMEO AND KATRINA in a PBS American Portrait episode on women of color doing antiracist work.

Christine has spoken on numerous panels about diversity and inclusion in the arts including the 2019 SXSW Panel "CRAZY RICH WAKANDA: Building Buzz and Selling Seats."

She is a mom and wife who loves doing yoga on her back porch.

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Director Statement

TAKE A PIZZA MY HEART is a joyful and uplifting story, and telling such stories is a radical act. Even more radical is centering fully-realized Asian American female characters who, although messy and flawed, can still grow into their strengths and mentor others.

Our film offers a new story from the perspective of a struggling singer/songwriter in her late 30s who meets a heartbroken 12-year old girl. They connect and heal through music and food. By exploring the life of a complicated, messy, and loveable Korean American woman with artist dreams, we shake up the tired, historical depiction of Asian American women as victims of war, overly sexualized fetishes, or nerdy scientists.

Now is the time to invest in stories that center Asian American women, stories where racial identity is not the central oppression for our protagonist to overcome. By supporting more narratives that show Asian Americans as whole humans who experience heartbreak and healing, we invite audiences to empathize with us, to recognize our humanity, and to stand together with us against hate and division.