At a time when the concept of “home” has become increasingly fraught for whole segments of our country as a result of our current immigration climate, filmmakers AB Troen (director), Marc A. Mounier (producer), and Yongle Wang (editor) have created a documentary series FINDING HOME that captures the broad scope of this moment, all while paying close attention to how this intersects with the LGBTQ+ community. Shot with true attentiveness to the humanity of each person they interview, FINDING HOME opens up a much needed space for the stories of those still holding out hope for a home they can belong to.
AAIFF ’41 screened FINDING HOME: BRANDON as part of our EVOLVING IMMIGRANTS shorts block. Brandon Hsie gave up a successful career as a lawyer in China to move to Los Angeles. As he struggles with leaving his family behind, Brandon also anticipates a new life where he can live outside the closet as who he truly is.
How did the project of FINDING HOME come about?
AB: Finding Home started as a small research project at the University of Southern California following the Chinese gay immigrant community in LA. In a very personal interview with Brandon, his concept of home really resonated with me, and the complex journey it took him as a gay Chinese immigrant to seek and define it really stood out. “Home” subsequently became the prism through which we interviewed and filmed Brandon for two years, making the film both specific to the Chinese gay immigrant experience and universally accessible. We quickly realized that his story was unique, but by no means the only one. We started to branch out and discovered more and more stories that were just as exceptional, and we wanted to tell them.
How did filming so many different stories challenge or transform your ideas of home?
AB: In both the case of LGBT individuals and immigrants, home is something that goes through dramatic changes. Immigrants leave one world and need to recreate it from scratch, and LGBT individuals need to create a home different from the heteronormative home they grew up in. Something new is gained, but something is lost. This transformation is clearer for me now — seeing how the journey to “find home” is never completed.
Marc: Home is so much more than just a place. Safety, support systems, friendships, privacy, opportunities etc. are all part of it. They constantly evolve and in times of crisis can change radically. So when we look at refugees, they are not just people going from one place to another. Each individual journey is far more complex and challenging than our current discourse would make you think.
What were some of the challenges of filming?
AB: I don’t speak Chinese – yet! But I was able to connect with Brandon on a deeper level, as a gay man also far away from my home. I was entering a new culture, community, in a foreign language — at first we were met with suspicion, but at the end with open arms. One of our producers, Xin Li, was tremendously helpful in navigating this process.
Marc: If we expand the question to the process of filmmaking, I’d say crafting stand-alone, finite episodes that feel like a slice of life or part a universal journey was challenging. In narrative, you start with a script and execute it. In documentary, a lot of the storytelling happens after you film. We spent months crafting the stories from endless hours of footage, transcripts and interviews. We wanted to structure the series in a way that did justice to the stories of our protagonists, and not impose a structure that would bend their stories to given format.
Do any of you have queer identities? If so, how did that affect the way you approached the making of FINDING HOME?
AB & Marc: Yes!
AB: Brandon is the first episode of the FINDING HOME series, other episodes feature Stacy from El Salvador or Elaheh from Iran. Culturally, these places are vastly different. All of us being members of the LGBT+ community, we were able to connect on a level that transcended language barriers or cultural differences.
Yongle: I am not queer myself. When AB and I first talked about Brandon’s story, we both responded deeply to the theme of “self-exile”, even though we were coming from very different perspectives. Being Chinese myself, I understand the perpetual feeling detachment, a loss of roots so to speak, when I am in a different country. We tried to set that sense of loss and melancholy as the emotional core to Brandon’s story.
It was so special to see Brandon at a house party with members of the Chinese Rainbow Association and to hear gay people speaking in Chinese. As a queer Asian American, it was validating to hear the private language of home used in a space meant for queer joy. Were there other moments of joy in filming?
Yongle: I had never been inside a parade before, and in the production of this film, I joined the crew on two parades as part of Chinese Rainbow Association: one for Long Beach Pride, and one for Los Angeles Chinatown’s annual Golden Dragon Parade. To me, those experiences were very exciting and I felt the group unified and validated too. Especially in Chinatown’s parade, to see people respond positively to an Asian LGBT group was affirming.
AB: So many! We filmed Brandon at LA Pride. It was a huge moment for him personally. In every episode, our protagonist is pursuing something, and along the way experiences victories and failures. For example, Elaheh was allowed to vote for the first time in her life. The morning we met her, she beamed. There are so many beautiful moments we were able to capture-–you’ll have to watch the series to see them all!
The episode ends on a melancholy note where one must barter and can’t have all three things- family, the freedom to be themselves, a chance at finding home. What are we as viewers asked to do? Is being witness and holding space for these experiences enough?
Yongle: One of the goals I had communicated to AB a while back was that I hope my parents’ generation can see the story, respond to it, and change to an extent their perception and understanding of LGBT individuals and issues. I think being witness is the first step. As an editor, the most precious thing an audience can take away from the film is the feeling they are left with, and hopefully that feeling will help them have a slightly different perspective. I also hope that this story can enrich the narrative of Asian masculinity, Chinese American experience, LGBT representation as well as put a face to the immigrant issue.
Marc: I think if we get people to just listen and allow themselves to spend a moment walking in someone else’s shoes, we all win. I see the series as an invitation.
AB: Agreed! The show is more intimate and thoughtful. It would be great if some see it as a call to action. But even within the LGBT+ community, we have to get to know each other better and learn about each others stories to support one another.
How is Brandon doing presently?
AB: We recently saw Brandon at a panel at Outfest. He seemed really great and introduced us to someone new in his life!