Powerful Mothers and Grandmothers
Ahn discusses how he knew Bowen Yang and lily gladstone would be perfect fits for their roles.
“I was thinking about parenting and this queer family trying to bring in the next generation, and I realized that what complicates our relationship to parenting is how we were parented. I knew I wanted to bring in the previous generations — mother and grandmother — so it was always a part of the film at its foundation. I think, even amongst the couples, there’s this process of understanding someone’s priorities and how they want to be cared for, and that’s something Joan Chen and Youn Yuh-jung, playing mom and grandma, really have to understand about their children and grandchildren. It’s that understanding of who you really are and how you need to be loved and what you find important that I think is incredibly difficult but so important.”
The Importance of Friendships Between Queer Men and Women
Ahn reveals the film that inspired him to explore queer Korean themes in his work.
- He talks about how he was thinking about fire island, his previous film with Bowen Yang, and how he wanted to work with incredible queer actresses like Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran.
- He also mentions how he saw in Lily a lightness and a maternal quality that he felt was perfect for the character of Lee.
- He discusses how he wanted to diversify his portfolio of movies and give his cast members the opportunity to play against type.
Casting and Character Development
Ahn discusses the casting of Bowen Yang and Lily Gladstone in their roles as Chris and Lee.
- Bowen Yang was already an established star in the film Fire Island, and Ahn was excited to work with him again.
- Lily Gladstone had a reputation for her dramatic performances, but Ahn saw her as a great comedic actress as well.
- Ahn wanted to give both actors the opportunity to play against type and bring their unique talents to the film.
The Importance of Queer Cinema
Ahn talks about the importance of queer film festivals and programs for LGBTQ+ filmmakers.
“I think queer film festivals are so important — Outfest, Newfest, Framline: these are festivals that allowed me, as a filmmaker, to grow, to find my audience, to find collaborators, and to not feel so alone, not just as an artist but as a person.”
Favorite Romantic Tropes
Ahn discusses his favorite romantic trope and how it relates to The Wedding Banquet.
“Oh, that’s such a good question. You know, we don’t have this in The Wedding Banquet, but I do think enemies-to-lovers is so good, and I loved being able to explore that in Fire Island. But yeah, I think that one — if you pull it off?
