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Logline

When a sexually repressed Chinatown girl discovers a tiger lurking in her attic, she risks her relationship with her mother to unlock the beast within that will set her free.

Synopsis

LILY CHAN is an 18 year old Chinatown girl whose dreams of traveling the world are hampered by her former pageant mother FAYE’s pressure for her to marry into a wealthy Chinatown family. When Faye grooms Lily for a Chinese husband, Lily obeys and enrolls to mold herself into her mother’s vision for her future. Striving to please her mother, she begins to suffer visions of a Tiger lurking in the attic above her bedroom at night. The harder Lily tries to conform to her mother’s expectations, the louder the Tiger claws and scratches as it stalks her through the house. Stifled by her mother by day and haunted by the Tiger at night, Lily finds escape through Janine, a mischievous knife salesgirl who works in the neighborhood. Charismatic and rebellious, Janine urges Lily to find her courage to live wildly. A romance soon blossoms between them, worsening Lily’s nightmares as the Tiger hunts her at every turn. Suffocated by her mother’s pressure, overwhelmed by her sexual awakening, and terrorized by the Tiger, Lily suffers a nervous breakdown and rebels against her mother at a marriage proposal dinner, humiliating Faye before the whole family. Horrified, Faye drags Lily upstairs and locks her in the attic, trapping her with the Tiger. To save herself, Lily must finally face her fears and confront the creature. By surrendering to the beast, Lily sheds her former skin, heals her mother’s wounds and unlocks the wild tiger spirit within that will set her free once and for all.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Andrew Thomas Huang — Co-Writer/Director/Producer
Artist and filmmaker Andrew Thomas Huang explores themes of queer futurism, Asian mythology, folklore, animism, ancestry and body memory. A Grammy-nominated music video director, Huang’s collaborators include Bjork, FKA Twigs, Eartheater, Perfume Genius and Thom Yorke among others. His films have been commissioned by and exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, NY, The Sydney Opera House, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, LA. He has also received film and sculpture commissions from the Thailand and Sydney Biennales. Huang directs for film and TV, including an episode of Terence Nance’s Random Acts of Flyness Season 2 on HBO. Huang continues to weave fine art, technology and storytelling across various media, including opera, immersive XR experiences and live performance with his most recent solo art exhibition at LACMA. Inspired by his Chinese heritage, queer Asian mythology and folklore, Huang is in preparation for his first feature film TIGER GIRL which has received support from Cinereach, Film Independent, SFFILM and the Sundance Institute. Huang graduated with a degree in Fine Art and Animation from the University of Southern California.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact [email protected].