Embrace (2018)

A beautiful short film full of truth about coming out and homophobia

This film was originally made by its creator Margo Manalo as a thesis project. It has been part of the official selection of several festivals (including 2 French ones which makes me very happy as a French queer person that this film is being recognised by my home country) and I can absolutely understand why.
I cannot speak for the full truth of it as I do not come from an Asian family, but if I am to believe the Youtube comments under the video and my own conversations with my Asian friends, it hits the nail right on the head and it is very true to life. And it does reflect some of my own experiences because casual homophobia is something that knows no border.

As the summary explain, this short film is about about Alee, a young woman still in the closet whose coming out plan does not go according to plan. The way that Margo Manalo manages to flesh all of the characters in the 14 minutes of the film is really well done. We can understand Alee's struggles, the way she has to hide herself and yet cannot completely do it, the way she wants to get out and show who she is to the world. We can understand her mum, a good teacher, a loving mum, but someone who is still homophobic in actions, words, and microagressions, in her relationship with her daughter and others. This film manages to touch upon the topic of homophobia, of gender expression, of wanting to be yourself, of the fear of not being accepted by your loved ones, of the way others look at us. It hits true. It reminds me of my own grandma's reaction and words, of her love and yet her fear of what others will say and think, of my own realisation that I know all of this, but I still want to live my truth regardless of the hardships because I am happier out than in. It is still rare to see stories that do not centre on romance and which do not necessarily end up in a completely happy ending. But this story is true. It is more reflective of the world even as it improves every day. It is not a sad ending, it is a bittersweet ending. It had me crying for the last few minutes and past the credits because of the accuracy of it all (I would use the word "justesse" which cannot be fully translated into English).

It is a quiet film with loud moments of Pride. The acting is very good and the production values are high. I am always impressed by the quality of short films made as thesis projects and this one definitely fits into that category.
I am very happy that this film exists. I am happy that it got recognised by festivals around the world. I do hope that many more people will watch it and I do hope that its creator will create more projects in the future.

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Embrace is the story about Lee coming out to her conservative, and religious, mother. Lee has accepted her sexuality (and even has a girlfriend) but hasn't come out to her mother, out of fear. In just 14 minutes we see that Lee is in a healthy relationship but wishes to be public about, she even addresses the problem with her girlfriend. In the meanwhile we get to see her mother is prejudiced against the LGBT+ community.

I really liked this film, and sent the link to my friends so they could see it as well.
My only complain is that Lee (her actress) seems a bit old to be in college (I imagine is college).
Everyones actings is good, not impressive but better than average.

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