Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists. Donate today and help bring Something About the Tide to life.

Logline

When a misanthropic addict in recovery finds out her dying mother gave up a previous child for adoption, she must prove her self-worth by fulfilling her mother’s final wish—track down the other child and bring him home before it’s too late.

Synopsis

JEN is a Type-A recovering addict celebrating ten years of sobriety. She juggles three jobs while single-parenting her 9-year-old son HIRO and caregiving for her mother FUMIKO who is in palliative care for cancer. When Fumiko’s condition suddenly deteriorates, she confesses that she had a previous baby whom she gave up for adoption back in Japan, named MASARU. Bereft by this loss, Fumiko asks Jen to find him so they can reunite before she passes.

Masaru is the picture of perfection—an award-winning investigative journalist in town on a book tour and an out-and-proud gay advocate. Jen’s sponsor SHAWNA advises against contacting Masaru, but Jen’s curiosity is insatiable. Torn between a desperate need for connection and her overwhelming jealousy of Masaru’s seemingly perfect life, Jen goes on an obsessive quest to gain a friendship with him, sending her down a quiet and insidious spiral toward relapse.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Desdemona Chiang – Director
Desdemona Chiang (she/her) is a Taiwan-born American director and writer based in Seattle, WA and Ashland, OR. She has over 20 years of experience directing in American regional theatre and writes stories about unique intergenerational immigrant experiences. Her TV pilot Made in USA was developed with the Sundance Episodic Program, The Orchard Project, The Writers Lab, and was a winner of the WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Lab. Her TV pilot Zhizha! was developed as part of Film Independent’s Episodic Lab (sponsored by Netflix) in February 2024. Desdemona is also part of the inaugural cohort of the Sundance Institute Asian American Fellowship and the AFI DWW+ class of 2024, where she wrote and directed a short film adaptation of Made in USA (CAPE Julia Gouw Award Honorable Mention). MFA Directing: University of Washington.

Julia Morizawa – Writer/Producer/Actor
Julia Morizawa (she/her) is a writer/producer/actor with over 20 years of experience in film, television, new media, theater, and fiction podcasting. Produced projects include Jesuscat (Or How I Accidentally Joined a Cult) (feature film), Sin & Lyle (short film), Twenty-Two (play), and American Comedy Horror Story: Orphanage (fiction podcast). Her current project, Dragonfly (animated short film), premiered at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in May 2023 and was awarded Best Animation at the Maryland Int’l Film Festival and Best AAPI-Directed Film at the Phoenix Film Festival in 2024. Julia’s acting credits include Judas Kiss (feature film), Scandal (TV), Seal Team (TV), Masha No Home (stage), and Star Trek: Odyssey (new media). She’s also a freelance script analyst, the Short Film Fund Manager at Shore Scripts, and the proud mom of two tiny superheroes.

Ashley Song – Lead Producer
Ashley Song (she/they) is an award-winning, half-Korean producer with 15 years of professional experience. She co-founded the independent film studio, Desert Island Studios, to increase artists’ accessibility to film resources. She has produced short films, music videos, commercials, and feature-length films such as Borrufa, Roland Dahwen-Wu’s feature directorial debut, and Dawn Jones Redstone’s narrative film, Mother of Color. Currently in post-production is a documentary about Stu Rasmussen, the U.S.’s first openly trans mayor. Her films have screened at FilmFort, Portland International Film Festival, SPLIFF, We Make Movies International, CINE/SEEN, Local Sightings, Portland Center Stage, and more. Ashley received her bachelor of fine arts in acting from New York University, studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute and Stonestreet Studios. She serves on the board of the Oregon Media Production Association and is a proud member of the Actors Equity Association. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Make a donation to Something About the Tide.

Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.