As if the loss of both a career and a fiancée weren’t enough, lesbian photojournalist and opioid addict Dede gets a rude awakening from her no-nonsense mother, Anna. Acting as a one-woman interventionist, Anna barges into Dede’s toxic space and forces her into a new home to recover, next door to a spunky but reclusive father-daughter duo. Despite Dede’s finest attempts to scare off her new neighbors, the two families become inextricably linked to each other in deep, funny, and unexpected ways.

The daughter-next-door, Laura, an adult on the autism spectrum, lives a sheltered life with her anxiously protective father, Peter, but she sees in Dede a fellow trapped soul and gravitates immediately to her. Slowly, the feelings between the two Asian American women become mutual, and as each breaks open the other’s insular life, Peter begins to fall for Dede’s mother. Torn between his desire to protect his daughter and his burgeoning flirtation with Anna, Peter—like the rest of the motley crew—tries to shake off old habits and try new things. But just as he and Anna take their romance to a new level, an unforeseen crisis strikes, and all four are thrown back into chaos.

Utilizing documentary-style footage, still photography, poetry, and beautiful animation, first-time filmmaker Alex Chu has crafted a stirring exploration of addiction, romance, and immigrant life. For Izzy is a deeply compassionate and sweet-natured tale of resilience, told with a pitch-perfect blend of poignancy, humor, and grace.

— SOPHIA LANZA-WEIL