“If you weren’t gay, this wouldn’t be so complicated!” proclaims Danny’s Taiwanese mother to her son’s face as he and his American partner Tate contemplate having a child through surrogacy. As if the complex world of international surrogacy weren’t enough! Add to the mix entrenched cultural attitudes about homosexuality, traditional views of family roles and societal expectations, and a well-intentioned but extremely meddlesome (albeit loving) mother who wants to control every aspect of the process—and you have Baby Steps, a cross-cultural comedy that thematically picks up where Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet left off.??

Helmed by Taiwanese-American actor Barney Cheng (who also stars as Danny) in his feature directorial debut, working with legendary Taiwanese producer Li-Kong Hsu (who also produced The Wedding Banquet), Baby Steps explores with grace, humor, empathy, and charm such in-the-news topics as gay parenting, adoption, and the risks of international surrogacy. Boasting an excellent central performance by veteran Taiwanese actress Grace Guei (Eat Drink Man Woman) as Danny’s mother, vivid locations from Los Angeles to Taipei City, and a few of the unexpected surprises that inevitably arise when you’re expecting, Baby Steps is not only a joyous and hopeful paean to the possibility of reconciliation between the traditional and the nontraditional, but also an entertaining and thoughtful rumination on the responsibilities of parenting (whatever one’s sexual orientation may be).??

— Tim Sika

In English, Mandarin with English subtitles.

AT&T Audience Award Text Voting Code: F104

Co-presented by:

Center for Asian American Media

Gay Asian Pacific Alliance