Fish Boy: Frameline 2022/23 Completion Fund Spotlight

Fish Boy
Directed by Christopher Yip · Canada · 11 mins

Fish Boy is a lyrical meditation on faith, love, and polyamory through the eyes of an Asian American teenager. When 16-year-old Patrick (played by Ian Chen, Fresh Off the Boat) questions his love for God, his self-discovery manifests in his skin. Also starring Emily Lê (Riceboy Sleeps), Fish Boy will have its world premiere next month in London at BFI Flare. View Trailer Below:

“I was raised with a particularly gendered and narrow idea of love in a very Christian, very Chinese household. After I left the church, I began to re-examine what it could look like, and came to understand that love could take many forms: even forms I once rejected in myself. I want to continue to demystify and deconstruct love and gender so that we can move towards embracing ourselves with tenderness. My hope is that this story will help people who grew up like I did feel seen, and come a little closer to figuring out where they belong in the world.”

Christopher Yip is a Chinese Canadian writer/director based in Toronto whose works examine love, family, and sexuality through a distinct diasporic lens. In 2020, Christopher was named one of Playback Magazine‘s 10 to Watch and Reelworld Screen Institute’s Emerging 20. His series Streams Flow from a River, produced by Fae Pictures, will air on Super Channel, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV in early 2023.