Jeff Fong

Frames (2023)
Writer & Director: Jeff Fong
Budget: $3,000
Shooting Days: 1

Recently, I’ve been trying to merge my production company, The Film Squad (@thefilmsquad on IG) with my film life, trying to create concepts that can work commercially while still being entertaining and creative. That’s how “Frames” came to be. It’s a simple story that uses a product as a crucial part of the main character’s life. It all truly came together through a conversation with my producer, Viviana Garcia (@longliveviv on IG), an environmental consultant who was talking about the beneficial moves 3m has been doing recently for the environment, and then somehow, this story came to be! My strategy is to show brands that through film, you can engage an audience into seeing your product as more than just that, and through creative storytelling, your audience will gain a lasting impression about what your product can do for them in their life.

Galen is also absolutely hilarious in this, and any friends or family who have watched this have a new outlook on Command strips!

I Sound Asian (2019)
Writer & Director: Jeff Fong
Co-Director: Khoa Chau
Budget: $7,000
Shooting Days: 2
SUBMITTED TO HBO VISIONARIES COMPETITION!

I reached out to Khoa, one of my best friends, to see if he’d like to collaborate on a project for the HBO Visionaries competition, as I’ve been submitting to this competition year after year and really wanted to make something special this time around. We decided to knock our heads together to come up with something we both would love. The deadline was creeping up on us though, so we had to change a lot of things prior to shooting (including making him the lead actor!), but we didn’t let complications get in the way of our vision! Khoa did a phenomenal job acting with barely any acting experience prior while I focused on the camera and more of an overall direction on set. Though we weren’t able to split directing the way we originally wanted, we still were able to achieve the vision we set out to accomplish, which I’m immensely proud of! Khoa is an outstanding talent who I am incredibly proud of and I hope both of us can continue making films forever!

I absolutely love this film and even if we don’t win the competition, I will be doing everything I can to get it into as many film festivals as possible!

Baichi and the Three Blind Rats (2019)
Writer & Director: Jeff Fong
Budget: $5,000
Shoot Days: 1
NOW PLAYING IN FILM FESTIVALS!

In the beginning of 2019 I finally was able to achieve a dream I’ve had for quite some time - I friggin bought a RED camera. I always thought of having one, but never actually thought it would happen. But luckily, the universe liked me and gave me (and my phenomenal girlfriend, Vicky!) a great opportunity to purchase one from some amazing friends of mine. I immediately knew I needed to make a film with this new camera, thus, Baichi was born.

I called on a bunch of my talented Asian actors and tried to gather a few more that I hadn’t worked with before and then made magic with them in one day. It was a ton of fun, though it was hard on my arms. I got to get a taste of being an actor as I was the perspective of one of them - moving my camera in ways that I felt he would be looking. That added a whole extra level of concentration for me!

As a director who is constantly trying to help support my 50% Asian side gain more representation on the screen, I’m thrilled to have made this with a quick little bang!

A Grain of White Rice in the Endless Yellow Sun (2017)
Mockumentary Comedy, Short Film
Writer & Director: Jeff Fong
Budget: $5,000
Shoot Days: 6
Start to Finish: 2 weeks
Awards: Best Ensemble & Best Screenplay (Asians on Film Festival)

“It’s about a struggling Caucasian American actor who goes out for stereotypical roles, while all the leading roles are consistently given to yellow people - the standard for American filmmaking since the beginning of cinema.”

For the 3rd time, I had heard about a competition and barely had any time to make something for it. But did I ever let that stop me in the past? Hell no. The HBO Visionaries Competition was very appealing, so I buckled down and came up with an idea that I thought could thrust me into the next step in my career. Plus, I hadn’t made a film in over 2 years, as running a production company is a lot of work, so this needed to happen.

I wrote this script over a weekend while prepping to film in LA for 3 days IMMEDIATELY after finishing the first draft. It was going to be the toughest filming schedule known to mankind, but I had to do it. My brilliantly amazing team from my production company, The Film Squad, came with me to do what needed to be done. There were complications each day, but we managed to stay sane and push through. Most scenes were done in the 1st take, with only several minutes of setup. Wardrobe and make-up was immensely important, which required a lot of time. But that ate up most of our hours, so I had to be at my A game 100% of the time. It was stressful, but quite the epic challenge.

I finished editing within a few days and my talented girlfriend, Victoria Suan, did the fastest, most impressive coloring to make all the scenes fit different time periods. She truly shaped this into what it is! We didn’t make it into the competition, but we did play at quite a few Asian American film festivals, and we won Best Ensemble and Best Screenplay at the Asians on Film Festival!

A Move to Say Goodbye (2015)
Dark Comedy, Short Film
Writer & Director: Jeff Fong
Budget: < $300
Shoot Days: 1
Start to Finish: < 2 weeks

“It’s about an awkward guy who doesn’t know what to do at his father’s wake.”

I had randomly heard about a competition that had a deadline several weeks later. I can’t remember what the competition was, but I didn’t win it, so I guess it doesn’t matter!

I wrangled a bunch of my friends together, shot in one of their houses, called in favors from their friends to be extras, and shot on a camera that we didn’t want to use (very long story there).

Ru (2014)
Comedic Drama, Feature Film
Writer & Director: Jeff Fong
Budget: $10,000
Shoot Days: 14
Start to Finish: 5 months
Awards: George C. Lin, Best Emerging Filmmaker Award (Dc Asian Film Festival)

“It’s about a nice guy and his family of assassins.”

My first feature film made on a shoe-string budget. A labor of love that created multiple long-lasting relationships and a film that I will cherish forever. 

After years of trying to find funding for one of my feature scripts to get made, I finally found someone kind enough and willing to take a chance on me. But I had to painfully turn it down due to a very toxic person connected to the project. This is when I decided it was time to leave Los Angeles and move back home to Sacramento to get away from bad people, to start up a production company and to make my first feature film... no matter what. I wasn’t going to let that person stop me from achieving my dreams! 

I wrote this in 2 months, put in whatever money I had (which wasn’t much), and got amazing support from my loving family for the remainder of the budget. The film was shot in 14 days and was completely 2 months after principal photography. It was shot on the Canon 5d Mkiii with barely any crew, played at half a dozen film festivals, and I won the George C. Lin, Best Emerging Filmmaker award at the DC Asian Film Festival. 

No distributor was willing to take a chance on this little indie film, so I wasn’t able to find a great place for it to live. It ended up being On Demand on Vimeo, but only sold several copies. Now it’s free to view since I’d rather people see my lovely little film instead of keeping it hidden forever.

Unfiltered (2012)
Dark Comedy, Short Film
Writer & Director: Jeff Fong
Budget: <$200
Shoot Days: < 4
Start to Finish: 3 - 4 weeks

“It’s not easy figuring out the opposite sex… especially when they kill you.”

I don’t remember how long it took me to write this, but I definitely remember having a lot of fun putting it together. I loved the idea of someone being in a world where people just say what they want, never sugar-coating things and being mean if they feel like it. I took the whole, “I just want to kill him” to the next level.

This was when I really started to understand genre, specifically comedy, and seeing how much I loved finding humor in the most random, awkward places. I was fascinated by stoic expressions, dry humor and making light of dark moments that are oddly relatable to everyone.

I am still incredibly proud of this film!

Galen: The Series (2011)
Mockumentary, Web-Series
Writer & Director: Jeff Fong
Co-writer: Galen Howard
Budget: What budget?

”This is about an awkward guy trying to find love in Los Angeles.”

I made this because I wanted to help my friend, Galen, with finding someone special in the craziness known as Los Angeles. At first, it felt like a fun little experiment, and then it turned into something much more. I found that I absolutely loved directing improv, finding the moments to stop and knowing when to let a scene continue on. I found so many amazing actors who I still am in contact with today. We’ve had a small but loving fan base for this show too!

Relish (2009)
Superhero Comedy, Short Film
Writer & Director: Jeff Fong
Budget: $15,000

”A girl makes friends and takes part in a stakeout with a strange group of Real Life Superheroes.”

My very first short film. My grandparents (on my dad’s side) had always pressured the grandkids into going to graduate school, but I knew that I needed to make films as a filmmaker. I had spent so many years teaching myself how to become one, and I had just spent 2 frustrating years at a college, getting my “degree” in filmmaking, which was a complete waste of time, so it was time to make something. Luckily, I had the most amazing support for my family in that they would fund this film instead of me going to grad school.

Making this film taught me so much more than those years at school, and I still have friends from this film 11 years later!