A first-gen Taiwanese American navigates love, identity, and trauma with her crew of Asian American misfits, breaking cycles, redefining family, and searching for “the one.”
MAKESHIFT FAM is a comedy-drama that follows Alexis Chen, a struggling filmmaker navigating love, identity, and generational trauma with the support of her tight-knit, all-male "makeshift family"—childhood friends from Denver’s Taiwanese American community. Now in their late 20s and 30s, they find themselves caught between cultural expectations and personal ambitions, redefining what family, success, and happiness truly mean.
The story is driven by Alexis’ journey of self-discovery, as she grapples with the pressures of being a first-generation Taiwanese American woman. Told in first-person through therapy sessions, the narrative unfolds across decades, weaving through her childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Each episode is anchored by major life milestones—holidays, weddings, and reunions—that force Alexis and her friends to confront their past, challenge cultural norms, and reevaluate their relationships with themselves and each other.
Christine Chen is an Academy qualified film producer, director and writer. She fell in love with capturing images and telling stories through film the first time she got her hands on an early addition VHS camcorder in 1993. Christine has a B.A. from Rice University as well as a MBA from the University of Texas McCombs. Christine's short films "A Bird's Nest" and "Ya Albi" were a Top 5 Louisiana Film Prize Finalists. They will be available on iTunes, Amazon, ShortsHD and continue to make the festival rounds. Funemployment, Christine's debut feature, produced under her banner Moth to Flame Films, is also currently being submitted to festivals. The company specializes in telling stories for business owners, artists, and families. Over the past seven years, their innovative approach to media and marketing assets has raised almost 1 million dollars in startup funding via crowd funding. Christine's favorite thing to do is being on set behind the camera, but when she is not filming, she also enjoys watching movies, eating, and empowering other female entrepreneuers.
