A Chinese-American mother and daughter pull into a gas station
in rural Virginia but are refused service for being Asian. Mary stubbornly refuses to drive away until she gets served, so eight-year-old Shelly uses her imagination to help her mother preserve dignity in the face of racism. A dark comedy set in the 80’s. Based on a true story.
A one-scene, single location short film. Sunday Errand is a proof of concept short for the feature film “Dear Wizard.”
Artistic and Cultural Impact
“Sunday Errand” tells the story of what it means to have to confront racism with child-like innocence and naievete. Shelly happens to be Asian-American, but she could be any little girl who has nothing but her imagination as a superpower to confront the absurdity and violence of the adult world.
There’s no solution for racism or didactic lesson in the film. It simply shows how long ordinary and menacing racism has been with us.
“Sunday Errand” breaks the binary. It breaks traditional American cinema tradition by portraying a complex, dominant Asian woman like Mary and a complex girl like Shelly facing racism in everyday life.
Intended Audience
Sunday Errand is a film for every American who wants to dive deeper into stories about how ordinary Americans struggle for belonging and inclusion. The anti-Asian hate in the news today is not new. It is building on centuries of anti-Asian sentiment that has yet to be reckoned with or eradicated. This film featuring Shelly and Mary - female characters who vividly and creatively fight their discrimination - is an untold story in everyday American cinema.
TONE, LOOK, FEEL
Sunday Errand uses comedy to tell the truth. White supremacy is absurd; Thus, a story about white supremacy has absurdist humor, with dramatic moments coinciding with Shelly’s growth. This a humor that is neither slapstick or even aware of itself. Instead it’s sincere and that sincerity will evoke a range of emotions in viewers, including a complicated urge to try not to laugh, lest the laughing implicate a viewer in the story’s racism.
Sunday Errand will be captured in a direct, cinema verite style and will place viewers in the car with Mary and Shelly as they sit waiting for the gas to be pumped. In long, unobstructed shots of Mary and Shelly, an uncomfortable tension will build between the two characters. Being inside the car, viewers will also feel the pain of being denied services. When Shelly decides to make herself visible, the viewer feels both the fear and liberation of stepping out of the car with her. As the white attendants and the other car impatiently watch her try to pump gas, there is nowhere for Shelly or the viewer to hide.
COLORS: The men at the gas station will be wearing grays, browns and greens, camouflage-like colors that allows them to blend in with the landscape and each other. In contrast, candy bright color will come from Shelly’s clothing, Mary’s clothing, and the blue sky around them which seems to serve as an optimistic witness.
To read the script, contact us.
