Omakase — a short film by Tristan Au
Everyone everywhere has had a lousy date and Natalie, a Japanese American under the pressures of her Japanese mother, is no exception. While it begins well, she finds that her date with Mark at a lavish Omakase dinner begins to take a turn, especially after her mother interrupts with a phone call.
Writer/director Tristan Au presents Omakase, a short film about relationships, parental expectations, and finding yourself.
Here's a bit from Tristan about why he wrote the film:
"I love to eat. Growing up in a family where food is the paramount way to show love, there's beauty in appreciating not just what we eat, but how we eat and who we eat with.
This film is really special to me. My main mission as a filmmaker is to represent the Asian community both in front and behind the camera. It's important to me that Natalie, a biracial character, is at the center of this very human story. The screenplay empowers Asian stories and explores themes of queerness, multiculturalism, and intergenerational divides. I'm a firm believer that art creates change, and this film will mark my first professional production and a great step in my journey as a filmmaker.
Some of my favorite films inspired Omakase, namely The Joy Luck Club dir. Wayne Wang, Saving Face dir. Alice Wu, and basically anything from Wong Kar Wai. I envision an intimate, dreamscape of a restaurant, where our focus is solely on the beautiful food and the relationship that is forming, or breaking apart, around it. I also love the power of dialogue; when Natalie argues with her mother, every line from both characters feels loaded with emotion.
I'm shooting for the stars with this film. The main goal would be to submit this film to a selection of regional and national film festivals. One festival that I have admired and enjoyed attending is the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival every summer, and our plan is to submit this film there."
-Tristan Au
A bit about the writer/director:
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Tristan Au is a Singaporean filmmaker and passionate storyteller dedicated to representing the Asian community through art. A true production swiss army knife, Tristan has held various positions on narrative and corporate video sets, ranging from gaffer to assistant director. Tristan began his filmmaking journey in high school, and has since then produced video content for the Republic of Singapore Navy, The Eagle Online, and currently is a freelance videographer and photographer in the DMV area. Along with making Youtube videos in his free time, he will graduate from American University in 2024 as a Film and Media Arts major and Asia, Pacific, and Diaspora Studies minor.
Our Cast!
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Mika J. Nakano as "Natalie"
Mika J. Nakano is a Baltimore-based artist and teacher. She has been in shows at Strand
Theater, Submersive Productions, and Everyman Theatre, to name a few. She is currently an arts
integration resource teacher at a middle school, acting on film and stage, illustrating show
posters, and occasionally working on her projects. She is excited to be part of this film and
story, as this is her first to be able to share her own experience as a bilingual artist.
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William Poole as "Mark"
William is a versatile leading man known for his powerful performances in the feature films
Deadlocked, Love Eclectic, When He Comes Back, Beach Town, and All Too Human. He has
appeared on stages around the country in leading roles in productions of Vanya and Sonya and
Masha and Spike, Much Ado About Nothing, Picnic, Prelude to a Kiss, and Betty’s Summer
Vacation. For his role as the titular character in the epic short film Ryker, William won the Best
Actor Award at the Portland Short Film Festival (2016). He is a graduate of the University of
Washington, where he first found his love of acting, and honed his skills in the School of Drama.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, he now lives and works out of Washington, DC.
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Emily Fan as "The Waitress"
Emily Fan is an actress and content creator. Although comedy is her niche online, she has
experience in dramatic works and plans to continue acting in all types of projects. She has a
passion for storytelling and art in all forms, and she is excited to be a part of this project.
How You Can Help!
We're looking to raise around $5,000 for the production of this film; most of that money will be dedicated to paying the cast and crew fairly, as well as catering for shoot days. Along with those necessary areas, the rest of that budget will be devoted to securing locations and production design. This shoot presents its own set of challenges: a fancy restaurant setting is not easy to find or replicate, and with the money raised, we'll decide if it is easier to secure a location or create a set in a studio. That is why any donation, big or small, contributes greatly to our production.
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Check out the seven different pledge tiers to explore the perks of each tier. Note: the perks DO NOT contain food, they are just labeled as such! These include:
- A personal thank-you video from writer/director Tristan Au
- Special Thanks, Associate Producer, or Executive Producer credit in the film and on IMDB
- A hand-matted 14" by 11" print of an exclusive behind-the-scenes photo from the set
- A physical copy of the film including a director's cut with commentary
If we cannot reach our entire goal, the funds will be prioritized towards paying the cast and crew and catering first.
Any funds that we receive over our $5,000 budget will go towards increasing the cast and crew's pay as well as covering any additional location costs.
If we reach $6,000, we can secure a higher-end location and improve our production design.
If we reach $7,000, in addition to improving the location and production design, we can upgrade our camera package and submit to more film festivals.
What You Can Do Besides Donating
Besides donating, there are also plenty of things that you can do to help the production of this film.
- Please share our IndieGoGo campaign with your friends, family, or anyone that you think would be interested in our film.
- Reach out to our team if you have any connections to related organizations or groups that you think could benefit this film!
- Follow our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/omakasethefilm/ or @omakasethefilm.
Thank you very much again for reading about Omakase! If you've got any questions or would like to reach out to the team about the film, please email Tristan at tristan@autristan.com.