Filmmaker Statement

There are 1.5 million boys currently playing organised youth football in England. Only 180 will make it as a Premier League Professional. Many share that dream with their fathers and entire childhoods can be consumed by football. This is just one of those stories... What sets my story apart is that my father, a Chinese immigrant - made us a stark minority and underdog in the notoriously unforgiving world of elite youth football back in the early 2000's. His fiery and uninhibited, eastern parenting style bolstered my progression against all odds but also clashed with the system and pushed our relationship to the limit. Inspired by this storied time in my childhood - JIAN and THEO face a crucial trial at the academy, a pressure cooker experience where the stakes cause tensions between father and son to boil over, and in turn forces out moral debates of parenting and raises questions of systemic biases in the sport. I hope that viewers are challenged to take sides and are co