Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet will be showing at the Opening Night Gala
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY LUKA CYPRIAN BLEECKER STREET
Have you been waiting in anticipation for the release of Andrew Ahn’s new film The Wedding Banquet? Well, this year’s BFI Flare has you covered. The 39th edition of the LGBTQIA Film Festival announced that its opening night (19 March) will feature the International Premiere of the dramedy starring Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran.
The Wedding Banquet – a queer retelling of Ang Lee’s classic film – follows Angela and Lee, a couple who have been unlucky with their IVF treatments but can’t afford another round. Their friend Min, who isn’t out yet, has a lot of money but a soon-to-expire visa. The only natural solution to these problems? A green-card marriage between Angela and Min so that the sapphic couple can pay for IVF and Min can stay in the country. Of course, a meddling grandmother is on hand to make sure this wedding becomes an all-out extravaganza. Starring Bowen Yang, Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-Chan, Joan Chen, and Youn Yuh-Jung, this film is sending the LGBTQIA community into a frenzy with excitement.
Director Andrew Ahn is expected to be in attendance at the premiere at the BFI Southbank. Speaking about the film’s feature at BFI Flare, Ahn said: “I’m incredibly excited for The Wedding Banquet to have its international premiere at BFI Flare, a festival that celebrates and cultivates queer talent. I’m honored to be a part of a cinema legacy that includes filmmakers like Amrou Al-Kadhi and Hong Khaou. I’ve fallen in love with London on my many previous visits, so it feels fitting to bring this love story to the city.”
Kelly Marie Tran, known for her role as Rose Tico in Star Wars, came out during the production of The Wedding Banquet. Speaking to Vanity Fair last year, she said: “I haven’t said this publicly yet, but I’m a queer person. The thing that really excited me about it was I got to play a person that I felt like I knew. I don’t feel like I’m acting at all in this movie.”
The full programme for BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival will be revealed on Tuesday 18 February at 11 am.
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