VENUS
Dir. Shae Xu, Prod. Roku Long, USA, In Post-Production
Anne, a shy, Asian American actress, discovers a bold, unapologetic, and passionate side of herself when rehearsing for the role of Venus from Shakespeare’s Venus & Adonis. As she goes deeper into character, it starts to upend her relationship with her immigrant mother, who struggles to accept her new creative identity.
Stills from Venus
Starring Audrey Wang, Tien-Li Wu, Capri Wang, Dayu Jin, Jeff Brackett
Director of Photography, Taylor Sanghyun Lee
New York, New York, 2024
"Shae and Audrey have been close friends for many years, and Shae was my classmate at Columbia University. In one of my earlier short film projects, I had cast Audrey as the lead actress — so when Venus came along, it felt completely natural for the three of us to collaborate again.
Venus tells the story of Audrey’s own journey as an actress, which made the project deeply personal and meaningful for all of us. New York was especially beautiful in the fall of 2024, and filming this short there — surrounded by people I love and trust — was truly a wonderful experience. It was also Shae's birthday during out shoot!!
We’ve just finished the post-production of the film, and we truly hope it will find its way into film festivals and receive the recognition it deserves."
