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 DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Within minutes after posting, the phone rang. It was my mom.

“What’s a #MeToo?” she said, in her Filipino accent. My mouth went dry.

I could post about the most traumatic event in my personal history for everyone in the world to see, but I could barely talk about it with the woman who birthed me? With my family?

What about these relationships makes this so difficult?

Challenged by the nuances of those feelings, I decided to write a film about it.

The Patients is borrowed from intersections of my own life. I’m a Filipina-American daughter of immigrant doctors. I’m the youngest, third child who sometimes inappropriately (but mostly adaptively) jokes her way through discomfort. I’m also sexual assault and intimate partner violence survivor… emphasis on survivor.

In our #MeToo storytelling of victim to survivor, often what we’re not talking about is the stuff in the middle. I know from personal experience that stories of survival don’t just happen. No one just overcomes. ‘The Patients’ is about the stuff in the middle — It’s about opening up difficult conversations with your loved ones. It’s about how shock and trauma can present in unexpected ways. It’s about asking for and offering help. It’s about how a culture clash presents itself within one’s own family.

If you know Filipinos, you know that family is priority one. If your family is anything like mine, we’re all up in each other’s business yet, at the same time, avoidant of conflict. I was inspired to create The Patients because that’s a unique and largely unseen family dynamic to explore, especially in times of trauma and healing.

We experienced a surge of support during production of this film. My stellar cast and inclusive crew - women, people of color, immigrants, and folks identifying as LGBTQIA - assembled quickly. The Patients was successfully crowdfunded beyond our goal and we received an influx of messages sharing personal connections to the film. Whether it be a character or a plot detail, the resonance proved real.

I’m grateful for everyone who has supported this film thus far and I’m committed to sharing it with more audiences. My mission for this film is to help survivors begin those tough conversations with their families, in hopes that we can listen to our loved ones and heal... because, chances are there's a survivor in your family who needs the support.  


- Tess Paras


 
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ABOUT FILMMAKER TESS PARAS

Tess Paras (Director)

Tess Paras recurs as “Erin” on the current season of the Amazon Studios’ series, Just Add Magic, and as “Jayma Chan” on the CW’s Crazy-Ex Girlfriend (featuring the first Filipino-American family on primetime television). She is most recognized for her role as “Dana Tomas” on NBC’s hit drama, Grimm (introducing the first Filipino-American storyline on primetime television). Other notable TV credits include: Take My Wife, Adam Ruins Everything, Girl Meets World, White Collar, Mulaney, Wilfred, Weeds, and The Good Wife. Tess just wrapped a comedy pilot presentation for entitled, “She Said Yes!” in the lead role opposite Margaret Cho. She will also be seen in the upcoming independent feature, Blackout.

As a filmmaker, Tess wrote and directed The Patients, a short film inspired by events in her own life. She co-stars in the film opposite Jon Jon Briones (Miss Saigon, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Ratched).

In the comedy space, Tess serves as a performer, director, writer, and teacher. She was recently the Assistant Director for the 2019 CBS Diversity Showcase, after writing and performing in the program in 2014. Her viral videos - "Trumping Makeup Tutorial" (over 6 million combined views on Facebook and YouTube), “Typecast” and “What If Catcalls Were Cheeseburgers?” - garnered her profiles on Glamour.com, Perez Hilton, Refinery29, NBC Asian America, MTV News, Jezebel, Buzzfeed, Slate, The Wrap, Angry Asian Man, and The A.V. Club. Tess performs regularly with Quick and Funny Musicals! and the Asian AF Show at The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) Theatre in Los Angeles. She is a faculty member at Los Angeles’ feminist, inclusive comedy theatre, The Ruby. Tess graduated magna cum laude from New York University.

Tess Paras is represented by Gersh (Talent & Literary) and Haven Entertainment.