Crowdfund This: SPA NIGHT, A Korean-American Film On Coming Out

One of the major pluses being in the independent film world is having more freedom to examine topics of race, culture and sexuality more intimately and honestly than most studio fare can. Director Andrew Ahn started here with his 2012 Sundance selected Dol (aka First Birthday). Ahn's feature Spa Night, which participated in both the Sundance and Film Independent screenwriting labs, has a very intriguing premise:

David Cho is an 18-year-old Korean-American teenager, living in Koreatown, Los Angeles with his first-generation parents Jin and Soyoung. David helps out at the family tofu restaurant, but business is slow and the restaurant is forced to close. 

Instead of going to SAT classes, David secretly takes a job at a Korean spa to help pay his family's bills. At the spa, he discovers an underground world of gay sex that both scares and excites him. As he explores his sexuality at the spa, his family life crumbles, and David is left to weigh his own desires against his parents' hopes and dreams.

Ahn and co. are nine days out of ending their Kickstarter with the goal of $60,000.00 for  pre-production and production funds. As of this writing they're about 20k away, so with a little pick me up, they'll certainly make it.

Check out the Kickstarter pitch video below and then head on over to their page. 

As a side note, Los Angeles area readers should also be aware that a special short film series to help raise funds is happening tomorrow, October 29, at 7pm at Visual Communications in DTLA. The evening will feature Ahn's short Dol as well as a further peek at Spa Night. To RSVP, please email spanightfilm@gmail.com. Space is limited!