Nelson Morales

'The Wedding Banquet' delivers 'healing' queer representation

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ABS-CBN News

In an era where queer joy and nuanced representation often feel like acts of resistance, &quot;The Wedding Banquet&quot; delivers both with quiet power.The ensemble cast -- Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, and rising Korean star Han Gi-Chan -- sat down with ABS-CBN News to speak about what this film means to them, not just as actors, but as people navigating identity, family, and cultural legacy.Their reflections aren’t just about characters as they are also about the stories they wish existed more when they were younger.The concept of the movie was based on the 1993 film directed by Ang Lee, and at the time, it was one of the few queer Asian stories that received mainstream recognition.One of the stars of the movie, Yang, admitted that while his life now is filled with people from the queer community, it wasn’t always the case back then.“I grew up pretty isolated. [Back then] you didn’t really see examples of [queer representation] in media,” he said.“I would have loved just like this snapshot of what it would be like to have friends like that,” he continued.He described how, for years, his fantasy was to move to New York and “find his people.” But &quot;The Wedding Banquet&quot; gives younger audiences what he didn’t have: a vision of belonging that doesn’t require translation or compromise.Meanwhile, Tran’s emotional tether to the film is tied not only to the story but to the space the cast created together.“I felt really seen making this movie with these folks. It was like… we didn’t have to justify anything. Sometimes when I&#x27;m in spaces where it&#x27;s not very queer or not very Asian or underrepresented communities aren&#x27;t really there, I feel like I have to explain myself a lot, and I didn&#x27;t feel like we had to explain things to each other, and that made me feel really seen and loved,” she said.Tran added that that authenticity, among a largely queer and minority cast, was healing.“We’re living in such a scary time right now for the queer community. And to be in a space where we were all celebrating this part of our identity? It was really healing,” she said.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1745319708865The Wedding Banquet 04222025.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="In an era where queer joy and nuanced representation often feel like acts of resistance, &quot;The Wedding Banquet&quot; delivers both with quiet power. Photo by Luka Cyprian via Bleecker Street"/>In an era where queer joy and nuanced representation often feel like acts of resistance, &quot;The Wedding Banquet&quot; delivers both with quiet power. Photo by Luka Cyprian via Bleecker Street </div>For Korean actor Han, playing Min, a character grappling with how much to reveal to his family, was deeply personal.“Koreans don’t usually talk about those kind of topics. Min always keeps himself in the closet… and that really resonates for me,” he said.He shared that like his character, he faced quiet expectations and unspoken rules while growing up.“For my dream, I didn’t really open myself to my parents. They weren’t always supporting me in this.”Still, he said with a laugh, “Now I feel lucky, thanks to my mom, actually, because of this early education of English. Now I can be sitting here and interviewing.”Meanwhile, for Gladstone, crafting the emotional depth of her character, Lee, became an act of cultural preservation.“I haven’t ever navigated the journey of wanting or trying to have a child, but I wanted Lee to be Duwamish,” she explained.“They’re the original stewards and land holders of Seattle, and they’re currently not federally recognized.”That grounding in place and purpose is what Lily brought to her portrayal.“I felt like Lee needed to be incredibly rooted, somebody that you really, really want to see continue on. She creates such an amazing home for these three,” she said.And much like her character, Gladstone credits her real-life foundation: “My parents have been unwavering in their love and support of who I am.”In &quot;The Wedding Banquet,&quot; family isn’t always blood, it’s built. That same energy carried over behind the scenes, as each actor brought not just craft, but care, into the room.The cast and its filmmaker Andrew Ahn said they hope that it offered a glimpse of something they’ve been looking for — not just to be seen, but also to be understood.

The cast and the filmmaker hoped that the movie offered a glimpse of something they’ve been looking for — not just to be seen, but also to be understood.

The cast and the filmmaker hoped that the movie offered a glimpse of something they’ve been looking for — not just to be seen, but also to be understood.

'The Wedding Banquet' delivers 'healing' queer representation

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'The Wedding Banquet' delivers 'healing' queer representation

ABS-CBN News,

Yong Chavez

Published Apr 22, 2025 07:09 PM PHT

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