I WILL MAKE YOU MINE

WATCH THE TRILOGY

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS (SXSW 2012)

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SURROGATE VALENTINE (SXSW 2011)

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PRESS

REVIEWS

  • The LA Times | “…the predominantly Asian American cast inhabit their characters as soulful individuals, not merely archetypes or stand-ins for a community.”

  • The NY Times | “I Will Make You Mine” is about transitions and crossroads, its characters learning that processing disappointment is as essential as pursuing love.”

  • Variety | “A female-forward work with three generously drawn roles for Asian women actors.”

  • FilmWeek (KPCC/NPR) - “There's a nice attention to character detail and humor”.

  • The Boston Globe | “Youth has firmly fled and now what do you do with the cards left in your hand? These are questions movies rarely ask, and this one poses them with modest but genuine rewards.”

  • The Hollywood Reporter | “A beautifully shot, settled-down finale…Chen spreads the film's attention around generously, exploring the uncertainties and disappointments of her female characters…”

  • Indiewire | “I Will Make You Mine is a sweet little bop about trying to find the rhythm of your life when you don’t really know how the song is structured. Find the melody and you’ll be humming it to yourself for days.”

  • Nerdist | “Light, thoughtful, and generous, this is a truly lovely film; the kind of small, inventive, character-driven movie that rarely gets the spotlight it deserves.”

  • Discussing Film | “As the credits roll, it is difficult to hold back tears. The entire trilogy is a journey through the entangling lives of the three aspiring women and one star-gazed lover; the final score ties the series with a satisfying conclusion. With many films, it is easy to want a continuation of the story, but in a way, the end of I Will Make You Mine is perfect.”

  • Cord Cutters | “…the type of film that's going to make you feel things that you didn't expect to feel going in. There are moments of unexpected laughter and uncomfortably relatable humiliation all wrapped up in this sweet and sometimes painful story. It's gorgeous, and very much worth your time.”

  • Strange Harbors | “Lynn Chen’s directorial debut is a winsome crossroads of life and music: an easy watch that is as poignant as it is endearing.”

  • Daily Grind House | “Vulnerability, humor, and empathy find each other in notes and shots in equal measure, and what remains is a story that hits as hard as unexpectedly finding a valentine in a drawer from years ago.”

  • Candid Cinema | “Each woman was presented at different stages in their lives, at different moments, trying to make sense of who they are and I think it’s beautiful work. It’s a film that will stay with me because of how deeply I connected with each of these women.”

  • AWFJ | “The focus here is on the female perspective. The women are the stars, and they all shine. Chen (who also wrote the screenplay) does a beautiful job with her characters — as do the actors.”

  • Watch or Pass | “I Will Make You Mine is a beautiful blend of art and music with a bold style, great characters, and an authentic realism to its music that must be heard to believe!”

  • The Spool | “Music can bring people together — and, given that the experience can lead to films as enriching as Chen’s debut, thank heavens it does.”

  • Two Oh Six | "In a year that so far has been quite a bit different from any we have experienced during our time, this movie easily stands out as 2020's first truly great film."

  • Film Inquiry | “I Will Make You Mine is a deeply nuanced directorial debut from Lynn Chen that will leave audiences satisfied. There is so much to take in from each of the characters and the experiences they individually go through.”

  • Cinema Babel | “Director Lynn Chen is impressive in her debut, crafting a story examining some of love’s follies with just enough moments of levity to keep it well balanced.”

  • The Film Stage | “The movie is somewhere between a daydream–where you can relive those kinds of long spring days spent around your college dorm playing guitar in bed–and the grim reality of an adulthood that is nothing like you imagined it back in your idealistic days.”

  • VC Cinema Show | “Like the wistful songs by Goh and Yea-Ming that fill the soundtrack, I Will Make You Mine is a deceptively breezy take on the intricacies of relationships which lingers beautifully.”

  • Rendy Reviews | “In any other feature, the archetypes of the conflicts would’ve been executed in such an over-the-top, exaggerated manner. This could’ve easily fallen into the trappings of something to be telegraphed, but through Chen’s direction, you really are endeared by these characters.”

  • Project Nerd | “The film is as poignant as it is endearing, and works with a degree of levity that encapsulates reality.”

  • Women and Hollywood | “It’s always refreshing to see a romantic comedy that is in touch with reality. Chen and “I Will Make You Mine” acknowledge that romance is as much about ourselves, our hang-ups, and our blindspots as it our partners.”

  • Fangirl Nation | “…I Will Make You Mine is the kind of movie to watch when you feel at a standstill or lost in your own life. It is a movie that offers of hope that after you navigate your own tangled path, you will be able to move forward.”

  • AIPT | “I Will Make You Mine takes an already strong story and adds a tremendous soundtrack. The cast has great chemistry and the direction is beautiful.”

  • Culture Mix Online | “Many filmmakers would have made a love triangle the focus of the story, but writer/director Chen gives “I Will Make You Mine” added emotional resonance to the film by addressing adult issues of doubt and regret over life choices.”

  • Universal Cinema Magazine | “Think of John Carney’s Once, then add the look of Anton Corbijn’s Control (both from 2007), and still there’s more to this one because there are non-musicians who are also equally involved in the thick of things.”

  • Keith Loves Movies | “The chemistry between the actors is charged and dynamic…All these characters come to interact with each other during the film, creating heartfelt and tender moments that will stick with you long after.”

  • Crooked Marquee | “Chen’s movie is more about facing regret than about finding romantic love, with a wistful tone that recalls Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy.”

  • Beyond Chron | “Chen’s love for these characters allows her to dodge the familiar traps of unnecessarily making a character a villain or pinning the film’s resolution on Goh’s winding up with one of these three women.”

  • Cinemasentries | “The dialogue doesn’t feel like movie dialogue nor do the characters feel like movie characters or archetypes. They feel like real people going through familiarly messy contradictions.”

  • The Upcoming | “The attention is drawn to identity and representation because we never see this community have their stories told with such an aesthetic or universality.” 

  • Cinema St. Louis | “Chen effectively explores the curious phenomenon of clinging to aspects of a relationship long after the breakup.”

  • Brazilian Press | “Subtly addressing how artists are influenced and motivated by their own experiences with loneliness, fear and love, vibrant with its infusion of musical tendencies, and admirably melancholic, Chen scored a truthful, observational and enthusiastic urban rom-com.”

  • Spectrum Culture | “Through the performances by the director and Fujitani, the movie finds its surprisingly big heart.”

  • Source Weekly | “Told from the perspective of Asian-American women, it's an original and lovely film brimming with moments of such lovely grace that I'm now a lifelong fan of writer/director Lynn Chen.”

  • Disappointment Media | “Culminating with the release of Lynn Chen’s directorial debut I Will Make You Mine, the Surrogate Valentine trilogy stands out as one of the highlights of the indie film scene of the past decade.”

  • AWFJ | “Chen captures the awkwardness of old relationships that are not quite rekindled but not quite dead in a straight forward manner that is sometimes uncomfortable to watch, but it’s refreshing to see the women confront their feelings head-on and come out the other side happier and ready to tackle the world.”

FEATURES/MENTIONS

  • Rotten Tomatoes | The Best Asian American Movies of All Time

  • Variety | Lynn Chen on Her Asian American Team for “I Will Make You Mine”

  • The New York Times | Joy Survives: Your Positive Moments from 2020

  • Nerdist | Our Dream Oscar Contenders for the 2021 Academy Awards

  • Deadline | “I Will Make You Mine’s” Lynn Chen Talks How SXSW Cancellation Affected Romantic Comedy Trilogy

  • Filmmaker Magazine | Directors Dave Boyle and Lynn Chen Premiere a New Trailer and Discuss The Surrogate Valentine Trilogy

  • Filmmaker Magazine | How I Dealt With the Loss of My Dad, and Then My Movie (Op-Ed)

  • San Francisco Chronicle | CAAMFest is online, with Lynn Chen, music, parties - and cookies

  • Refinery 29 | Movies by Women to Stream this Weekend

  • Indiewire | 18 Must-See New Movies You Can Still Watch This Summer Season

  • Athens Banner-Herald | Saved by the small screen: OnlineAthens top 10 movies of 2020

  • New Yorker | How Cameo Blew Up During Quarantine

  • Fast Company | 129 Indie films that prove movie posters can be high art

  • Just Jared | Actress Lynn Chen Will Make Her Directorial Debut

  • Celebrity Insider | Actress Lynn Chen Gets Her First Shot at Directing Films

  • Luci’s Morsels | Female Feature: Lynn Chen on Directing Her First Movie

  • Deadline | “I Will Make You Mine” Trailer: Lynn Chen’s Directorial Debut Bookends Indie Quasi-Trilogy; Romantic Dramedy Lands at Gravitas

  • Hollywood Reporter | Lynn Chen to Direct Indie “I Will Make You Mine”

  • Mochi Magazine | Lynn Chen is Making a Coming-of-Age Story for Asian American Women

  • Filmmaker Magazine | I Just Finished Directing My First Feature Film, Why Do I Feel Like I Have Post-Partum Depression?

  • Women and Hollywood | May 2020 Film Preview

  • Character Media | Bigger And Even Better: Here’s 7 More APAHM Festivities Coming Your Way

  • SF Weekly | A Local Festival Seeks to Create a Safe Space

  • San Francisco Examiner | Jam-packed Asian Pacific American Heritage Month goes online

  • SF Chronicle | Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month virtually in the Bay Area

  • 48 Hills | Screen Grabs: Big hearts and summer lovin’

  • Untitled Lady Show | Signal Boost for IWMYM

  • Berkeley Side | Small Screen Berkeley: CAAMFest 2020

  • Culture Vulture | SXSW Online: Top 10 Films (Possibly) Coming to Amazon Prime

  • Brave New Hollywood | Video Interview with Lynn Chen

  • The NY Times | Alice Wu’s Lesbian Rom-Com Was Influential, but Her Follow-Up Wasn’t Easy

  • Vulture | Alice Wu is (Finally) Ready to Break Your Heart

INTERVIEWS/EVENTS

FILM FESTIVALS