Tall Tales (2025)
A young girl embarks on a journey to resurrect her mother, guided by the Old World myth that a birthday wish can make any dream come true. Executive Produced by Kelly Marie Tran (STAR WARS) and starring Madeleine Yuna Voyles (THE CREATOR).
Writer & Director | Lana Nguyen
Executive Producer | Kelly Marie Tran
Executive Producers | Daph Daniels, Trang Nguyen
Producers | Anmol Bajpai & Rhys Kroehler
Co-Producers | Corey Tablan, Emily Kim
Cinematographer | Tre’len Johnston Production Designer | Justine Chen
Editor | Kirsten Hoang
Sound | Alex Bologna
Music | Nicholas Escobar
1st Assistant Director | Yukako Fujimori
Starring | Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Atticus Woodward, Joanne Nguyen, Mark Simich
About the Film
When I started developing TALL TALES, I was in my last year at film school, doing zoom classes. I began imagining what the world would be like if everything we knew was gone — and thought of all the beauties and anecdotes we would take for granted. Looking back at the pandemic, and also the last few years of devastating global conflict, I feel we’ve gained a newfound understanding of grief and loss.
These are all things I sought to explore in this project. In TALL TALES, Adeline and Orion find a way to process their grief and patch together a new mosaic in this future world. Told through a coming of age adventure, it's about finding friendship & resolve in uncertain times.
Parallel to the bare nature of the story, this project came to fruition through sheer scrappiness and grit. Years of saving, a fundraiser supported by our friends and family, and lots of petsitting gigs (!) all contributed to making this film possible. Our core team — the same as it was four years ago in school — are now all working in entry-level jobs in the industry. With the knowledge we've gained from the past few years, and the support of some incredible mentors we met along the a way, bringing this project to life was an incredibly fulfilling experience and dream come true.
(In Festival Submission Process)
