One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. While we can learn a lot about the filmmakers from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival through the art that these storytellers share with us, there’s always more we can learn about them as people. We decided to get to the bottom of those artistic wells with our ongoing series: Give Me the Backstory!
Its title might seem familiar, but Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet is more than just a fresh take on Ang Lee’s 1993 film, it’s a deeply personal reimagining of the romantic comedy. “I remember when my brother got married, I wondered if I would ever have that experience,” says the director and co-writer of the film, which is debuting as part of the Premieres section of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. “I saw how the wedding brought him closer to his wife, to my parents, to his Korean culture. As a gay man, I wasn’t sure I could have this, so making this film was my way of throwing myself a Korean wedding.”
This desire for close family and cultural ties is a strong thread throughout Ahn’s own life and career, spanning all the way back to his short film Dol (First Birthday), which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Dol follows the story of “a gay Korean American man yearn[ing] for a family life that is just out of reach,” and Ahn’s Wedding Banquet builds on that concept by affirming the need to create your own family and community, while also struggling with the realities of familial expectations and cultural traditions.
This universal push-and-pull comes to life in the complicated web of The Wedding Banquet’s plot: With his green card expiring and his grandmother (Youn Yuh-Jung) looking to bring him home, Min (Han Gi-chan) proposes to his long-term boyfriend Chris (Bowen Yang) and is brushed off because he’s not ready to make that commitment. To stall for time while he and Chris figure their lives and priorities out, a plan for fake marriage to his friend Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) for immigration is hatched. In exchange, Min will help pay the cost for IVF for Angela’s partner Lee (Lily Gladstone). When Min tries to alleviate his grandmother’s concerns about his life in the U.S. with this news, she calls his bluff and comes to America to help seal the deal.
Stacked with charismatic and nuanced performances, this tale of half-baked deception for the greater good of a foursome of friends reinforces the true power and sacrifice of love. When asked about who he wants The Wedding Banquet to reach, Ahn doubles down on the importance of those who you build a life with. “Yes, of course I want everyone to see it! I hope audiences flock to the theaters! But, ultimately, I made this for my partner and I’m excited for him to see it.”
Below learn about what influenced Ahn’s decision to make The Wedding Banquet, why this story needs to be told now, and who he called first when he found out he got into the 2025 Festival.
Tell us why and how you got into filmmaking?
I fell asleep all the time while studying in college. Organic chemistry, physics, English classes. I finally took a film production course and found myself pulling all nighters in the edit room. I always had the energy for it.
Why is filmmaking important to you? Why is it important to the world?
Films give people an opportunity to reflect, to meditate, to discuss, to explore our morality and our ethics within the safety of an art form. Films are parables. We better understand the world, the people around us, and our role in humanity.
What was the biggest inspiration behind The Wedding Banquet?
My partner. Our conversations about marriage, about having children, about building a family. The way we fight each other, the way we fight for each other. I learned so much about myself through him.
I learned that I want to be a husband. That I want to have a Korean wedding with all the rituals that connect me to my family and my culture. That I want us to do a Pyebaek ceremony so I can carry him on my back around a room with our friends and family cheering us on.
I learned from him that I want to be a father. That I want to care for someone that deeply. That I want to know more about my father by being a father myself. And even if I don’t get to be a father, I want us to build a better world for the next generation. That even if we aren’t parents, that we should live our lives as if we were.
Why does this story need to be told now?
As our country grows more and more conservative, I can see the obstacles ahead for queer people trying to build families. Whether it’s legislative, cultural, familial, or even self sabotage, there will be struggles. I want The Wedding Banquet to give audiences a sense of hope.
Tell us an anecdote about casting or working with your actors.
I’m so lucky to have worked with this ensemble! They were all incredibly generous. I remember in pre-production, our producer Joe [Pirro], production designer Charlotte [Royer], cinematographer Ki Jin [Kim], and I drove to Seattle to meet with Lily Gladstone to talk about the film. What was supposed to be a one hour meeting turned into a five hour conversation and driving tour of Seattle with family history and anecdotes. Lily pointed out where her dad went to high school. We bought books at Elliott Bay Book Company. She told us about getting Dick’s burgers with friends, an inspiration for a scene in the film. Each cast member gave us so much and I worked hard to reflect that generosity back onto them and the crew.
Films are lasting artistic legacies, what do you want The Wedding Banquet to say?
Parenting is caretaking. We parent our children, our friends, our partners. We parent our parents! I hope audiences watching The Wedding Banquet have the opportunity to reflect on how we care for each other and how we build family through that care. Building a family can be a difficult and fraught process, especially for queer people.
Queer couples can’t accidentally stumble into having children. We have to be extremely intentional, whether it’s IVF or adoption, so any hesitation becomes a real obstacle. But just because we hesitate, it doesn’t mean that we’ll be bad parents. It doesn’t mean we should be denied the privilege of being parents. Queer people have practiced caretaking through the creation of our chosen families and we have to have faith in that ability.
What was a big challenge you faced while making The Wedding Banquet?
Comedy is so hard! You have to construct humor [and] build jokes with incredible precision (in the direction, in the performance, in the editing), but you also have to concoct it. Sometimes a joke is just magically funny. Comedy is both craft and alchemy.
One thing people don’t know about me is _____
I can make my palms sweat on command.
What is something that all filmmakers should keep in mind in order to become better cinematic storytellers?
Always be curious.
Who are your creative heroes?
Yasujirō Ozu, Nan Goldin, Félix González-Torres.
What was the last thing you saw that you wish you made?
If I made Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Like Father, Like Son, I’d have nothing left to prove and would retire immediately.
Which of your personal characteristics contributes most to your success as a storyteller?
Optimism.
Who was the first person you told when you learned you got into the Sundance Film Festival?
I called my producer Joe Pirro, but he was watching Wicked.
What’s your favorite film that has come from the Sundance Institute or Festival?
Todd Haynes’ Poison.
Tell us about your history with Sundance Institute. When was the first time you engaged with us? Why did you want your film to premiere/screen with us?
I screened my short film Dol (First Birthday) at Sundance in 2012, my feature Spa Night in 2016, and an episodic project This Close, created by Shoshannah Stern and Josh Feldman, in 2018. Sundance was the first place where I felt I could make this passion of mine a career, a livelihood. It feels so special to screen The Wedding Banquet — a film about life milestones — at Sundance, the site of many of my career milestones.
