Synopsis

Lunchbox is a dramatic, three-part, coming-of-age short about regret, healing, and honoring the people we love.  Using her deceased immigrant mother’s recipe book, Taiwanese American Shirley makes zongzi, turnip cake, and hand-pulled noodles. As she cooks, each dish evokes a childhood memory in which she grows progressively older and more distant from her Taiwanese culture and mother.  When Shirley’s assimilation efforts culminate in her election to the Homecoming Court, a mistake by Shirley’s mother humiliates her, eliciting cruel words Shirley can never take back.  Based on a true story, this retelling examines the personal cost of fitting in as well as the recovery from cultural and familial loss.