Synopsis
Aspiring Taiwanese artist Mia marries fellow artist Joe at Brooklyn’s Court House. Though hastened by Mia’s visa issues, they’re genuinely in love and committed to building a creative life together. While Mia works in art administration and develops hyper-realistic arts, Joe finds modest success in New York’s art world. Meanwhile, Mia’s aunt Lilian also immigrates to the U.S., marrying Richard and settling in rural town upstate New York.
When the two couples meet, tensions flare. Richard’s crude jokes and sexual boasting offend Mia and Joe. Mia feels embarrassed by her aunt’s limited English. Joe dismisses Richard as a “redneck,” while Mia fears her aunt is a mail-order bride. Mia embraces New York’s artistic freedom and becomes a hip Brooklynite. However, her career stalls as her projects are repeatedly rejected, while Joe is busy with his exhibitions and book publications. Mia gradually becomes his cheerleader and assistant. Losing sight of her artistic purpose, she grows increasingly depressed and disconnected from her identity. Unable to understand her struggles, Joe grows distant and they separate.
Returning to Taiwan to reconnect with her roots, Mia discovers she’s now perceived as American. The alienation intensifies as she witnesses troubling changes due to escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait. On the flight back to New York, Mia dreams of her increasingly blurred identity in the form of a hyper-realistic animation. Mia and Joe file for divorce at the same Brooklyn courthouse where they married—a surreal, emotional process that forces Mia to confront her new identity. She turns to her art for healing.
Alone at Christmas, Mia visits her only family in America—Lilian and Richard. The rural winter landscape offers a new perspective. During a difficult hike, she witnesses Richard’s surprising dependability. Later, over a drunken karaoke, the women share their marital experiences. Lilian reveals the discrimination she endured from Richard’s family and the townies and how Richard’s protection and her perseverance ultimately prevailed. Their bond sustains despite their differences. Lillian’s English remains broken, but Mia sees her strength. On the departing bus, Mia waves goodbye to Lilian and Richard—her heart full of newfound courage.
Months later, Mia debuts her first solo exhibition exploring immigrant experience through hyper-realistic art, including a piece inspired by Lilian, entitled “American Wife.”
Key Personnel
Sen-I Yu
Screenwriter, Director
Sen-I Yu is a New York based, award-winning filmmaker originally from Taiwan. She has directed a wide range of productions, including narrative short films, feature film and short documentaries. Her feature film directorial debut “MY HEAVENLY CITY” garnered international recognition, including a NETPAC Award nomination at the 43rd Hawaii International Film Festival, Best Picture and IndiePix Vision Award at the 2025 Winter Film Festival, and Best Narrative Feature at the 2024 UFVA Film Festival, among others. The film secured worldwide theatrical distribution in 2023 throughout Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, meanwhile with limited releases in North America and the UK. Critics praised the work, with The Guardian calling it a “fresh, thoughtful take on immigrant experience, Sen-I Yu’s sympathetic and humane film traces three loosely woven stories of people dealing with loneliness and stress in New York City…” MovieWeb.com hailed it as “an authentic exploration into immigrant life in New York City.”
“MY HEAVENLY CITY” was developed from Sen-I’s short film of the same title which was a winner of the 2020 NYC Women’s Fund.
Her earlier short film “ACUPUNCTURE GIRL” was a Student Academy Award Regional Finalist and a Wasserman Award Semi-finalist for Best Direction. Film festivals include the Asian American International Film Festival, Busan Asian Short Film Festival in Korea, Taipei Women Makes Waves Film Festival.
Sen-I’s feature screenplay, “MY BEAUTY QUEEN MOM,” won the 2015 HAF/Fox Film Development Award, a Screenplay Development Grant from Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture and a Bronze Award at the “Film Taipei” screenplay competition. Another screenplay “CALIFORNIA MOMMY” was a 2018 SFFILM Rainin Grant Finalist.
She is an alumna of the NYU Tisch Graduate Film Program with an MFA degree.
Joyce Yueyi Xing
Producer
Born and raised in Hangzhou, China, Joyce Yueyi Xing is a creative producer now based in New York and Hangzhou. She has an MFA in Film Creative Producing from Columbia University and a BS in Neuroscience from UCLA. Her earlier producing works have been selected by the Atlanta Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, and many other Academy-qualifying festivals, and supported by NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre. Produced fashion films have been selected by SHOW studio, VOGUE film, NOWNESS China, and Fashion Film Festival Milano. Feature film My Heavenly City is featured in 2023 Hawaiian International Film Festival and nominated for NETPAC award. https://www.joycexing.com/film
Yi-Fen Tsai
Co-Producer
Tsai is a director, producer and an experienced screenwriter who is also the founder and CEO of Even Pictures. Her short film “The Luggage“ won the Best Fantastic Genre Short Film Award of Sitges 2020, and was selected to an entry of 2021 Academy Awards for Live Action Short Film. She produced and directed telemovie “Kill for Love” which won the ContentAsia Awards and Asian Academy Creative Awards in 2021 and was nominated for Golden Bell Awards. Other works were selected to major film festivals such as Berlinale Generation, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, Taipei Film Festival, Golden Bell Awards and Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.
Tsai’s latest producing directing work “Haunted House for sale” is currently airing on seven major platforms, debuted on Netflix and ranked second in the weekly chart in the first week. The latest screenwriting work “Who is the Victim II” is also showing on Netflix, ranked first in the weekly chart in the first week.
She also served as a screenwriter for the Netflix Original Chinese-language series “The Ghost Bride.”
