Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels, Kill Bill, Presence, Rosemead) has boarded Reset, a sci-fi dramedy from writer-directors Celine Tien and Jerry Hsu, as executive producer.
Following its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, the short is now being developed as a feature film. Liu has signed on to executive produce both the feature and short film from production company SPL Max.
The short film, set in a near future, stars Olivia Liang (The CW’s Kung Fu) and Sam Song Li (Netflix’s The Brothers Sun). In a society where citizens are physically reset to six years old at the age of 65, Reset “follows a young woman who must care for her newly reset mother and find her estranged father before the state intervenes – only to discover that healing her family means reparenting the child her mother never had the chance to be,” reads a synopsis. “Inspired by the filmmakers’ families and their experiences with inherited trauma, the film explores intergenerational cycles through the lenses of karma and the psychology of empathy.”
“Supporting Reset has been a true joy,” said Liu. “Seeing such gifted filmmakers bring their vision to life is a powerful reminder that storytelling remains our most enduring form of art.”
Lucy Liu, courtesy of SPL Max
Tien and Hsu said: “Inspired by our families’ lived experiences, Reset became a way to examine the inheritance of trauma and empathy across generations. We wanted to ask the question: Do we ever really grow up?”
Julien Soros produced the short, with cinematography by Charles Xiuzhi Dong. Branton Choi, formerly of the Russo brothers’ AGBO, Eva Li Hsieh, Care.com founder Sheila Marcelo, Trip.com founder James Liang, and Adam Marcelo also served as executive producers.
The short was awarded the Silver Audience Award for best international short film at Fantasia. The feature adaptation of Reset is currently “in active development,” according to the creative team.
THR can also exclusively premiere the official teaser trailer for Reset. Watch it right here.