Lulu, a high-class prostitute living in Los Angeles, receives constant visits from her neighbor Julian, who insists she is his missing ex-girlfriend, Mei Mei. Convinced he is only inventing stories to seduce her, Lulu rejects him again and again—until loneliness softens her heart. Their fragile connection soon blurs the line between illusion and truth, revealing two souls trapped between love, loss, and mistaken identity.

“Mei Mei” is a Chinese-American short film directed by Xu Xiaoxi and written by Roberto F. Canuto & Xu Xiaoxi during their MFA studies at the New York Film Academy in Hollywood.

🎬 Year of Production: 2010 | Premiere: Slow Film International Film Festival (Hungary, 2010).

Shot on 16 mm film with the support of Kodak and CCI, the film blends Chinese sensitivity and American indie style to create a visually poetic meditation on desire, loneliness, and self-perception.

Exploring the inner life of an abused woman who reclaims control through her work, the story also mirrors the theme of duality: two women who look alike but whose contrasting experiences define their confidence and destiny. Subtle undertones between Lulu and her “special friend” Coco have led to the film’s inclusion in some LGBT events.

Premiering at the Slow Film International Film Festival (Hungary, 2010), Mei Mei earned also a nomination for Best Cinematography at the Kodak Scholarship Awards 2009, representing NYFA Hollywood.

🎥 Genre: Drama / Romance / LGBTIQ+
🕒 Runtime: 14 min
🌍 Language: English (with optional subtitles in Spanish, French, Italian and other languages)
📽️ Format: 16 mm Film / HD / DCP
🎵 Music: Andrea Centazzo
👥 Cast: Janet Chiarabaglio, Alex Best, Alexandra Smothers, Kjord Davis, Alexander Aguila, Gudmundur Luovik Porvaldsson, Miles Wood

🔗 Contact: [email protected]
🔗 Official Website: https://almostred.com/mei-mei/
🎞️ IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401185
🎬 TMDb: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/283674-mei-mei
📚 Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mei_Mei_(2009_film)
⭐ Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/mei-mei/
▶️ Trailer: https://youtu.be/gtBA_i5sujY

🎭 CAST (Reparto)
Janet Chiarabaglio — “Lulu / Mei Mei” (credited as Janet Chiara)
Alex Best — “Julian” (credited as Nima Dabestani)
Alexandra Smothers — “CoCo”
Kjord Davis — “Driver”
Alexander Aguila — “Client 1”
Gudmundur Luovik Þorvaldsson — “Client 2”
Miles Wood — “Client 3”

🎬 CREW (Equipo técnico)
Director — Xu Xiaoxi
Screenwriters — Roberto F. Canuto & Xu Xiaoxi
Producers — Marielvy D’Apollo & Ana Menendez
Director of Photography — Roberto F. Canuto
Assistant Director — Kazunori Morita
Executive Producer — Xu Xiaoxi
Editor — Roberto F. Canuto & Xu Xiaoxi
Music — Andrea Centazzo
Make-up Artist — Aman Mosafakhan
Sound — Christian Esteban
Gaffer — Ysidro J. Soré
Loader — Ysidro J. Soré
Colorist — Greg Kibler

Chinese-American short film, LGBTQ drama, queer romance, independent cinema Los Angeles, 16mm film, NYFA short film, identity and desire, poetic short film, loneliness and illusion, women’s stories in film, Asian American cinema, Roberto F. Canuto, Xu Xiaoxi, Andrea Centazzo music, indie film streaming, psychological romance short.