Lyrical short films with heartfelt tales of life, love, and loss are director Sean Wang’s bread and butter. His latest narrative short, Sunday, focuses on the dynamics between a young couple (Deepti Menon and Brandon Soo-Hoo) and who are enjoying a night out with a mutual friend (Nic Inglese). Against the moody backdrop of New York City at night, stilted laughter and questions that are left hanging point towards deeper emotions at play.

"The idea for Sunday initially came from observing the relationships around me,” says the director. “For those in relationships with non-US citizens, the reality of an expired visa was a catalyst for complicated conversations and difficult decisions. It was a highly emotional situation and shared experience for many people in my life—and then it happened to me.

At its core, Sunday is a story about two people caught at a crossroads, where the seams of their relationship are being frayed by elements outside of their control. With this film, I hoped to capture the feeling of uncertainty and quiet heartache in a way that feels honest and personal to my lived experience, set against the backdrop of one of the most romantic and melancholy cities in the world – New York City."

A Sundance Ignite Fellow and a 2021 ADC Young Gun, Wang draws inspiration from his anthology of childhood memories and coming-of-age experiences to convey universal emotions. In his New York Times-acquired short, H.A.G.S (Have a Good Summer), he stirs nostalgia by calling friends from his eighth-grade yearbook to ask how they felt as kids about the future. To follow up, Sean then elicits homesickness in 3,000, a documentary about his first year in New York, chronicled by voicemails left by his mom.

While he continues his rapid rise to becoming an internationally acclaimed director, Sean Wang reveals himself as a merchant of memories, selling bittersweet wares that stay with his audience long after the credits have stopped rolling.