Reddit mentions of The Aliens

My name is Byron Yee and I am (now officially) a filmmaker. I’m reaching out to the /r/AsianAmerican community for a little support. There are lots of us out there, trying to create stories with Asian American characters in substantial roles. We all know the atypical stereotypes that we see whenever an Asian face appears in most English language movies. I’ve never been one to complain too much about it as I’d rather actually do something than wait for something to happen. So I did.

I’ve been doing my own creative work for years. In the 90’s, I moved to San Francisco where I achieved a little bit of recognition as a stand-up comedian. There are still clips of me on Comedy Central out there on the interwebs. Margaret Cho and I did the same open mics and showcases and became and still remain friends. Myself, Margaret, Kevin Kataoka, and Kennedy Kabasares were the few Asian American comics working the Bay Area back then.

I did the proverbial one man show “Paper Son” about my growing up in Oklahoma, coming to the West Coast to do comedy but then discovering my father’s interrogation documents buried deep within the National Archives of the United States (Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 anyone?). I did that show for many years in the Canadian and US Fringe circuit as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and small theatre extended runs in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

I ended up in Los Angeles as you have to when pursuing creative adventures in film and television. Any of the Hollywood horror stories about auditioning and roles offered are absolutely true. I’ve done a little here and a little there. Nothing memorable.

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to have saved a few bucks and I helped my friends on their projects. On one of them, we ended up at Sundance and I was Executive Producer of “Bellflower” in 2011 which went on to worldwide distribution, two Independent Spirit Award nominations as well as several “Best Films of the Year” lists.

My friends taught me that I didn’t have anymore excuses and that I should go out and make a film with whatever resources I had. And that’s what happened.

With that, I’d ask you to take a chance and watch the film. And if you connect with the story to perhaps tell someone you know that might like it. Today is the first day that it has been released into the world and if enough people respond to it then perhaps others will find it. I’ve had practically no publicity generated by the distributor so I need to do what I can to get the word out.

Happy to answer any questions. Thanks for your consideration. You can find the trailer at the various links.

Amazon Video link: https://www.amazon.com/Aliens-Byron-Yee/dp/B07CCGFTQ4/

iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-aliens/id1359571476

Also on Google Play, Cable VOD, etc.

Only interview I’ve done:

https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2017/05/17/interview-with-byron-yee-filmmaker-of-the-aliens/