A STORY SHE TOLD
Vivian Ip
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LOGLINE
Drama Short Film
The return of an old love quietly fractures a filmmaker’s celebratory night, as a private past begins to reveal itself in the story she chose to tell.
SYNOPSIS
Set over the course of a single night, Leah celebrates the success of her latest short film and appears to have everything under control. But when Iris, a former love she has not seen since their quiet breakup, arrives to collect a box of forgotten belongings, the carefully curated evening begins to fracture. As the film plays, what was once hidden between them has been transformed into art and shared with the world. Iris recognizes fragments of their shared past woven into the work, forcing both women to confront a relationship that existed only in secret.
A Story She Told is an intimate queer drama that delves into memory, loving someone imperfectly, and the complicated ways we preserve the people we cannot keep. It is about the stories we tell others to avoid telling the truth about ourselves, and the feelings that can find expression through art long before they can be spoken aloud.
WRITER / DIRECTOR ARTISTIC STATEMENT
I have lived in environments where it was rare to speak openly and directly about feelings. Love was often expressed indirectly, through acts of care, obligation, sacrifice, or simply by being present. The things that mattered most were not always the things that were said. Over time, I became interested in what happens when emotions are displaced into other forms, whether memory, ritual, or art.
A Story She Told emerged from that curiosity. At its heart, the film explores the gap between feeling something deeply and knowing how to express it. It is interested in the ways we can fail the people we love while still loving them, and how hindsight often grants a clarity that was unavailable in the moment. Through an intimate and emotionally restrained lens, I hope to explore the tension between what we feel and what we reveal, and the traces people leave behind long after they have left our lives.
LOOKBOOK
Vivian Ip, Writer and Director.
Originally from Singapore, Vivian Ip is a writer-director based in Los Angeles. Her work explores the human condition and centers underrepresented voices, often drawing from personal memory, identity, and displacement. Her narrative short films include An Island Drifts (Urbanworld, Dances with Films), At the Water’s Edge (San Diego Comic-Con, NewFilmmakers LA), and Bobo in Bliss (Los Angeles Asian Pacific, QFest St. Louis). Her work has also been supported by various organisations such as ARRI, Ghetto Film School, and the University of Southern California (USC), where she received Best Director and Best Drama at USC’s First Look Awards in 2022. In addition to her filmmaking practice, Vivian has directed commercial and branded content for clients including TikTok, TCL Electronics, and for Red Bull, she directed the documentary short The Smart Diver (Indy Shorts, Florida Film Festival). She holds an L.L.B. with Honours from Durham University and an M.F.A. in Film and Television Production from USC. Vivian is a member of BAFTA Connect and is licensed to practice law in both Singapore and California, though she feels most at home on set.
Dingding Hu, Producer.
Dingding Hu is a Los Angeles-based international producer whose work spans award-winning independent films, commercially successful micro-dramas, and social impact storytelling initiatives. She has contributed to projects recognized by Cinequest Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, and BronzeLens Film Festival, while also producing digital content for global audiences. In addition to her film work, she is involved in nonprofit arts initiatives through NOMOREHURT Foundation, supporting projects that use storytelling and the arts to foster healing, connection, and positive social impact. She believes in the power of storytelling and the arts to inspire healing, spark meaningful conversations, and create lasting human connection.
Arlene Muller, Cinematographer.
Arlene Muller is a New York-born cinematographer who embraces honesty, spontaneity and idiosyncrasy, and seeks to push the boundaries of conventional filmmaking through exploration and experimentation. Her feature Ride or Die (dir. Josalynn Smith) had its Tribeca premiere last spring. Her previous feature Stress Positions was produced by Neon and had its premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. In 2022, she shot two Critic’s Choice-nominated comedy specials, A24/Peacock’s Would It Kill You To Laugh? and Netflix’s Joel Kim Booster: Psychosexual. The same year, her episodic pilot, My Trip To Spain (dir. Theda Hammel) screened at the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals alongside two other shorts, You've Never Been Completely Honest (dir. Joey Izzo) and Training Wheels (dir. Alison Rich). Arlene holds an M.F.A. in Cinematography from the American Film Institute and a B.A. from the National Film School of Poland in Lodz. She is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) and is fluent in Spanish.
Minolae Jain, Production Designer.
Minolae Jain is a Los Angeles-based production designer and Assistant Art Director who quite literally builds worlds for a living. Originally from India, she blends a global perspective with a background in science and design, proof that she’s equal parts creative and analytical. From indie films to major productions (including work with Mattel and TV like Home Economics), Minolae thrives on turning blank spaces into visually rich stories. She’s known for her sharp eye, problem-solving instincts, and the kind of attention to detail that makes a set feel truly alive. When she’s not designing for the screen, one will likely find her drinking chai and chasing good food, a great film, or her next creative spark.
Mengyao Mia Zhang, Editor.
Mengyao Mia Zhang is a film editor known for Smoking Tigers (Tribeca, HBO Max), Only The Good Survive (SXSW), Gyopo (ACE Eddie Awards Best Edited Short nominee), Ancestress (Björk), among many others. Mia is an ACE affiliate member, Motion Picture Editors Guild member, BAFTA connect member, and Television Academy national associate member. After earning her M.F.A. in Editing from AFI, she was selected for Film Independent Project Involve. In 2024, she was selected by Berlinale Talents as one of the nine editors worldwide, and the only one from the US. Mia also serves on the ACE Blue Ribbon Committee and has served as a judge for the Daytime Emmys and the News & Documentary Emmys.
Cabba Jiaxuan Cai, Re-recording Mixer.
Cabba Jiaxuan Cai is a sound designer from Hunan, China, who divides her time between China and Los Angeles. A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy and USC’s M.F.A. Film & Television Production program, she has worked across award-winning films, television series, commercials, and games. Her projects have screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals and been featured in publications including IndieWire, Deadline, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, and The New Yorker.
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