Director Constance Tsang made a movie about two women who work hard in a massage parlor. She used her experiences growing up in Queens and stories from the Asian community in Flushing to create it.
The movie Blue Sun Palace is about Amy and Didi, who work in a massage parlor in Flushing, Queens. They struggle to make a living. But the movie doesn’t show big shots of the city. Instead, it focuses on small spaces like hallways and stairs, where the characters feel trapped.
Amy and Didi dream of a better life but feel stuck because of their community’s ways.
Tsang says she didn’t show big shots of the city to make viewers feel the same way the characters do—trapped. She thinks the Chinese community in America can be closed off and not open to outsiders.
Tsang also wanted to show the hard work immigrants like Amy and Didi do, both physically and emotionally. Her experiences inspired her like her mom managing properties with massage parlors as tenants.
While writing the script, Tsang was also influenced by actual events, like the COVID-19 pandemic and hate crimes against Asians. She was particularly moved by the story of a woman who died during a police raid on a massage parlor in Flushing.
Tsang worked with experts on human trafficking who shared stories of women who were trafficked and didn’t even know it. She hopes the movie helps people see the humanity in characters like Amy and Didi and understand their struggles and joys.