Tam is a lovely and talented Vietnamese-American manicurist, but she has never been able to fully connect with the men she dates. After taking a new position at the V.I.P. Nails salon, she does well at her job but doesn’t seem to fit in with the other girls, who gossip endlessly and insult the clueless white customers in Vietnamese. One day, Brendan, a car mechanic, enters nervously and asks Tam for a manicure, explaining that his cold, workaholic wife shies away from his perpetually soiled and greasy hands. When the tactic pays off, Brendan returns each day for the same treatment, plus more advice from Tam about romance. Brendan’s love life steadily improves, but soon it becomes apparent that his “appointments” have more to do with seeing Tam than getting his hands clean. Meanwhile, Tam struggles to communicate with her stern father, who has been confined to a wheelchair after a tragic accident. Throughout the film, first-time director Minh Duc Nguyen explores the various ways human touch can be interpreted: as a weakness, as a comfort, as a threat, as a transgression, and finally as a method of healing and reconciliation.
Admiral Theatre
2343 California Avenue Southwest
Seattle, WA 98116-2402
May 23, 2011 6:30 PM
Director Minh Duc Nguyen and actors Porter Lynn and Melinda Bennett are scheduled to attend May 23 screening
Director Biography
Minh Duc Nguyen studied film at the University of Southern California, where he received the Jeffrey Jones Scholarship for excellence in screenwriting. Touch is his feature length directorial debut.
Watch the trailer: http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=44480&FID=206
