The intricacies of a green card marriage are uncovered in romantic dramedy “Paper Marriage,” executive produced by the Duplass Brothers.
The indie feature is written and directed by Jeff Man, a longtime mentee of Jay Duplass. Man also leads the film as an unemployed man who agrees to marry a Chinese immigrant (Effy Han) facing deportation so she can stay in the U.S. Per the official synopsis, during the couples’ year-long charade, they tiptoe around each other’s differences. As quiet moments turn into clashes, they navigate through their awkwardness and are forced to learn to work together. This is Man’s feature directorial debut.
“Paper Marriage” will have its world premiere May 5 at the VC Film Fest/Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. The film is produced by Angela Park, with Duplass Brothers co-founders Mark Duplass, Mel Eslyn, and Jay Duplass executive producing.
The Duplass Brothers’ banner recently backed Eslyn’s Sundance-selected TV series “Penelope.” The entirely independently financed and produced series follows a teen (Megan Stott) who opts to live in the wilderness. Showrunner Eslyn made her directorial debut with “Biosphere” (starring, written by, and produced by Mark Duplass) in 2023. Eslyn is the longtime head of Duplass Brothers Productions, and was part of a discussion with IndieWire’s Crafts editor Chris O’Falt for a panel discussion in partnership with Adobe. The conversation focused on Eslyn and Duplass’ partnership behind projects such as HBO’s “Room 104,” “Somebody Somewhere,” Hulu’s “Sasquatch,” and new releases “Penelope” and “Paper Marriage.”
Writer/director/actor Man told Visual Communications that he was “super nervous” about helming his first film. “Just to bring it full circle to the whole thing about people helping you and giving you an opportunity, this one feels like the biggest challenge so far,” Man said. “But it’s nice to have people supporting you and believing in you by giving you this opportunity. On top of that, I’m making it with the people I want to have with me on this project. I hope I do right by all of them and make a good movie. Fingers crossed!”
“Paper Marriage” premieres May 5 at the VC Film Fest/Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution. Check out the trailer below.
