Dreams Unpainted [未绘之梦]


Texas Young Filmmaker Short Film, 11 minutes

Nominee: Best Texas Young Filmmaker Short Film

Synopsis:

A budding young artist's dreams clash with his Chinese immigrant mother's wishes; they later seek reconciliation.


Dilan Koganti

& Winston Lin

Bio:

Dilan Koganti and Winston Lin are high school juniors from Dallas, Texas, who found their passion for filmmaking through years of watching and discussing movies together after many late nights at the movie theater. Their love for film goes beyond momentary entertainment—they love film for its storytelling capability, visual beauty, social and political impact, and the emotions that great films can evoke like no other art medium. Dreams Unpainted is their first film, a reflection of their shared perspective, Asian-American identity, and passion for storytelling through film.

Director Statement

As two teenage Asian filmmakers from Dallas, Texas, we wanted to share a story that feels real—something that is both dearly personal and meaningful to us. Dreams Unpainted is not just about a deep passion for art, it’s a story about family, loving but sometimes misguided expectations, and the complicated space that's between love and misunderstanding. It’s a story about relentlessly chasing your dreams and passions even when some of the people closest to you can't believe in them.

As we’ve grown up, we’ve both felt parental pressure to be “practical,” to pursue a career path that’s safe, secure, and prosperous. However, at the same time, we also know too well what it’s like to harbor a passion that feels too important to ignore, and that we would regret not pursuing with all of our hearts. The main character, Alex, goes through a struggle that isn’t just about wanting to paint against the wishes of his mother—the real struggle is about finding his own life and proving that the pursuit of his own dreams is worth something more than his mother’s vision of material prosperity as success.

However, Jane, his mother, isn’t a villain—she’s scared for him. She loves her son, so she also fears what might happen if he fails. That emotional ebb and flow, that mix of love and uncertainty and doubt and fear is what makes their relationship so real and personal to us. As we developed this film, we recognized that Jane’s struggle is equally as important as Alex’s. It’s easy to see things in black and white, but real life has color.

We hope that Dreams Unpainted leaves its viewers thinking—not just about Alex and Jane, but about their own relationships with their loved ones, their own childhood dreams, and the things they’ve left unsaid.

— Dilan Koganti & Winston Lin