Writer and Director Barney Cheng bring us a delightful film about acceptance and love with  ‘Baby Steps’. Barney who also stars in the film plays Danny who longs to have baby with his American boyfriend Tate(played by Michael Adam Hamilton) but things do not go as planned because Danny’s mom played by Grace Guei wants to be involved in every aspect of the process.

Grace Guei does a brilliant job playing the mom who cannot her accept her son’s sexuality yet wishes desperately for a grandchild. She bullies her other son(who is straight) to pick the right wife; one who is smart, comes from a good family and pretty because it’s all about making sure the gene pool is right.

Grace Guei (left) and Barney Cheng (right) in BABY STEPS – Courtesy of Gravitas Ventures

Throughout the film we see Grace hiding Danny’s sexuality from friends and family members at dinners and functions. She struggles with acknowledging Tate and his love for Danny. One can feel her pain and disappointment yet you know and can feel the love  she has for Danny. It was such a pleasure watching her go between pride, shame,love and her journey to acceptance.

Deciding to be a parent is not an easy task  and Danny and Tate each struggle with their own questions and insecurities in a society that still has judgements and discrimination against same sex couples. Let us hope with a film like ‘Baby Steps’ we leave with a little more love and compassion in our hearts for others whose lives and beliefs that may be different than our own.

Grace Guei in BABY STEPS – Courtesy of Gravitas Ventures

After a successful festival run, BABY STEPS opened theatrically throughout Asia, and caused social waves. In Taiwan, the film opened on Mother’s Day 2015, and was part of a national discussion on LGBT rights that helped propel Taiwan to legalize same-sex marriage in May 2017. Of worldwide significance, the U.S. State Department has hosted U.S. embassy screenings of BABY STEPS throughout Asia, including China, Mongolia, and Myanmar – to share the American value of LGBT equality around the globe.