Review Fix Exclusive Queens World Film Festival Coverage: Patrick Chen Talks ‘The Last Tip’

Review Fix chats with “The Last Tip” writer/director/producer Patrick Chen, who discusses the motivation, creation process and goals for the film.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for your film?

Patrick Chen: Time. The restaurant that we filmed in has been established for many years in New York’s Chinatown. Many people, including myself has indulge the food at 69 Bayard. It’s pretty well-known. When news hit the streets that the restaurant was closing its door forever, I took the opportunity to write and direct a story that would pay homage to the restaurant and its loyal patrons. The inspiration was to capture the mood and experiences of patron eating at his local restaurant through fond memories.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself while making?

Chen: Every production is a learning experience. Something new always comes up and as a director you have to be confident to take on new challenges. The challenges was to camouflage ourselves without disturbing the business of the restaurant.

Review Fix: What was the most challenging part of making it?

Chen: We filmed on the last day of the restaurant closing night so we were on a time constraint. It was packed and super busy. I was worried about the manager or waiters kicking us out while shooting the film. We shot nearly 6 hours straight at the same table. It turned out that the manager and waiters were very supportive. Plus I had a great team to back me up and both actors, Geoff Lee and Celia Au were amazing to work with.

Review Fix: How do you want it to be remembered?

Chen: We don’t get to see much Asian Americans being portrayed on film. I want to be remembered as a writer/director that told good stories and gave Chinese-Americans a genuine voice and persona on screen.

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of the festival?

Chen: I was raised in Queens, New York so it great being a part of QWFF. It’s my third year with them, and witnessing the festival growth with Katha and Don is amazing. It’s almost having two wonderful parents or grandparents, pending on your age, supporting your work. Katha and Don have always encouraged me to go further with my talent. I was deeply humbled by the award they bestow to me for The Last Tip as Best Narrative Short Short of this year.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Chen: I have been fortunate to have The Last Tip being accepted to other film festivals, ie Los Angelas, DC, Boston and Canada, etc. It’s been well received by the Asian American community. I am in the midst of writing my feature at the moment. You can follow up on my work on Twitter @chenxihao

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Chen: Please support the arts and encourage those who want to strive from it.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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