Boost ‘Beast Mode’

This news piece contains references to sexual abuse and violence. Please proceed with care.

DEGANZ member Chye-Ling Huang is seeking support on Boosted for her latest project, Beast Mode.

The short film was filmed in December 2024 with funding from NZFC and Script to Screen’s Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts programme. Now, the team are crowdfunding to finish post-production.

Beast Mode is a psychological drama, following a repressed sexual assault survivor, Sing (Nikita Tu-Bryant). On a drunken night out, she savagely attacks an innocent man (James Sexton), pushing her to face the energy of trauma that lives within her body.

The team hopes that this film will encourage more healing conversations within Asian communities, where sexual assault is not openly discussed due to the stigma surrounding sexuality and shame experienced by victims. They also hope that those who have experienced assault feel seen and heard in a non-traumatic way.

Writer/director Chye-Ling shares,

This is a story for those who know that the shades beyond that moment are deeper, weirder and much more confusing.

This film is also for those who want to understand more and I think we’ve done a pretty damn good job at capturing how it feels; a strange, satisfying, badass film with an imperfect heroine at the centre.

You can learn more about Beast Mode and support the team on their Boosted page.

Last updated on 27 February 2025