Logline

A teenage ballerina’s self-image shatters after her teacher’s remarks ignite an eating disorder, causing a rift with her Chinese mother and ailing grandmother, whose expressions of love through food become a source of tension.

Synopsis

Little Daughter is an upcoming coming-of-age feature film by Alexia Xin-Xin Towle, starring Rosalind Chao (Three Body Problem on Netflix, Joy Luck Club) and Oona Yaffe (Brothers on Apple TV).

Elise, a teenage ballerina living an idyllic suburban life, is pushed toward an eating disorder under the relentless pressure of her dance company's director, Ms. Anna. As Elise spirals deeper into her struggle, her Chinese single mother, Olivia, and grandmother, Mei-Yi, struggle to understand the battle she is fighting, expressing their love in the only way they know how: through food. Meanwhile, Elise watches her best friend, Avery, rise through the ranks to dance the lead in Coppélia, fueling her own insecurities, jealousy, and growing isolation. As Mei-Yi's health declines, Elise's relationship with her body deteriorates, and Olivia attempts to take care of them both, mother and daughter are forced to confront the fractures in their relationship and the sacrifices that have shaped them both.

Director’s Note

We're living through an era of Ozempic, where women's bodies are shrinking at an alarming rate. As a teenager, I struggled with my body and eating because of what I saw on my phone and what was instilled in me as a ballerina. I was lucky - my mother never let that struggle define my worth, despite our cultural and generational differences. Like many immigrant families, food is how my family says what words can't. But when I was struggling most, that love became hard to accept. That tension between food as an act of love and the pressures that turn girls against their own bodies is the heart of Little Daughter. This film is a dedication to immigrant families who go above and beyond for their children, and to girls who don't feel at home in their own bodies. It is about growing up within yourself, your family, and your world: about saying goodbye, and about coming home to a warm meal.

Director Bio

Alexia Xin-Xin Towle is a biracial Chinese-American filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. In 2023, she graduated from New York University studying Film and Television at Tisch School of the Arts. Her background in fine arts and art history inspires her filmmaking practice. She aspires to tell captivating, complex stories about powerful women, ancient folklore, scandalous history, and inner contemplation. When not writing and directing, Alexia works in production design.

Producers

Alan He: A NY-based writer, director, and producer with years of experience across narrative, commercial, and music-video work. Alan's projects have screened at the San Diego International Film Festival and the Boston and Philadelphia Asian American Film Festivals and won an NFFTY audience award and first place at First Run Film Festival.

Makayla Leilua: Makayla produces across multiple mediums while serving as Executive Assistant to the President of Non-Scripted Content & Fashion at WME. She was previously EA to Academy Award–winning directors Sean and Andrea Nix Fine at Change Content, where she helped manage Screen It Forward, an impact campaign for the A24 film The Sixth.

Oona Yaffe (Lead/Producer): Oona Yaffe stars in the upcoming Apple TV series Brothers alongside Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, and is currently a student at Harvard University, studying Philosophy and English. She is based between Los Angeles and New York. She previously acted in ‘Before You Know It’ by Hannah Utt, which premiered at Sundance, as well as ‘Normal With A Capital N’ by Aiko Lozar, which is beginning its festival run this year. She previously produced the short film ‘Is That A Mirage?’ by Grace Shi.