Lucy Liu is once again bringing us a powerful performance with Rosemead, a film that has been picked up by Vertical for a December theatrical release. The story follows a mother who begins to see troubling changes in her teenage son, opening the door to a deeper look at fear, love, and mental health.

Recently, the film gathered strong early interest after drawing a full audience at a special screening held at the Metreon in San Francisco. Hosted by Dave Lu, the event sparked conversations about topics often avoided in public spaces, especially within immigrant communities. 

With its growing list of festival honors, positive reviews, and a narrative inspired by real events, Rosemead is already being recognized as one of Liu’s most powerful and personal performances to date.

                                                                          Image Source: BBC

A Story Built on Fear and Family Pressure

At the heart of Rosemead is a mother who becomes concerned as her son’s behavior shifts in unsettling ways. What begins as quiet anxiety slowly grows into a frightening urgency as she realizes the situation may be more dangerous than she imagined.

As her fear rises, she faces the painful question of how far a parent can go to protect the child they love. The tension builds with each scene, making her inner struggle feel both real and universal.

The story takes place within a Chinese American household where cultural expectations and unspoken worries create additional layers of pressure. Lucy Liu captures these emotions with precision, while newcomer Lawrence Shou brings a raw, unpredictable intensity that deepens the film’s emotional impact.

                                                        Image Source: The Traveler’s Take

Building Momentum Through Festival Wins

Before reaching theaters, Rosemead had already made a strong impression on the festival circuit. Its premiere at Tribeca drew praise for its gripping approach to storytelling and its standout performances.

The film’s momentum continued as it won Best Narrative Feature at the Bentonville Film Festival, adding to its early recognition. It gained even more attention after earning the Prix du Public UBS audience award at the Locarno Film Festival.

During its time at Locarno, Lucy Liu also received a Career Achievement Award that highlighted her long-standing influence in the industry. Vertical’s Peter Jarowey praised her work for its emotional depth, while also recognizing director Eric Lin’s bold and confident vision in his feature debut.

                                                                     Image Source: Yahoo

A Strong Screening at the San Francisco Metreon

The event at the Metreon brought together creators, film lovers, and local community members for an open discussion about the upcoming release. The gathering served as a space for people to share expectations, explore the film’s themes, and talk about the real-life issues it aims to portray.

The audience noted how the film reflects real family struggles, especially those found in immigrant households. Its grounded approach to fear and uncertainty sparked discussions about mental health and cultural expectations.

After the screening, conversations centered on Liu’s controlled yet deeply affecting performance. Lawrence Shou also drew attention for his breakout role, adding to the anticipation for the film’s one-week run in selected theaters this December.

Experience the film in theaters and see why it’s already drawing strong early interest. Rosemead is set to premiere in select theaters on December 5, 2025 in New York City; December 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, and more cities to follow on January 9, 2026.

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Born and raised in Kauaʻi, Hawaii, Trysen Kaneshige never imagined that a series of brain injuries would redirect the course of his life. Art, which had once been a hobby, became his lifeline—a way to heal, process, and reconnect with the world around him.

What began as a personal form of therapy soon turned into a mission: to use creativity not only for his own recovery but to uplift his community and share stories that mattered.

As he experimented with murals, branding, and design, Trysen discovered that each project could bridge culture, healing, and connection in ways he had never anticipated. Through perseverance and collaboration, he began working with brands like Volcom, Olukai, and Soulection Radio, while also leading projects for schools, nonprofits, and community organizations across Hawaii.

From these experiences, Trysen founded Inspire To Create Media, a healing-centered creative agency that blends streetwear aesthetics, cultural storytelling, and design to create work that resonates far beyond the islands.

Finding Inspiration in Adversity

Trysen’s path to entrepreneurship was shaped by necessity and resilience. “I wasn’t able to work a regular job since I would have a lot of migraines or dealt with depression etc. It’s been challenging but I’ve learned to be resilient and not give up. What also inspired me was to create something for my community and for the next generation that is after me,” he recalls. The setbacks could have ended his creative ambitions, but Trysen chose to focus on what he could control: his art and his recovery.

Instead of succumbing to frustration, he saw opportunity in every challenge. He began creating small pieces, testing ideas, and using art as a method to regain focus, confidence, and purpose. These early efforts helped him realize that healing and creativity could coexist and even amplify one another.

What started as a personal journey of recovery soon became a mission to uplift others. Trysen wanted to leave something meaningful for his community and for the next generation, showing that creativity could transform not only individual lives but also the cultural landscape of Kauaʻi.

Overcoming Challenges Without a Safety Net

The road to building a creative business was far from smooth. Trysen faced difficult challenges that he considered walking away from everything, grappling with both the physical and emotional toll of head injuries. Each day was a battle between self-doubt, pain, and the desire to keep moving forward.

Beyond personal health struggles, he had no investors, no team, and no corporate backing. Every decision, every financial risk, and every project came solely from his determination and willingness to learn through trial and error. “If I had someone that saw what I was creating in the beginning, it would’ve been easier,” he admits.

Gratitude and persistence became his anchors. By embracing the lessons from failures and small victories alike, Trysen built a foundation that was resilient, flexible, and authentic. This mindset allowed him to continue pursuing his vision even when support was scarce and the path ahead was uncertain.

Turning Achievements Into Community Impact

Despite obstacles, Trysen’s journey is marked by achievements that combine personal growth with community recognition. He takes pride in consistently showing up, even on days when recovery felt impossible, and in taking creative risks that shaped the identity of his agency.

Inspire To Create Media has earned acknowledgment on multiple levels—from Proclamations by Mayor Derek Kawakami highlighting community murals and workshops to features in local newspapers chronicling his evolving projects. These recognitions validate his belief that creativity paired with purpose resonates far beyond personal satisfaction.

For Trysen, the real measure of success is impact. Each mural, logo, or art initiative tells a story and strengthens the connection between people and place, leaving a lasting mark on Kauaʻi’s cultural and creative landscape.

Building a Healing-Centered Creative Vision

At the heart of Inspire To Create Media is a philosophy that creativity can heal, connect, and inspire simultaneously. From large-scale murals to branding and apparel, every project is designed with intention, reflecting local culture while appealing to a global audience.

Trysen explains, “Art became my way to rebuild, reconnect, and serve. What began as personal recovery grew into a mission: to use art as a tool for transformation for myself, for my community, and for the next generation of island creatives.”

Today, Inspire To Create Media continues to expand its reach, bridging art, healing, and business. Trysen’s story proves that even the toughest setbacks can spark the most powerful creativity—turning personal recovery into a force that inspires communities, cultivates connection, and demonstrates that a small island studio can have a big global impact.

Follow Trysen’s journey:

📍 @trys.creates | @inspiretocreate.media

When Nisha Desai and Alice Zhang met at Harvard Business School, neither of them expected that a casual conversation about their frustrations with therapy would spark the idea for something much bigger.

As they juggled graduate school and their own mental health, they often felt therapy wasn’t built for people like them – they spent more time explaining their background to their therapists than actually healing. 

They realized it wasn’t just them – there’s a gap in mental healthcare that left many in the Asian and multicultural community feeling unseen and misunderstood.

That shared realization became the seed for Anise Health: a platform built to make therapy culturally attuned, accessible, and truly effective for the AAPI community.

A Problem They Both Knew Too Well

Before their paths crossed, both founders had already seen the same issue from different directions.

Nisha, who grew up in Florida in a family of healthcare entrepreneurs, had always been drawn to questions of access and equity in care. After studying finance and marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and earning her MBA from Harvard, she worked in healthcare investing and later in digital product management at Humana. It was there, while helping build a mental health app, that she started hearing a troubling pattern from thousands of users – the same barriers she had personally faced.

Nisha recalls that people weren’t saying therapy didn’t work. They were saying it didn’t fit, that they didn’t feel understood.

Alice, meanwhile, came to the same conclusion through her own deeply personal experiences. Born in China, raised across Japan and Canada, and now based in New York, she calls herself a “third culture kid.” Her multicultural background gave her adaptability, but also a sense of never fully belonging anywhere.

That feeling resurfaced when she sought therapy during business school. Despite being fluent in English, she found herself translating her own emotions for her therapist – explaining why criticism from parents felt like love, or why pursuing excellence felt non-negotiable.

Alice remembers feeling exhausted after each session, explaining her background again and again, and leaving each time feeling unseen.

Building a Culturally Grounded Model of Care

After that pivotal conversation at Harvard, the two women began mapping out what culturally attuned mental health care could look like. They spoke to clinicians, patients, payors and community leaders, testing how cultural nuance could be integrated into evidence-based therapy and coaching.

They envisioned a new kind of care model: one that didn’t require clients to educate their therapists or set aside their cultural identity at the door. Instead, therapy would start from a place of understanding.

“Alice and I really built Anise to be what we believe our community has needed during our upbringing. What we kind of wished for ourselves through our own personal journeys with therapy.”

But building what didn’t yet exist came with challenges. They had to prove — to investors, clinicians, and even the broader healthcare system — that cultural context wasn’t just a “nice to have,” but essential to effective care. Many mental health professionals hadn’t been trained to deliver culturally adaptive therapy, so Anise Health had to design that framework from the ground up: provider training programs, accurate diagnostic tools, tailored care plans, curated resources and a scalable model for personalized, culturally attuned care.

Their persistence paid off. What started as late-night brainstorming sessions between classes evolved into a fully fledged mental health platform that blends clinical rigor with cultural empathy.

Growing the Movement

Since its founding, Anise Health has facilitated over 10,000 paid appointments and built a network of 60+ licensed providers across multiple states. The company is now expanding through insurance partnerships that make culturally attuned care more affordable and accessible.

Behind the scenes, Nisha leads operations and product design, while Alice drives partnerships and provider training.

Their complementary strengths, coupled with a shared sense of purpose, have helped Anise Health raise $6.4 million in funding and gain recognition as one of the top 10 most innovative Asian Pacific-led companies to watch by NYSE, Y Combinator, and Gold House.

Redefining the Future of Mental Health for Asian Communities

For both founders, Anise Health’s success goes beyond numbers. It’s about shifting how mental health is understood and delivered, starting with a community that has long been underserved and stigmatized.

“Our goal isn’t just to make care available,” Nisha says. “It’s to make it effective, culturally relevant, and sustainable within the healthcare system.”

By creating a new gold standard of culturally attuned care, Nisha and Alice aren’t just helping Asian Americans access therapy that finally feels like it speaks their language – they’re reimagining what inclusive mental health care can look like for everyone.

Learn more about Anise Health at anisehealth.co