As a first-generation immigrant, I’ve learned to measure time differently: in visa dates, in time zones, in the months between flights home. Gaa Ghar (Home) is the story of Zhuolin Hong and me. He came here from China as I came from India, and we met in 2024 while working in film in Los Angeles, before moving to Seattle. Our friendship grew into love just as the date on my visa drew near.

We wanted to tell our love story on that clock, because it changes how people love. When you know a goodbye is coming, you hold on to the small things: a half-packed suitcase, morning light across a pillow, laughter through a lit window at night. That is why our film moves backward. It is how memory behaves when something is ending.