The Conrad Boys
A Statement from Director Justin Lo
Unlike Charlie, the main character of The Conrad Boys, I don't happen to have a younger brother. I do, however, have a younger sister, and so the bond that can develop between siblings is not altogether unfamiliar to me. Considering Charlie's situation at the beginning of the film, it isn't hard to understand why he would set everything aside to take care of his brother, and this is the type of relationship I wanted to explore in The Conrad Boys.
At the same time, I knew I wanted there to be a strong love story element in the movie as well, something pulling Charlie in another direction. That's where Jordan comes in and really opens Charlie's mind to new possibilities for his life. And even though Charlie's still very dedicated to Ben, he finds himself drawn closer and closer to Jordan, which is where a lot of the conflict comes from.
With these two relationships in place, I set about writing the script for The Conrad Boys. My favorite types of films have always been intimate dramas that pack a lot of emotion, so I was more than happy to come up with a story that would fit into that company. It also struck me that there were very few intelligent feature-length dramas being made with a gay main character, so I was really excited to be making a contribution on that front as well.
Furthermore, I wanted to make a film where the main character happens to be gay and it's not made into a big deal. There are so many films in which a gay character must overcome negative feelings about his sexuality, and that's not the story I wanted to tell. If we had made the central romantic relationship of the movie straight rather than gay, very little of the story would have changed, and I'm quite pleased about that.
The Conrad Boys is also unique in that the two main characters are biracial: half-Chinese and half-Jewish. There are very few representations of biracial and Asian-Americans on the big screen, and I hope this film will be a small step towards more opportunities for minority groups in feature films.
Finally, The Conrad Boys is a story of firsts. It's a film about first love and how that can sort of save you and tear you up at the same time. It's also my My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who supported this project from the beginning and helped make the movie possible. And to the people who watch The Conrad Boys and take it into their hearts: This film is for you.
TheConradBoys.com