F*CK FEELINGS follows a talented painter preparing for her huge debut at an art gallery, only to be welcomed by a dark past that she fought hard to forget. Linh is a healthy and successful 26 year old who is forced to face her past traumas when she learns her ex-abuser got engaged. As she spirals and reaches her breaking point, she struggles to rely on her best friends and loving boyfriend for support. F*CK FEELINGS paints the importance of consent and that healing is not linear.

Director Biography - Samantha K Tan

SAMANTHA K. TAN makes her directorial debut with her short film, F*CK FEELINGS, which premiered at the Academy Award and BAFTA Qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival in July 2025. Her professional work consists of working at Max as a Line Producer’s Assistant, co-writing and producing Megan Lee’s En Pointe, and producing Hansen Bursic's documentary called Trans Heaven, Pennsylvania, which was sponsored by Outfest and Traverse32. Not only has her dramedy series, Ambitious, got accepted into the 2022 Sundance and The Asian American Foundation Fellowship & Scholarship program, but she also co-produced an animated short called Tree’s Blood, starring Ayo Edebiri and Rose Byrne, that partnered with Paramount Nickelodeon Animation and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. This Reel Start animated short film won Gold in the 2024 Anthem Awards. Another animated short she co-produced with Reel Start and Paramount Nickelodeon Animation, called Peppermint Spiral, also premiered at TIFF Lightbox in July 2024. As a Vietnamese-Chinese-American filmmaker, Samantha is extremely excited to share more diverse and thought provoking narratives on and off screen.

Director Statement

No matter what I’m watching, whether it’s films, television, or online content, I notice a lack of accurate representation of SA survivors. More often than not, it’s portrayed as something anyone can get over in a couple days rather than a serious traumatic event that takes continuous healing. And even then, healing is not linear.

I’ve personally witnessed a lot of loving, beautiful individuals who share these devastating experiences. I’ve watched the journeys they have taken and thought to myself why aren’t these the stories we’re told.

I wrote F*CK FEELINGS for all the people out there who have struggled with PTSD and sexual trauma. By sprinkling in the love and warmth from friendships and good support systems into the short film, I wanted to bring power and light back into these individuals. This short is for the survivors. Letting them and their loved ones know that it’s ok to be vulnerable, to be angry, to break things, and to cry because they have the right to.