Cut Sleeve Boys

Cut Sleeve Boys (2005) is the first feature written, produced and directed by Ray Yeung. The comedy follows the lives of two gay Asian best friends Mel (Steven Lim) and Ash (Chowee Leow) as they negotiate the gay scene of London.

Plot
Mel and Ash are two British Chinese gay men who were at college together. After attending the funeral of a long lost friend, Gavin, a closet case from their university days, they start examining their lives. Mel, an aging muscle boy who wants to stay in the scene and party forever, rejects the love of Todd, because he thinks Todd is too provincial and not sophisticated enough for the metropolitan lifestyle. Ash is unable to find a boyfriend, because he is considered too effeminate for the “macho” gay scene. Following a chance encounter with Diane, a transsexual from their college days with a straight-acting lover, Ross, Ash decides to try cross-dressing. To his surprise, Ash finds that, in the West, an Asian woman is considered far more desirable than an Asian man. Cut Sleeve Boys is a quirky satire on the gay scene's obsession with masculinity. It is a journey of self discovery for the two British Chinese protagonists, both having abandoned their individual identities in order to fit in.