Rob Munday

There are moments in life that have the potential to change everything, but how they shape us often depends on how we respond to them. For actor and filmmaker Nathan Xia, that moment came when he narrowly missed out on what he describes as “a major blockbuster film”. Rather than dwelling on the disappointment, he channelled the experience into creating Flavor of the Month, a dark comedy short that explores what he calls “the absurdities of representation politics in modern-day Hollywood.”

Reflecting on that near miss, Xia admits that although he’d always been a vocal advocate for “Asian American representation”, he found himself thinking that, after working so hard, he somehow deserved the role more than anyone else. Initially devastated, he quickly recognised that mindset wasn’t helpful – to himself or to others – and so swiftly replaced it with one of gratitude. A perspective that feels genuine when speaking to Xia, whose warmth and passion come across just as strongly as the self-awareness that inspired the film.

Xia (L) as Harrison Huang in Flavor of the Month

It’s that same energy that makes Xia the perfect person to play the lead, Harrison Huang, in Flavor of the Month. The role demands a delicate balancing act: Harrison is simultaneously ambitious, quietly insecure, overconfident and emotionally exhausted. Xia navigates those contradictions with impressive control, delivering a performance that allows the comedy and the underlying sadness to coexist without either undermining the other.

In fact, balance is where Flavor of the Month truly excels. It finds a confident equilibrium between drama and comedy, maintaining a lightness of touch that makes the film wildly entertaining and satisfyingly funny – an apt approach for a story set within the absurdities of modern Hollywood. Yet that humour never comes at the expense of the film’s ideas. Instead, it creates space for Xia to explore themes of “performative activism, virtue signaling, and internalized racial inferiority” with surprising nuance. The result is a short that’s immensely enjoyable in the moment, but one whose questions linger long after it’s over – a potent combination.

With Flavor of the Month marking Xia’s 13th film as a director in just seven years, it’s clear he’s determined to forge his own path, whether Hollywood wants to open a door or not. Now developing his debut feature – an adaptation of his earlier short Adam’s Song – he’s certainly showing no signs of slowing down either. If Flavor of the Month is any indication of where his filmmaking is headed, we’re confident you won’t be hearing the name Nathan Xia for the last time.