Ramen Western

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Mabel is a young Chinese American girl living in Chicago’s Chinatown. Unsure of what to write in her “What the American West Means to Me” paper, she sets off on a train with a bowl of sentient ramen to find answers. She traverses through the Rocky Mountains, abandoned ghost towns, until finally arriving in California, only to discover that her ancestors never left. On a journey beyond their wildest dreams, Mabel and her ramen sidekick reimagine what the American West means to them.

Meloddy Gao is a Chinese American filmmaker, multimedia artist, and community organizer. Originally from Indiana, her work is shaped by her experiences growing up as the child of immigrants in the midwest suburbs. She is a 2025-2026 Visual Communications’ Armed with a Camera Fellow, where she is directing an animated film titled RAMEN WESTERN. Meloddy’s first film, SWIMMING LESSONS, a documentary about her family’s lost goodbyes, is currently in the festival circuit.

Producers: Meloddy Gao, Hayden Chau

Writer: Meloddy Gao

Storyboard Artist: Amy Boisvert

Character and Prop Design: Ares Cheng, Irene Liu, Chiu Yi

Color Designer: Kristen Wang

Additional Prop Design: Megan Chen

Background Artists: Megan Alexandra, Rania Abdallah, Taylor De Nobrega, Steven Huang, Ellen Lee, Vivian Ngai, Zaza Tran

2D Rough Animation: Schantelle Alonzo, Amy Boisvert, Ares Cheng, Holly Cheung, Risa Cohen, Ulysse Hervier, Kim Nguyen, Erik Ruiz Cerecedo, Kyousuke Shimazaki, Claire Seckler Sun, Cat Song, Saki Tanaka

Color/Clean-Up Artists: Micah Blankenship, Hayden Caico, Risa Cohen, Naomie Contreras, Zoe Doyle, Abigail “Abby” Flores Garduño, Miranda “Misa” Isabelle Flores Monroy, Ellie Horst, Casey Nhi Le, Daniela Loeza, Katelyn Miller, Kristine Parungao, Taryn J. Porter, Rohan Maryam Syed, Kaitlyn “Skye” Tacchino, Saki Tanaka, Maria “Majo” Jose Vidal

Compositing: Karry Lee, Amanda Oesef

Music By: Angela Hsieh

Score Mix and Mastering Engineer: Morgan Whitney

Sound Mix and Design: Rita Carmona

Vocal Performance and Vocal Recording By: Carina Ho, Matthew Torres, Morgan Whitney

Plays in

Shorts: Armed with a Camera

Armed with curiosity, these filmmakers turn the camera into a tool for uncovering family histories, cultural legacies, and the search for belonging.