Multi Mia: Mia Riverton had a great time producing the acclaimed Asian-American romantic comedy Red Doors--and playing a sexy lesbian celebrity on-screen.

Last summer Alice Wu kicked open the celluloid closet door for Chinese-American lesbians with her Woody Allen--esque romantic comedy Saving Face, about the burgeoning relationship between an endearingly neurotic female doctor and her boss's self-assured, beautiful ballerina daughter. In September, first-time feature director Georgia Lee makes sure that door stays wide-open with the theatrical release of Red Doors, a mordantly funny and touching ensemble family drama that premiered in 2005 at the Tribeca Film Festival and made an award-winning tour of the film festival circuit last year. It picked up Best Narrative Feature at Tribeca; an Audience Award for First Narrative Feature and a Grand Jury Award for Screenwriting from Los Angeles's Outfest; and a Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting from CineVegas, earning it a distribution deal with Polychrome Pictures.

Red Doors is coproduced by Lee's old college pals Jane Chen and Mia Riverton, and Riverton also costars in the film. The semiautobiographical tale gives us a glimpse into the lives of the Wongs, a Chinese-American family whose idyllic suburban existence belies the quiet drama roiling inside each of them. The recently retired father, Ed (Tzi Ma), is suicidal but can't find the privacy to succeed in his quest for a peaceful death. The eldest daughter, highly ambitious business executive Samantha (Jacqueline Kim), shares an opulent if predictable life with her fiance, Mark (Jayce Bartok), which gets shaken up by a reunion with her old boyfriend. Youngest daughter Katie (Kathy Shao-Lin Lee, the filmmaker's sister), a hip-hop dancer who inherited her father's morbid disposition, is engaged in an explosive flirtation with the boy next door. And Julie (Elaine Kao), the middle daughter, a shy medical resident, is falling madly in love with gorgeous movie star Mia Scarlett (Riverton), who is researching a role at her hospital.

"One of the things I love about this movie is that it isn't a coming-out story, even in the context of this very conservative Asian-American family," explains Riverton, who hates labels but when pressed identifies as "multisexual." "Julie's lesbianism and indeed their evolving relationship is presented as a matter of fact." Riverton, a Los Angeles--based actor, says she got her two college friends--who'd collaborated on the award-winning short film Educated--to quit their day jobs on Wall Street to make a feature film. "Georgia had apprenticed with Martin Scorsese on Gangs of New York, and he was her creative mentor for her short films," says Riverton. "She had all the momentum you really need to get started. It was just a matter of someone like me saying, 'Hey, let's take a jump in the water!'"

Lee wrote the screenplay, but Riverton says the screenwriter let her and Chen participate in the writing process. "Georgia is really collaborative within relationships that she trusts, so Jane and I had a lot of input about how to shape the screenplay." Originally the story focused on Samantha, but Chen and Riverton felt the other family members had rich lives worth exploring, so they evolved it into an ensemble piece. Lee, Chen, and Riverton felt they had a lot of stories to tell: All three women are children of Chinese scientists and were raised in American suburbia. "We were goody-two-shoe little Asian girls growing up. We all went to Harvard. I think we're drawn to each other because of that. That's how we hooked up," says Riverton.

The creative chemistry among the women (and indeed, that of the stellar cast) has proven to be magical: In addition to their awards, Red Doors has been universally lauded by critics, who got an early look at the festivals. "We keep knocking on wood, wondering when someone is going to knock us off our pedestal," says Riverton with a laugh. "We hope to ride that positive momentum through the theatrical release of the film."

Perhaps the most gratifying praise comes from Riverton's parents, whom she describes as "conservative and pragmatic" but who "have always given unconditional support to everything I've done, albeit with some resistance." The couple has traveled to film festivals around the country to support Red Doors. "They are very proud of the movie, and they are proud of me."

Bolonik is author of The L Word: Welcome to Our Planet, the official Showtime companion book to the series.