A LAMBDA Award winner returns with a darkly funny and emotionally raw exploration of friendship, identity, and unraveling under pressure.
We arrive at the wreckage—a restaurant reduced to rubble under the sweltering haze of a Montreal heatwave. Tables overturned, dishes shattered, and at the center of it all stands Cannon, sweat-slicked and shell-shocked. She was supposed to be closing up for the night. Instead, she destroyed the place.
It’s the kind of chaotic aftermath that wouldn’t be out of place in one of the obscure Australian horror films she watches with her best friend Trish during their weekly hangouts. These ritual dinners and deep-cut horror screenings have long been the glue binding them together—two queer, second-generation Chinese girls who clung to each other through their suburban high school years. But now, well into their twenties, that bond is beginning to fray under the weight of adulthood, old wounds, and uncertain futures.
In Cannon, Lee Lai—acclaimed author of the award-winning graphic novel Stone Fruit—delivers a vivid, poignant follow-up that dives headfirst into mental health, intergenerational caregiving, and the messiness of queer friendship. With her signature blend of sharp humor and tender observation, Lai paints a portrait of a young woman cracking under the weight of an aging grandfather, an emotionally distant mother, and the slow, heartbreaking drift from the person who once meant everything to her.
Visually striking and emotionally resonant, Cannon is a stunning and unforgettable story of breakdowns, breakthroughs, and the fragile strength it takes to rebuild.