Actor Lewis Tan has auctioned a limited print capturing a moment from his final day of filming Mortal Kombat in Adelaide, South Australia. The black & white image has been sold to raise funds for the AAPI Community fund and awareness for violence and discrimination against Asians in America.

The photographic print is titled "Baptism By Fire" and shows Lewis Tan entering the South Indian Ocean in the dark of midnight. The dramatic collectible has raised $543.85 on Rarible. The image can be seen below with Tan's own explanation.

This exclusive film print was taken in the South Indian Ocean, at midnight, on the day I finished filming "Mortal Kombat" in Adelaide, Australia. This definitive moment represents a new era, not only as a milestone for myself as an actor but for POC in cinema. The lead role in this film represents 20 years of hard work, struggle, rejection, pain and sacrifice. The fights in this film were performed by me, something of extreme rarity in this business, it was physically exhausting to say the least, I barely slept for months and I was in pain the entire time, I remember when I wrapped collapsing on the floor in tears. I went into the ocean that night to clean off the blood and sweat, to meditate and soak in the moment. The stars were out that night, I closed my eyes and lifted up my hands, grateful to the universe, thinking about all the overlooked talented kids out there that have never been given a chance, one day they can look and use this film as an example. You can accomplish anything, regardless of your circumstance or the color of your skin. A baptism of fire represents a painful new experience, a transition, or a soldiers first experience in battle. This was my first, and one of the first in history but it won't be the last. I will gladly take the battle wounds to help break down the walls that keep us from our collective and unlimited potential. This was taken on Fuji 35mm film, one of one.

Tan shared the auction via micro-blogging service Twitter on March 14th with the hashtag #StopAsianHate. He also retweeted a link to the AAPI Community Fund: a crowdfunding initiative designed to raise money for organizations working to address issues relating to an increase in violence and discrimination against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The social media topic has since exploded in the days following shootings in Georgia, where Asian businesses were targetted resulting in multiple deaths. State Representative Bee Nguyen expressed sentiments of concern, "We’re in a place where we’ve seen an increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans since the pandemic started."

The subject matter of Mortal Kombat doesn't lend itself well to matters concerning serious real world violence, but its iconic Asian characters, and participation in paying homage to Eastern mythology, provides an intuitive platform for diverse representation and discussion.

After the tragedy in Georgia; Lewis Tan shared an empathic story of his own lived experience, and a desire to see greater social change and an end to violence.

Max Huang, who plays Chinese Shaolin fighter Kung Lao in the upcoming movie, added his voice to earlier discussions, citing Mortal Kombat while sharing his own message of solidarity, and the movie's message of fighting for humanity.

Mortal Kombat will be officially released theatrically on April 16th, with same day streaming on HBO Max available in the United States. The movie stars Lewis Tan as new creation Cole Young, with Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, and Chin Han as Shang Tsung.