In the Night, Facing Sun
A girl’s estranged mother visits her in New York. The two worlds collide as they inhabit each other's presence, which leads the girl to enter her veiled inner space and face her naked self, where melancholy and darkness exist, and so do light and warmth.
Interview with Writer/Director Xuezi Zhang
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I always believe that a film needs to come from the filmmaker’s inner depth and reflect that depth relentlessly. My most important mentor in life and art told me that vulnerability is the greatest tool for creativity, and this motto has become the axis of my creativity and life – I don’t think I can separate the two. It had been an intuitive urge to make a film about the melancholy that I had carried with me. I wanted to face myself naked. Only when the film was done did I realize the importance of making a film so personal: filmmaking, or art making, is the most brutal yet effective way to confront one’s wounds, to honor and to transform it.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The film is created with my honest self-reflection and self-digging. Though our life events may differ, I hope that my film will mirror and reflect your truths, since it comes from mine. And this brings me to answer the next question.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
It is my belief and practice that an artist needs to make something that makes him/her ache in order to make others ache, rips him/her apart so that it will rip the audience apart. Wound is where one opens up to the world. And by opening up my wound to the light and making a film from it, my story has become bigger than myself – it has become others' stories as well, and I've grown and evolved from my past.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I have to mention my mentor Chitra Neogy in New York University, who is the one that told me that “vulnerability is the greatest tool for creativity”. When I first presented her the script, it was still shy and standing on the periphery of what I wanted to explore and reflect. She saw it all and pushed me to go further and deeper into myself, to face that inner darkness that had weighed me down, and also to not forget the beauty I carried inside. As I went in and discovered more and more of myself, like solving a puzzle, the script became richer and fuller.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Many appreciate how real and honest the film is. I’ve had those who share similar backgrounds with me in the screenings – Asian, women, youth, international wanderers/students in the US. They told me that the film depicted their life, and it meant a lot to them. I’ve also heard from audiences who don’t share those outer labels with me, meaning that they are not Asian, not women, not foreigners in a foreign land, etc. – what do those labels mean anyway?, that even though their life paths differ from mine in that sense, they resonated with my film deeply. It is always humbling for me to hear responses like that.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Like I said, it is very humbling. It is to some extent a good surprise that my film has a universal message, and it has deepened my belief that as long as your film speaks your truth, it will speak to others.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’m hoping to bring my film to a broader audience, so that more will see and be found in it. Thank you Carmela for giving me this beautiful opportunity.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I’d like to invite distributors, film festival directors, journalists, screening venues, and anyone who shares a profound love for life and cinema.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Great art is the ultimate mirror. I hope my film is one of those mirrors that reflect the truths of those who are watching, especially those who don’t usually see their stories being told on screen. I hope they will feel found in my film.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Where do you truly belong?
Would you like to add anything else?
Cinema is magic.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m working with my mentor and now collaborator Chitra Neogy on her feature length film A Warrior’s Walk Blood Words, adapted from her epic novel of the same title. It is about an artist who leaves her original ancient culture to walk into the “duende” of the West, in search of her creative manifestation. It is the walk of this woman warrior on the journey of relentless self-discovery, self-exploration, and self-transformation.
Chitra has held this vision for more than 10 years and I’m very excited and honored to bring this cinematic dream into fruition with her.
You can learn more about this project on our website: wolfwomanproductions.org
And our facebook & instagram: @wolfwomanproductions
We also have a weekly newsletter called “the Epiphany of Self” for which you can sign up here: https://tinyletter.com/wolfwomanproductions
Interview: February 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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In the Night, Facing Sun
A girl’s estranged mother visits her in New York. The two worlds collide as they inhabit each other's presence, which leads the girl to enter her veiled inner space and face her naked self, where melancholy and darkness exist, and so do light and warmth.
Length: 16:09
Director: Xuezi Zhang
Producer: Jean Shiyi Ng, Chi Ying Lau, Xuezi Zhang
Writer: Xuezi Zhang
About the writer and director:
Xuezi Zhang is a New York based artist with a layered inner tapestry of cinema and literature. She is a recent graduate from New York University where she obtained degrees in both Filmmaking and Comparative Literature. She lives and nurtures the cultural depth of her roots, while running fearlessly with a heart cracked open in this hunting ground called New York. Her work has been received worldwide, and she is now working with artist, poet, and filmmaker Manoshi Chitra Neogy on feature film A WARRIOR'S WALK BLOOD WORDS.
Key cast: Alison T. Chi, Ying Ying Li, John O’Hara, Joyce Luo
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): distributors, film festival directors, journalists, and screening venues.
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
To be updated.
Email me at xue.lianzi.zhang@gmail.com for private link. Will be available online once the festival circuit is over.