French Riviera Film Festival 2019 – Zalla
In order to save her son, Zalla escapes the futuristic lab and travels through time and space to find Maggie, the daughter of her arch enemy, to convince her to join in the fight.
Interview with Writer/Actor Amy Shi
Watch Zalla on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I have roots in the technology industry and have seen some astonishing new technologies in development. I had always wondered, "how is that going to impact our society and humanity?" Especially after I had my baby, I’m more conscious about the fate of our future generations. This is where the idea for Zalla came from.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The feature version of Zalla (working title Love in 2775), is imagined as a futuristic adventure for the entire family. You should watch it not only for a very realistic outlook of the family composition in a few hundred years, and technological advancement but also for its heartwarming love stories.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
It is a sci-fi about life in the future, but I wanted to make the film about the things we can feel and relate to. “No boundaries between time and spaces.”
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
With the film, I’m hoping to promote public interest. My goal for the film is not only to make it a family classic with its human themes but also to raise awareness of preserving humanity, no matter how advanced our technology evolves. It should serve to enlighten the audience.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Wonderful feedback so far. Zalla was nominated as a finalist in the 2019 French Riviera Film Festival, and everyone seemed to enjoy the film and how its themes resonated with the audience.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Not really. I always love to meet with industry professionals who are passionate about the same subject and to explore the possibility of collaboration and discussion with them, about the film's core themes.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I would like to draw attention to the film's message about the preservation of humanity, and of course, I hope it will help generate interest in the upcoming feature, based on the short.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
All of the above!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I’m hoping the film will promote public interest and discussion. I would love to raise awareness on the topics of preserving humanity and technological advancement.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How far would you go to save humanity and the ones you love?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am working on developing a feature film based on Zalla. I’m an actress first, so I’m preparing for my next big role. As a producer, I’m also working on the distribution of a new horror film, as well as producing a TV miniseries that is based on real-life stories.
Interview: June 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, 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
Zalla
In order to save her son, Zalla escapes the futuristic lab and travels through time and space to find Maggie, the daughter of her arch enemy, to convince her to join in the fight.
Length: 8:02
Director: Tianwei Wang
Producer: Amy Shi
Writer: Amy Shi & Naomi Rodri
About the writer, director and producer:
Coming from an intellectual family, TIANWEI WANG published her musical drama Wandering in the Forest at the age of 13, which she composed and wrote herself. Tianwei studied German literature for her bachelor degree at Beijing Foreign Studies University. During college, she traveled around Europe and studied drama and art history, and she also performed as an actress in German plays. Her first film Watching, budgeted under 800 dollars, was selected as the finalist of Nordmedia Foundation. She recently finished her master degree at Loyola Marymount University, in Film and TV production major.
Born in China’s Hunan Province, AMY SHI was secretly raised by her grandmother in a small rural village far away from the city where her parents lived. She grew up liberated in spirit, inheriting the fearlessness of her grandmother from those early years. Amy earned her BA in marketing and computer science, and an MBA. After graduation, she worked as a management consultant in Chicago. While living in Chicago, her path took a very different turn. She studied improv at the legendary Second City and attended acting classes, and soon was cast in several TV projects, including Shameless, Chop-Chop Chicago, Chicago PD, and films Time Sentry: The Box and Ju-Yuki. Amy relocated to Los Angeles in 2016 and continued her stage work in the play Wonder Women. Her film work includes Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance, Tales of Frankenstein, Street 2 Death Fight, The Man Deletes Everything, James Dilemma, the award-winning film Whisper, and sci-fi short Zalla, in which she stars in the title role. She received the Best Lead Actress Award at the 2017 Canada Golden Maple Film Festival. She began producing movies since 2017 and is the executive producer on the short film Zalla, and co-producer on Street 2 Death Fight. Zalla was named a finalist in the 2019 French Riviera Film Festival (www.frenchrivierafilmfestival.com) and a feature based on the short is currently in development. Amy is the co-founder of Hollywood Dream Factory LLC, a company dedicated to promoting diversity in Hollywood productions.
Key cast: Amy Shi
Facebook: Amy Shi
Twitter: @darlingamyshi
Instagram: @darlingamyshi
Hashtags used: #sciencefiction,#shortfilm,#scifi
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Hollywood Dream Factory
Funders: Amy Shi, executive producer
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Zalla (short) is being developed as a feature film.