Emily Ting is a film writer, director, and producer. Her first narrative feature, “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong,” premiered at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival, and was later screened at over 25 film festivals worldwide and distributed theatrically in North America, Hong Kong, Macau, and Thailand. She produced Ishai Setton’s “The Kitchen” and Stephen Suettinger’s “A Year and Change.”
“Go Back to China” will premiere at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival on March 9.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
ET: “Go Back to China” is a coming-of-age story about a spoiled rich girl who, after blowing through half of her trust fund, is forced by her father to go back to China and work for the family business. What begins as a way to regain financial support soon turns into a journey of self-discovery.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
ET: This is a really personal story that I have been wanting to tell for a long time. It is loosely based on my family and my own experiences of going back to China and working for the family business. I feel like everyone has one story that has shaped who they are today, and for me, this is that story.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
ET: I want them to think about their own relationship with their family. As children, it’s sometimes very easy to blame our parents for everything that goes wrong in our life. But as imperfect as any upbringing can be, we have to ultimately be responsible for our own choices in life.
And as parents, sometimes we can get too caught up in supporting our family financially, instead of being supportive of them. There’s got to be a middle ground somewhere.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
ET: I think that the biggest challenge with this film is that we shot in three different countries. We shot for six days in LA, three days in Hong Kong, and 12 days in Shenzhen. It is like prepping three different films.
We shot the LA footage first and then had to halt production for almost two months while I traveled to China to prep for the next portion. And even though we were able to use mostly the same crew between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, doing a company move with your entire cast and crew to another country at the end of a shoot day was definitely not easy.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
ET: After I self-financed my first film “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong” and it became a success, I thought I was done paying my dues and that I could get my second feature financed more easily. But writing an Asian American film with an all Asian cast pre- “Crazy Rich Asians” was still considered a “hard sell” by everyone we approached.
Instead of waiting around for someone to write me a check, I decided to just pay for it myself again. The majority of the budget came from the money we made back from my first feature, and the rest came from smaller private equity investments.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
ET: I got into filmmaking in order to tell personal stories like “Go Back to China” and “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong.” As someone who’s always worked a day job outside of the film industry, the goal has never been to advance my career in this industry. For me, it’s always been about telling stories that matter to me. Every film is a cathartic experience or a very expensive therapy session!
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
ET: Best advice: Go out and make your movie. Don’t wait around for someone to hand you a check.
Worst advice: Your film is “too Asian,” and it will be a very hard sell.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
ET: The advice I would have for any filmmaker is to write what you’re passionate about and not what you think will advance your career or be an easy sell. And to echo the best advice I’ve received, just go out and make your movie, whichever way you can.
It is incredibly cheap to make films these days. Don’t let the lack of financing be a deterrence. Write a small movie with a few characters and locations you have access to, work with friends who can cut or defer their fees, and crowdsource. I just produced Lynn Chen’s directorial debut this way for an insanely small amount of money, and it turned out beautiful.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
ET: Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” remains my favorite woman-directed film of all time. My first film was highly influenced by it. I’m also a big fan of Nicole Holofcener’s films, such as “Walking and Talking.”
W&H: It’s been a little over a year since the reckoning in Hollywood and the global film industry began. What differences have you noticed since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements launched?
ET: I feel like the conversations and dialogues that were started a year ago during the height of the #MeToo movement have led to more inclusivity in our industry and an openness to more diverse voices and stories. It’s been inspiring to see so many women speak up against injustices they’ve either faced or witnessed.
