Pietra Brettkelly is the director of “Beauty Will Save the World,” “The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins,” “Maori Boy Genius,” and “A Flickering Truth.” Her films have won various awards, including at Warsaw Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival.

“Yellow is Forbidden” will premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival on April 21.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

PB: “Yellow is Forbidden” is a modern day Cinderella where diminutive, and daring, Guo Pei’s dream of the exclusive yet savage world of haute couture doesn’t end at the ball.

I was keen for “Yellow is Forbidden” to be more than a fashion film, and thankfully the film weaves global power dynamics and the opposition between art and commerce with a hankering for oppressive Imperial Grandeur.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

PB: “Yellow is Forbidden” is my fifth documentary film. Early in 2015, my previous film — “A Flickering Truth” — had just been selected at two of the world’s top film festivals, Venice and Toronto, and was then selected as the New Zealand entrant for the Oscar’s Best Foreign Language. I’d spent two-and-a-half years in and out of Afghanistan, a country and people that stole my heart.

But I was ready to find something female, creative, and once again delve into a language I didn’t understand — a practice I love to combine with cinema verite, to see what I can discover across cultures as I seek to find the essence of this artist.

There is also a lot of talk of the middle class of China coming into “our” world, that of the West. There is fear, misinformation, and prejudice associated with this. It’s a subject I’ve heard through my travels. I wondered if there was a story in which this could be discussed.

But also in this age of the redressing of power, the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris is perhaps the most exclusive club in the world — Givenchy, Lagerfeld, Chanel, Dior, Gaultier — 21 members, mostly men, mostly European. Could my film follow a shake up of that culture?

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

PB: I’m nervous answering this question so think I’ll leave it to the huge audiences that will see the film to decide!

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

PB: I always believe there’s a yin and a yang to filmmaking — the filming with Guo Pei was a beautiful, extraordinary process. However the financing of “Yellow is Forbidden” meant this film was the most emotionally, creatively, and financially crippling film I’ve made — and on other films I’ve worked in some incredibly difficult situations, including conflict zones!

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

PB: Ah, the struggles of independent filmmaking. I’ve largely funded “Yellow is Forbidden” myself through crowdsourcing, the generosity of some private individuals, and selling jewelry I’ve bought from an extraordinary initiative in Afghanistan that is encouraging traditional arts and crafts, and insists that 50 percentof the people they teach and work with are women. Thankfully also the New Zealand Film Commission came in towards the end of the production with some financing.

But too much of the funding speaks to the sacrifices we documentary filmmakers make. At one stage I was running five mortgages — the bank thought I was doing large scale improvements to my small apartment— and I’ve had to rent out my apartment for huge tracts of time to pay production bills, and still remain in horrendous debt. But my story is sadly not unique, and on my past films I’ve done everything, including signing up for drug testing.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at Tribeca Film Festival?

PB: Tribeca Film Festival is such a perfect premiere for “Yellow is Forbidden” — in a major world center of press, art, fashion, and creative thought it makes me so thankful and excited to meet the audiences that will be the first to see my film. And to be premiering In Competition, and opening weekend is already such an encouragement of this film that has been over three years in the making.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

PB: The best advice comes from variations on the same question my extraordinary mentors — Molly Malene Stensgaard, Arne Bro, Joanna Paul, and Trish Carter — have asked me over the years in my moments of struggle: “But what is your gut telling you? What do you believe is right?” Trusting my gut is the best advice — to believe in what my core reaction always is. Don’t follow others’ ethics and morals.

The worst advice: Get a real job. Thankfully I continue to ignore that, and consequently have this rich, adventurous, unpredictable life.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

PB: Embrace your tears and embrace your emotions. Our traditionally patriarchal industry might see our emotions as weakness but I believe they are rather a positive. To be sympathetic, empathetic, to care so deeply and emotionally about our characters, our scripts, our films that we are brought to tears must only mean our stories are so much truer, richer, and will resonate with a bigger audience than from filmmakers who remain stoic and contained. I continue to cry.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

PB: I keep thinking of fellow New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion’s first short film, “Peel,” made over 35 years ago. I remember how it hit me — not least for the fact I was a young, freckly redhead from small town New Zealand who couldn’t believe there was another young, freckly redhead featuring on screen! But the point of view of so many of her shots made me feel I was there, in the car with the family, with a complex and unpredictable ending. And that is what I love so much about documentary: that I am there just out of frame with my characters, for all moments of my films, never really knowing where the years of observing their lives might take me.

Jane continues to be such a strong filmic voice for me. I have been so fortunate to have met her, and had lunch with her, and a group of other filmmakers from the bottom of the world, at Cannes Film Festival when she was head of the jury. She gave us a line of advice worth keeping to counter any intimidation we might have venturing into the big world of international filmmaking — my father would describe it as being of “strong language.” I loved it, and it has spurred me on.

W&H: Hollywood and the global film industry are in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. Many women — and some men — in the industry are speaking publicly about their experiences being assaulted and harassed. What are your thoughts on the #TimesUp movement and the push for equality in the film business?

PB: In an industry always searching for the next big thing, the next great idea, the next new creative, such a huge majority of stories and their storytellers have been blocked, ignored, and mistreated. And that includes physically. The female gaze, the female talent, the female perspective — it’s beyond belief that business ignorance has prevailed, and this is not even taking into account whether this prejudice is right or fair.

I applaud the bravery of many, and look with excitement to the films and talents these changes will unleash.