Ep 201 | Shu-Ying Chung Talks About Filmmaking and her Award-Winning Short

Aug 17, 2022

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Shu-Ying Chung is a filmmaker based in New York. Her short film Removable has been making the rounds at film festivals. It’s won several awards for best story, best short, best actress, and best director, to name a few. I spoke with Shu-Ying about what motivated her to write, direct and produce the film and how she can identify with the subject matter of the film due to her own past immigration status issues. She also talked about some of the highlights of her career in film and offered some advice for those interested in filmmaking.

This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.

NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:

to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.

To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

What it was like growing up in Taiwan for Shu-Ying
Her interest in music, television and film and her parents’ reaction
Her short film Removable that is currently making the rounds at several film festivals, which has earned many awards for best short, best actress, and best director, to name a few
What inspired her to write, produce and direct her short film Removable
Shu-Ying’s own experience with being forced to leave the U.S. due to work visa issues
What happened when Shu-Ying had to leave the U.S. to return to Taiwan due to a visa issue and ended up staying there for 1.5 years
How she wrote the script for Removable with her husband
The research involved in writing the script for Removable
How Shu-Ying and her husband did everything required for pre-production of the film in four weeks and a five-day shoot to make the short film, Removable
How Removable was self-funded by Shu-Ying and her husband
If Shu-Ying has plans to expand Removable into a full-length film
Shu-Ying’s career path in film so far and her work at Hearst Magazines
How Shu-Ying’s immigrant/work status has been a barrier in her career path
How English language proficiency can be a barrier for foreigners to overcome in the U.S.
Shu-Ying’s dream of being able to direct full length films full-time
What it takes to be a good film director
Shu-Ying’s approach to filmmaking
The most memorable film/video projects (shown on Shu-Ying’s website) that she has worked on
Shu-Ying’s first experience shooting with 35 mm film
The difference between shooting on film vs. digitally
Shu-Ying’s work on the Artists’ Den documentary series
What Shu-Ying misses about Taiwan
Some of Shu-Ying’s favorite films
One of the films that influenced her short film Removable
What Shu-Ying thinks she would be doing if she wasn’t a filmmaker
The dream film project that Shu-Ying would like to make about her grandmother
How Shu-Ying would like to be remembered
What advice Shu-Ying has for others interested in being a filmmaker