http://hk-magazine.com/movies/article/barbara-wong-chun-chun
I went to Maryknoll Convent School, an all-girls school. My best childhood memory is playing with my four sisters and my girlfriends.
I went to the Academy for Performing Arts right after secondary school. I was passionate about acting and I didn’t think about money or getting a job during my time there.
When it was graduation time I was sent to interviews with companies like TVB. I learned that I couldn’t be an actress in Hong Kong because of the way I look. I am quite petite and so I would always be cast as a daughter or a maid.
I became a DJ on Commercial Radio.
I started watching more movies and I thought that I could make films as well. I went to New York to study film in 1993.
I stayed in New York for around six years. My ex-boyfriend and I shared an apartment. We held big parties regularly—so big that people who came didn’t know I was the host.
I wanted to be a director in New York, but I wrongly trusted a friend and invested all my savings on margin. I ended up owing $1 million. I hadn’t even made a movie yet! I didn’t tell my family. I didn’t want them to send me money.
I came back to Hong Kong in 2000. I didn’t pay off the debt until 2007.
“Women’s Private Parts,” my first documentary, is about how women look at sex and love. Initially, I wanted to have women talk about different topics. But they wouldn’t stop talking about sex!
One interviewee told me that she would rather be a mistress than a wife. She explained that men would gradually take their wives for granted, but were always sweet and romantic towards mistresses. There is some truth to this.
I am fascinated by women. They are crazy animals. Women have so many different faces: they are mothers, friends, professionals and more at once. Women are a hundred times more interesting than men.
It’s very difficult to make a film about female friendships. For other films, you can make it up. You know how a love story goes. But for female relationships, no matter if it’s a gossiping or fighting scene, you have to make it real.
Girlfriends talk in a very intimate way. If you don’t capture that, girls won’t enjoy the film.
I would ask my girlfriends to act out every scene. I recorded the conversations and wrote the script based on that. It’s not my style to settle for something superficial.
Girls need to have boys. What brings girls closer is boys. When we break up with someone, we need our girlfriends. When we get married, we need our girlfriends to pick out the wedding gown and the jewelry. We fight over boys and become angry when our girlfriends look at our new boyfriend too much.
The men in the film industry are very open and I don’t see any discrimination. Maybe I’m too focused on making films to notice.
There are perks of being a female director. Years ago, when I called up the bosses with pitches, they were willing to hear me out, because meeting a woman is more fun than meeting a man.
My father is a free spirit and he lives in the moment. No matter what crazy decisions I’ve made, he just says, “Do it.” He always says to me, “You can be anything.”
It’s wonderful to have a father like that, because you know that you can try out things and when you fail, someone’s always there to catch you.
“Women’s Private Parts” got into the New York Independent Film Festival. I had to carry five reels of film to New York. It was a low-budget film and I had no assistant.
My father showed up at my house and helped me wrap all the film in plastic bags. At that moment, I promised myself that I would have to achieve something and make him proud.
My art is better now as I grow older—just like a bottle of good wine.
I’ve learned to embrace life and let go. When I first came back, I owed money and had a lot of worries. I cleared my debt, and picked myself up. Now I am filled with confidence. Life is OK.
I’m not scared of failure any more. If I fail now, I know that I can stand up again. I have a lot of trust in life.
I like to read reviews from Facebook and the internet. I don’t listen to people from the film industry.
My favorite thing about Hong Kong is the passion of the people. Normally, they seem quite apathetic, but they do things together for the city.
We’re like a very tough and independent orphan. We believe in ourselves and we stand up for our values.
“Girls,” Wong’s latest film, opens in theaters on Aug 7.
