The wireless caught up with Calvin Sang, DOP and Editor, and Chye-Ling Huang, director, of our new 3 minute documentary!
Asian Men Talk About Sex has been released as part of Loading Docs - a launchpad for short New Zealand documentaries. Watch it here!
The Wireless: DIRECTOR INTERVIEW with Chye-Ling Huang
by Chev Hasset
When did you start getting involved with film?
I run a theatre company called Proudly Asian Theatre. I started off as actor when I did a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts at Unitec, and the comedian James Roque was in my class. We were the only Asians and we were facing our final year at Unitec.
We were freaking out that there was not much hope for us with representation in the industry. So we started Proudly Asian Theatre, which basically tells Asian stories in the New Zealand landscape, providing positive, truthful and interesting representations for Asian stories.
Huang embarks on her film directing debut with Asian Men Talk About Sex
How did the doc come about?
Loading Docs came along as an opportunity when someone said to us this year’s theme is diversity. Even though diversity is kind of a dirty word these days, I think it has opened up a lot of doors even if it is problematic at times.
We just went for it. We sat down as a group and asked what was missing in film and television especially New Zealand. We were looking at how you can count on one hand the Asian men we saw on TV. So we decided to come up with something that talked about the demasculinisation and desexualisation of Asian men. We wanted to do it simple and truthful; hopefully something incredibly real and readily accessible for everyday people.
How did you find interviews?
I definitely learnt a lot about sex. I consider myself a super sexual and liberal person. I guess I learnt about the world of sex; it is so layered and nuance, there are so many factors. Interviewing ten guys -eight of them will be in the Loading Docs version - listening to their conversations raised a whole bunch of questions.
Chye-Ling Huang interviews Aram for Asian Men Talk About Sex
Lastly, does this film help change the stereotype of Asian men?
I really hope so. This is what the film is kind of about. It has two points: opening a conversation about sex and also debunking a lot of those stereotypes which is truthful. These guys are everyday dudes and I really hope it does change people's’ perceptions about Asian men.