THE ADULTS ARE TALKING, 9min., USA
Directed by Xuepei Hou
Alex is a young graduate who is struggling to balance her life. She pretends to have it all together and breaks down all of a sudden when her mom tells her the secret she has been hiding for a year.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

This is a semi-autobiographical story that happened between me and my mom years ago. It is the first time facing the fear of losing someone that close and the fact that she held that secret from me set off a scary awareness in me that my mother, is also a human who gets sick, makes mistakes, gets scared, and eventually faces the inevitable death. It is silly to acknowledge or make a sane judgment call when it comes to your nearest and dearest. To explore this unsolvable dilemma is what drove me to make this film.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

About a whole year to get everything together. This is the first film I made in film school.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Unacknowledged vulnerability

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Blocking the scene

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I was very touched that the audience resonated with the daughter. Everyone in their early 20s is kind of still trying to figure out what is the right thing to do and most time they fail.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

When I first pitched this story in screenwriting class, one of my classmates who is already a parent told me after class that he would do the exact same thing as my mom did and so would his parents.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Blade Runner by Ridley Scott

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

Interviews?

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

It's great!

10. What is your favorite meal?

The next one.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

It's a psychological thriller talks about ambiguous loss.