Interviewed by Jennifer J. Lau
Special thanks to the TIFF Team for their assistance

This week, our Associate Editor had the opportunity to speak with Jennifer Liao and learn more about what motivates her as a Chinese Canadian director. Read more below and make sure to get your tickets for the TIFF event on Monday October 28!

Upbringing in Calgary

The conversation started with a quick review of the films Jennifer watched as a child. She remembers several movies in particular. Double Happiness encouraged her because it was directed by a Chinese Canadian director, which translated the career as a plausible one in her mind. The Last Emperor, which was the first film to be made in the Forbidden City, also left a huge impression on Jennifer since it was such an interesting, dark, and unglamourized portrayal of Pu-Yi. Seeing Chinese actors touched her deeply as well and it was a cultural moment of its time. She also recalls paying close attention to the actors and performers in Joy Luck Club — the first Asian American film reflective of a minority narrative.

Even though Jennifer doesn’t speak Mandarin, she does understand it and can even make out some Taiwanese. “It’s something I struggle with, I didn’t give it much thought. I did go to Chinese school on Saturdays in Calgary where there was a growing Chinese community with many Taiwanese people,” she shares. Many Chinese Canadians can resonate with these classes where parents would send children to a room in a regular school and we would be asked to participate in ‘cultural’ activities as well. There was an understanding at this point in the conversation, of many young immigrant families who wish for their children to speak Chinese and the similar ways they sought to educate the next generation of customs they wanted to be passed on. Jennifer would go on to work on more projects both related to and unrelated to her heritage.

Anna Ferguson and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee in END OF DAYS, INC.

Her work

Besides her feature film END OF DAYS, INC., Jennifer has directed several episodes of Blood & Water — a Chinese-Canadian crime drama that features three different languages. The 2019 Canadian Screen Awards-nominated drama was largely shot on a particular location in Toronto that Jennifer was familiar with — “a beautiful nightmare” of a space, she recalls.

During the second season of Blood & Water, she received an exciting call from Dianne Boehme, the director of the series. We asked her a few questions about what it was like to direct the show without knowing all that was being exchanged in dialogue by the actors.

How did you feel about the second season?

Jennifer Liao: It felt like a lot of new things were happening in this new season. The show had the same main characters, big dramatic arc and new characters, and it was very exciting! I originally came on as a writer for the show, and then eventually got to direct a couple of episodes. Both were the first television that I wrote and directed. I could never express enough gratitude for the opportunity.

Since you’re not as familiar with the Chinese languages, what happened on set to make the filming smooth?

“The truth of it is that no director on the show has ever spoken Mandarin and Cantonese; once we are shooting, the directors have an idea of what is happening but not the literal understanding of what is being said. Directing that way is illuminating because we are paying attention to the acting.”

— Jennifer Liao

Jennifer Liao: The language situation is an interesting one, because a lot of the people who work on Blood & Water don't speak either of those languages! So we write the script in English and we work with a wonderful producer named Ben Lu, who is responsible for the large part of the translation. He's a also the person that we consult with and the producer when we're looking at casting tapes to ensure authenticity to the language. He’s been there since the very beginning. We also have a script coordinator who puts the bilingual dialogue together; on set, we have a language coach. Before each scene they get together where they speak Mandarin and Cantonese in order to do a run-through.

The truth of it is that no director on the show has ever spoken Mandarin and Cantonese; once we are shooting, the directors have an idea of what is happening but not the literal understanding of what is being said. Directing that way is illuminating because we are paying attention to the acting. When you watch the scene, you should be able to glean what's going on, even if you can’t hear the words. I love language and dialogue is hugely important. But it can bring things down to a pure place. If you were to turn off the sound, you want to be able to see what the character wants to express — that's what we would be paying attention to, as opposed to every word and every phrase would mean.

What’s next?

Many projects are upcoming for Jennifer. She’s hoping to shoot a new horror film within the next few years along with a personal project. A comedy is underway, set in Calgary and about a Chinese Canadian woman. She’s hoping to do something with that material that is so near and dear to her heart.

She also hopes that one day it will no longer be considered as a novelty to have Asian North American (and any other under-represented groups) portrayed in the industry. And we agree that for full inclusion, we need to have more diverse projects as a next phase. As Jennifer so aptly put it: “Diversity is a necessity in order to have an industry that represents the world and represents all kinds of characters.” We look forward to seeing that in the coming years.

Event Details:

Connecting Across Cultures: Celebrating Asian Canadian Storytellers
October 28, 2019
7 pm
https://www.tiff.net/events/asian-canadian-storytellers