Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Thomas Huang.
Hi Andrew Thomas, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been directing for 13 years and came to filmmaking through fine art, puppetry, VFX and animation. I’m passionate about fantasy, folklore and combining Chinese mythology with futurism and queer Asian storytelling. As a music video director, I’ve collaborated with artists Bjork, Thom Yorke and Perfume Genius. My video for FKA twigs – “Cellophane” was nominated for a Grammy. My films have been commissioned by and exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, NY, The Sydney Opera House and the Museum of Contemporary Art, LA. I am currently in late development on my first feature film TIGER GIRL which has received support from Film Independent, SFFILM, Cinereach and the Sundance Institute. I graduated with a degree in Fine Art and Animation from the University of Southern California.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely not – there have been lots of zig zags. I think among the biggest challenges are learning to find one’s voice especially as a queer POC filmmaker. For many years I grappled with the question of how much of my identity was I responsible for imbuing in my work, or maybe not wanting to address it at all yet feeling external pressure to. Financially the economic tight rope of being an artist and creating independent work with integrity has also been a balance between selling out vs investing time and energy working for little to no pay on projects that I believe in. Over time I believe the latter pays off.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m best known for my music video collaborations with Bjork and FKA twigs and for creating hybrid mixed-media work because a lot of my work contains VFX but I personally like to consider myself more just a filmmaker who loves storytelling outside of ‘social realism.’ We see reality every day and if I have a camera or a way of making images, I prefer to invest that energy in creating worlds we haven’t seen before. So that kind of explains why my work involves a lot of different media, ranging from live action to motion capture, puppetry and simulation-driven animation. I’m most proud of one of my recent short films “Kiss of the Rabbit God” https://youtu.be/bmCw-e72zs8. The film is about a Chinese restaurant worker that falls in love with a Qing dynasty god that visits him at night. It’s one of the most personal films I’ve ever made and seeing the enthusiastic response online has been really validating and rewarding.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Currently enjoying the podcast “Writing Excuses.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.andrewthomashuang.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewthomashuang/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewThomasHuang/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Andrew_T_Huang
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDwwTtfrWHx-CPF-pWt0cg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/andrewthomashuang
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/andrewthomashuang
Image Credits:
Andrew Thomas Huang
