Daily Inspiration: Meet Wenti (Wendy) Wu

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wenti (Wendy) Wu.

Hi Wenti (Wendy), thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It all began with my younger sister. We used to stay at home by ourselves when we were kids. I know it is illegal to leave kids at home by themselves nowadays. Those illegal memories between sisters stimulated our creativity and inspiration in my childhood.

One day, we built up a subway station in our small living room. I am the one who assigned the characters to her and our other guests— our dolls and toys. Besides, I would set up some conflicts and dramas at this “living room station” to make the take roll. Some kids might get lost at the station. Others might destroy some parts of the station and then get arrested by polices or gangsters. When “Action!” hits, all the actors will deliver lines at perfect timing and inspires the other characters to have more dramas and punch line spontaneously. The other day, a pop singer’s concert was held in our living room. We had some audience fights with each other. We would send out security to control the situation. But, the security never kept the audience in control. It is where the start of my directing career is —my childhood living room in Taipei Taiwan.

I am a writer-director and an editor. Before coming to CalArts in 2018, I was going to be a special education teacher. We created an environment for kids to learn and know what the game rules of societies are. However, I could not ignore my soul and passion —filmmaking. I changed my major from special education to filmmaking and found out that filmmaking is so similar to special education. In filmmaking, we do something similar as a special teacher, prepare for preps, cultivate the vibes, set up a situation, and then invite our actors into our universe. Boom! Magic happens!

My passion is story-telling. I tell stories in different ways at different ages in my life.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t like to see obstacles as stones on my road. It is no doubt that there is something ugly, dirty, and toxic underneath the beautiful look.

I am working on my feature project recently. The project is strongly related to my personal experience. One of the challenges is struggling with my central traumas. Writing and preparing for this project stirs up some moments and wound between my inner child and me. Through getting along with my characters, many conversations and questions happened repeatedly.

When I go through those tough moments, I would love to have myself 20 minutes of free writing, and not writing about the materials I am working on but like a piece of music or poetry. I found it really helpful to me and also inspires me more. It also makes me come back to my materials with fresh eyes and can dip into the core more.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My works focus on those who have the least ability but the most powerful characters, especially women and kids. I tell their stories about the moments when they become “moth to flame”. The main reason why I am obsessed with those moments is the characters’ eyes change when their intentions become powerful. Something invisible and mysterious is pushing them. They are those characters who are able to accept extreme emotions, extreme temperatures, and extreme love.

The word “Eyes” has two different meanings in Mandarin. One is about the eyes themselves (眼睛）while the other is about “the spirit in the eyes”（眼神）. I am interested in catching the latter instead of the front. Those who can’t describe in words are the most charming and tumultuous, and it is why film is my way to share this moment.

What were you like growing up?
Listen to people’s voices.

Most people I admired in childhood can listen. They do not speak much but always respond wisely. I learned that people respect someone not because of what they say but how they receive it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wentiwufilm.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wentiwendywu/?hl=en

Image Credits
Erik YenJui Lu/ Wendy Wu