A lost soul traumatized by her past and trapped in the confines of her imagination. Unable to move forward with life until she was led to begin her journey of recovery and discovery by a sound healer, ultimately conquering her darkest memories, fears, and desires, and transcending the perpetual tug-of-war between attachment and letting go.

Interview with Producer Irene Pang

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

For me, this film is deeply personal, because I had just been through a “journey” of recovery and discovery myself. I was compelled to share my journey with the world via film as a medium.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Mainstream cinema often features films that are meant to entertain and give audiences an escapism from the mundanity of their daily life. With my film, however, my purpose is not to entertain. This film does not seek to distract audiences from their own lives; instead, it seeks to inspire audiences to engage in introspection, to face their darkest memories, traumas, and desires, to heal, and to become a more whole and mindful person.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

While the inspiration behind the film was from my personal journey, its themes are universal. The film explores themes such as healing, processing traumas and emotions, and connecting with oneself. Ultimately we hope this work can spark conversations around confronting one's darkness and entering into light.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

We took an unconventional approach to this film in that no script was ever developed. Instead, the team simply gathered together and outlined the main "acts" of the film and discussed what each act was about. Then our composer took it from there and first came up with the music for the film before our dancer began her choreographic process. Then we had several rehearsals with the dancer and the musician, during which our Director began processing how she would like each frame to be. And voila!

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Audiences have praised the choreography, where the dancer's captivating movements conveyed a wide range of emotions, from vulnerability to strength, agitated to calm. The music provided a powerful underscore to the visuals, amplifying moods via a rich soundscape featuring esoteric sounds from titanium singing bowls, didgeridoo, throat singing, and handpan, deepening the audience's experience. Audiences also complimented our cinematography, noting in particular our fluid and dynamic camera work that further drew audiences into the film's world.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

The feedback mostly did not strike me as surprising.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I hope this film can gain more publicity that can hopefully lead to conversations on screening possibilities either in movie theatres or atypical settings like galleries, museums, etc.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Journalists, film festival organizers, and the general audience.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I hope this film can inspire more people to face their darkness and to begin their own journey of recovery and discovery, which I believe is a necessary life-long process. Ultimately, I hope everyone can realize that whatever they have been looking for actually resides in them. Everyone has the potential to heal themselves and to heal others.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

How are emotions best approached?

Would you like to add anything else?

We hope more people will be able to see our film and find resonance with it.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

This is a secret, and cannot disclosed at the moment :) But definitely stay tuned for more to come!

Interview: April 2024

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

re:birth

Length: 8:10

Director: Laticia Fan

Producer: Irene Pang

About the writer, director and producer:

LATICIA FAN, self-taught filmmaker and founder of f/Lash Productions is a director and director of photography hired for hundreds of commercials and music video projects worldwide. She has served as Director of Photography on two feature films in Taiwan - Tomorrow's Star (2018) and Sun Moon (2023). Although Laticia has shot a handful of award-winning shorts, re:birth (2023) is her short film directorial debut.

IRENE PANG with over 10 years of brand strategy and marketing experience under her belt, is now focusing more on her creative career. She enjoys channelling energy into creative expressions, through sounds, words, and visuals. In recent months, Irene has been actively exploring the intersection between arts and spirituality. re:birth (2023) is her debut as a film producer, and is inspired by her recent spiritual journey.

Key cast: Laticia Fan (Director & DIrector of Photography), Yu-He Lin (Choreographer & Performer), Pei-Yuan Chen (Composer & Performer)

Instagram: @sheng.shortfilm

Hashtags used: #shortfilm #dance #music #production #film #cinema

Other: IMDb

Funders: Self-funded

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

IndieX Film Fest/LA - May 11