Talk about your experience at the University of Michigan.

I spent two years at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business for my MBA. It was an eye-opening experience for an ex-molecular biologist who had spent many years in various laboratories — the diverse student body, the friendly atmosphere, and the great learning opportunities. Quite transformative. I felt like a different person — more curious and more confident — after those two years.

 

How did the university influence your career?

I discovered my interest in product management in the technology sector at Ross. After graduation, I worked for Internet companies like Excite.com and Earthlink in the Silicon Valley, and later moved back to China and continued my career at Alibaba and TripAdvisor. In 2008-2011 I was TripAdvisor’s China Country Manager. As my career progressed, so did my passion in more artistic and creative endeavors. In 2012 I decided to take some time off to pursue documentary filmmaking full time. Now four years later, I am still making, and enjoying making, documentaries.

 

What inspired you to film documentaries such as “Beijing or Bust”? How did you choose the topic for “Nowhere to Call Home,” your most recent work?

I did Beijing or Bust on the side as a part-time project when I first moved back to China in 2004. Having been away from China for 12 years, it was mind-boggling to observe how China had changed and to make sense my own migration experience from China to the US and then back. Beijing or Bust tells the experience of six American-born-Chinese (ABC) as they migrated from the US to China to search for identity, career and purpose in life. In some way, making the film was a way for me to understand China again.

I produced Nowhere to Call Home so I wouldn’t call it my work. Documentary films are truly directors’ babies. The last film I directed, The Road to Fame, was about China’s one-child generation. It tells the story of students at China’s top drama academy staging the American musical Fame as their graduation showcase; as these Chinese kids act on stage as American students wanting to be famous, in real life they have to struggle with their own baggages and China’s reality to realize their dreams. My upcoming film, People’s Republic of China, continues my interest in Chinese youths by focusing on China’s popular online showrooms; here young kids in their late teens and early twenties can attract millions of fans by singing karaoke live online, and become multi-millionaires in the process.

 

Tell us about an experience, realization, or a best moment or most difficult moment from your experiences and journey as a filmmaker?

There is no business model in documentary filmmaking. I am still trying to figure out how to make it financially sustainable beyond enjoying the creative process.

 

What do want people to take away from your works?

To see the complexities of China beyond the stereotypical portrayal of an evil authoritarian regime set on taking over the world. To go away thinking perhaps the Chinese people are not that different from people in the west. To become curious about the country and maybe go for a visit.