FWM: Share your journey as a serial entrepreneur.
I started with an Internet company in the Dot-com era then I got into real estate investment with a sizable portfolio of properties in various countries. Then I started a technology transfer company that was acquired by HITES. In my Ph.D. program, I developed and commercialized a technology for mineral processing that saves the Australian coal industry over $100M each year. I was given a medal from the Australian Minister of Industries and Resources, and various Innovation Awards by the Executive Women Inc, by The Australian and New Zealand Federation of Chemical Engineers, by the United Airlines and so on. The technology was later acquired by Ludowici and is now being used around the world. In 2010, I started a company that helped many tech startup entrepreneurs raise seed funding from angel investors and venture capitalists.
FWM: What challenges have you faced?
There are always many challenges but I think the biggest challenge that I face is within: self-doubt. I always feel that I am not enough: not talented enough, not experienced enough, not qualified enough, not done enough, not fast enough…
FWM: How did you break into the industry?
I started wanting to be an Actor. The problem with being a new Actor was that it was very difficult to book jobs or that I ended up working on many projects by inexperienced Filmmakers who never finished their films. So I got frustrated and decided to make my own films so I can act in them. I didn’t know how to write and did not have the equipment, so I started to re-write various common jokes into short film scripts then shot them with my cell phones. I was so surprised when some of them made their way into film festivals. Slowly I started to learn writing and bought equipment and learned to film. Now I can write and my husband and I have a production company with our own filming, lighting, and sound equipment and a blue-screen studio.
FWM: Tell us about your film, Troubled Spirits.
Troubled Spirits is a thriller about a hard-headed and atheist corporate executive city-dweller, who, on a witness protection program, ends up alone in an isolated cabin in the middle of a forest. As she discovers the unspeakable truth about the cabin, she is forced to seek the humility and the strength within, to free herself and others from their haunted past. Here is the film trailer: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1252518641616551
FWM: Your recent film Reborn about domestic violence has won over 2 dozen awards and screened at over 30 theaters around the world. What do you want people to know about your film?
Yes, Reborn is a fictional film about domestic violence. As a survivor of physical domestic violence, this story is painful and close to my heart. In the film, beaten and trapped in an abusive marriage, an artist must draw up a creative plan to find her freedom. This film portrays the desperate cry by victims of domestic violence who are trapped in abusive relationships. Victims often fantasize to be reborn into new lives, ones that are unbroken, un-silent and free. The victims are often not heard because of many common misconceptions about domestic violence.
FWM: What are some of the misconceptions about domestic violence?
There are many misconceptions about domestic violence and they have serious consequences to the victims. For example, there is a perception that victims of domestic violence are usually women who are weak, uneducated or poor or of a particular demographic. The reality is that domestic violence can happen to anyone, men or women. Many are very educated, and many are financially successful. These can be very strong people in many aspects of life. When it comes to domestic violence, the attacks come from someone within the family, from someone that the victims love or once loved. As they say, love is blind. The emotional attachment can make anyone a victim. The problem with the stereotype victimology is that it prevents victims from being able to speak up. If you are a successful and educated executive who is suffering from domestic violence, you don’t want others to think that you are weak. You don’t want to be seen as a failure, so instead of speaking up to get help, you continue to suffer.
Another stereotype is about the abuser: he must be a street gang type, with tattoos, swearing, drinking, with some type of violent public behavior, or with a criminal record,… The reality is the abuser can be very clean-cut, educated, socially polite and friendly. She or he can be an outstanding citizen in the public. Behind the closed door, the abuser can still be a brutal abuser or even capable of killing. The stereotype about abuser prevents family and friends from recognizing the signs and signals to help victims, and sometimes even preventing them from believing the victims when the victims speak up.
When people hear about domestic violence, they often immediately question “Why doesn’t she JUST leave?” There are many reasons why the victims have not or cannot leave. In fact, many domestic-violence-related murder cases happened when the victims try to leave the abusers. Abusers never want to give up control easily. For a victim to leave safely, there must be a well-thought-out plan and it may take time and help from others. Asking “Why doesn’t she just leave?” is victim-blaming, practically implying that the victim has options to leave yet choose to stay.
There are many misconceptions that have serious consequences for the victims. We need to bring awareness. That is why one of the projects I am very passionate about and I am working on is a feature-length documentary about domestic violence. It is still in its early stage because we need to raise funding, but I am hoping that the film will bring more awareness and help to make a change.
FWM: Are there recurring themes in your films?
Yes. I love storytelling and want to tell stories that matter. It is natural to tell stories that you know, so my films are usually female-lead, with the hero character, coming from a dark background of having suffered from great loss and pain, goes through a journey of self-discovery and growth, to find the strength to save herself and others.
FWM: Tell us about Sprrkle Media. What will people notice first about working with you?
Sprrkle Media is a small indie production company. We have made films in all genres: comedy, drama, crime action, horror… Some of our funding and distributions are exclusively from and to overseas. As an indie production company, we learn to be very focused and do things lean with a small crew. Being a small crew, we treat our cast and crew as our family and I like to think that those who work with us feel that way. Both my husband and I are self-taught in filmmaking, so we believe that skills can be learned. So we focus a lot more on having the right people who believe in our vision, the people with the right attitude, than focusing on people’s resume. Many people came to us with no experience, for example, Sam Figueroa or Morgan Dundon, and have since been with us for years, through everything that we do.
FMW: You are the Executive Director of the Hollywood Silver Screen Festival. Why should people get involved?
Hollywood Silver Screen Festival is a platform to celebrate art and creativity. We have film screenings, acting and filmmaking development panels and workshops, networking sessions, fashion shows, art, and music performances, and so on. We screened Oscar-winning films. We screened first-time filmmaker films. Many Oscar and Emmy winners and nominees and industry VIP attend our festival. Many aspiring actors and indie filmmakers attend our festival. It is a great venue to be yourself, to showcase your work, to connect with others and to learn.
Last year, we had the festival at the magnificent and historic Warner Grand theater. In Oct 2020, the festival will be a week-long event in various towns and cities around the world. We will still have the main venue in Los Angeles, but we also have a partnership with the Los Angeles Public Library to have films screened at various public libraries throughout Los Angeles. We also have a partnership with Sway Cinema for the festival to be in the UK, with Mavie Au Cinema to be in Paris, with Polestar Film to be in Pennsylvania, with Opening New Door Foundation to be in Washington DC and Maryland. We want our filmmakers to reach a wider audience, so our goal for 2020 is to be in 10 towns and cities around the world. We got 6 and are still working to figure out our last 4 cities. Right now, we are in talks with people in Germany, Belgium, Sweden, and South Africa.
FWM: What changes have you seen in the industry?
There are a lot of changes in the industry, the most obvious being technology. Technology changes the way that we consume content: on the go and on our phones. That impacts the distribution model in the whole industry and we are all seeing the effects of that, both good and bad. For example, it is harder now for Indie Filmmakers to get a big distribution deal and is paid upfront with a minimum guarantee. At the same time, it gives us the ability to take distribution in our own hands and build our audience. It is very difficult though.
Another recent change is the California AB5 law that became effective from Jan 1st this year. In the past, production companies could have cast and crew as independent contractors. For example, if you need a background actor for a short scene, you could pay the actor a day rate and get on with your production. With this new law, all cast and crew must be added to your payroll as employees, with workers comp, pensions, pay into their social security and so on. Big productions can do this easily but for small indie productions like us, it is very challenging, financially. Many people I know are moving their productions out of California. I also see some people who blatantly ignore and violate AB5. We can’t take that risk. We got an offer by a studio in a different state to move our productions there and we are considering it. We are also looking at various payroll companies so that we can meet AB5 requirement to stay in California.
FWM: Have you always been a champion for causes?
Yes, when I was living in Australia, there was an area in Sydney called Cabramatta that is predominantly Vietnamese. I noticed that a lot of teenagers there got involved in gangs and drugs. They were usually the first generation Australian and were disconnected from their parents because they didn’t speak Vietnamese and didn’t relate to the Vietnamese traditional values. A lot of these kids ended up on the street without their parents realizing it. At the time, I had a company that brought Vietnamese celebrities from the US to Australia for concert tours and album launches. So on the side, I created a non-profit organization called VietSight to help these kids. I had a Vietnamese friend that was a certified therapist, specializing in adolescents so I asked her to join me. We recognized that these kids are big fans of the singers and performers that I brought to Australia, so we arranged workshops for the kids to meet with these celebrities and with therapists. We used these celebrities’ influence to help inspire the kids to leave the street lives and go back to school and their families.
Later when I moved to the US, I volunteered for Season Hospice for several years to help with patients with terminal illness. It was tragic to see people who are forced to face the imminent end of their lives, but it taught me so much about appreciating lives and those I have in my life. After I lost several patients to cancer, it was too traumatic, I had to stop working there.
FWM: How important is collaboration?
I don’t know of a career where you can make it alone, especially in film. Even though I do a lot: I write, I produce, I direct, I shoot and I act in a lot of my films, we still need everyone else. We need others to be there physically, we also need others to be there mentally. We all need that support network around us.
I am honored to have many women (and men) that are with me on my journey. For example, Abbie Marie Schaal-silva has been with me for many years. She was the make-up artist for my film even when I just started learning to film with my phone and couldn’t pay her, and has since been the makeup artist for all of my productions. She has become a very dear friend and is now also a cast member in my films. Pat Trimmer has also been with me for years and I trust her input on my scripts. She has been both in front and behind the camera for various of my productions. Morgan Dundon and Sam Figueroa came to our production company as an Actor and have gone on helping us with our festival and now with our podcast series. Molly Staggs Griffin, her husband James Griffin and her daughter Amy Griffin are incredible people. They help tremendously with my productions, in front of and behind the camera, as well as with the film festival. Lele Aynalem and her husband Mark Schafer and their children Marle and Leah have been a part of my productions and my family for years. My friend Shelita Burke, a singer song-writer, is a very inspiring and original thinker. It’s because of her encouragement that we are now expanding Hollywood Silver Screen Festival around the world. I don’t think I can list all the women that I had a chance to collaborate with, but there is always magic that comes from those interactions.
FWM: Share your upcoming projects and your vision for 2020.
I recently wrote a feature-length script for a high profile executive producer. It is a drama written specifically for a name actress, about a homeless prostitute, who has to learn to recognize her talent within and tries to turn her life around. It is very gritty and dark and she has to face the gruesome life-and-death threats from her pimp and the street gangs. We are hoping that we can get into production for this soon.
We are in development for a feature-length superpower thriller with a studio in another state. It is also a female-lead film, with a redemption theme.
We are in development for a feature-length sci-fi about AI bots for a Chinese investor. It is also a female-lead film about self-discovery and fighting for what is right.
We are collaborating with Angie Quidim of TME Productions for a short comedy series at the Youtube Studio.
Since it’s on IMDb, I guess I can also publicly say that I am attached as a Director for Invisible Ones series with the Ascendent Studios.
I am also very excited about upcoming opportunities where I will get a chance to share with others my experiences and perspectives. For example, I have been invited to be a mentor/speaker at SXSW, the world’s biggest conference/festival where tech, media, films, and music converge. I am also going to be speaking on a panel at PULSE about film distribution to Asia. PULSE is a conference on Entertainment, Sport and Technology at UCLA. I have also been invited to go and teach a filmmaking program in Shanghai.
So, I am very excited about 2020. It is definitely a time to put my head down and focus on getting the work done.
