Just this year, Sean Wang is already a Sundance breakout and an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker. Finally, Wang’s feature debut “Dìdi” will be in theaters thanks to Focus Features.
The semi-autobiographical coming of age story of “Dìdi” follows a Taiwanese-American tween (Izaac Wang) in 2008. At 13 years old, he’s just about to begin high school and he learns “how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love his mom,” during the last month of summer, per the film‘s synopsis.
Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua, Raul Dial, Aaron Chang, Mahaela Park, Chiron Cilia Denk, Montay Boseman, Sunil Mukherjee Maurillo, Alaysia Simmons, Alysha Syed, Georgie August, and Joan Chen also star.
Wang writes, directs, and produces, with Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, and Valerie Bush also producing. The executive producers include Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, Dave A. Liu, Jennifer J. Pritzker, Robina Riccitiello, Joan Chen, Chris Quintos Cathcart, and Tyler Boehm.
“Dìdi” won the Audience Award at Sundance just as Wang’s short film “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” was announced to be Academy Award-nominated. The short was acquired by Disney+.
Wang told IndieWire that directing shorts isn’t “any less work than a feature,” especially since he now directed his debut feature with “Dìdi.”
“To have that platform [on Disney+ for ‘Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó’], to have that ability for people to watch it in that capacity, obviously they might still watch it on their laptop, I can’t control that, but just to have the option to have them watch it in a way that feels a little bit more elevated is amazing,” Wang said. “Especially for shorts filmmakers, because you do put so much work into a short film. Just because it’s a short film doesn’t mean it’s any less work than a feature.”
He also reflected on how “Dìdi” is a community-made feature that belongs to the audience, regardless of how they’re watching it.
“The fact that this little movie that was ours for so long is now not ours anymore. It belongs to audiences,” Wang said. “And to see the audiences respond to it in such an amazing, positive, visceral way, and to have filmmakers and actors and artists who I’ve looked up to be like, ‘I can’t wait to see your movie,’ it’s really an out-of-body experience.”
“Dìdi” premieres July 26 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
