Blue Sun Palace
Interview with director Constance Tsang
Blue Sun Palace Opens in NY and LA on April 25. Here is more info on screenings.
Describe the film/TV show for us in your own words.
Blue Sun Palace is an impressionistic film about grief, connection, and moving on. Set in New York City’s Chinese communities, the film follows three immigrants whose life intersects for a moment in time.
What drew you to this story?
I first came across the story during COVID, when there was a rise of Asian hate crimes targeting women who were working in the massage businesses. Slowly that idea transformed into a film that grew closer to my own experiences with death and how I saw my parents creating a home for themselves in America.
What do you want people to think about?
I don’t necessarily want this film to be a “thinking” experience rather than a “feeling” one. What I do hope the audience will take away is how we see a community that they might not encounter regularly.
What was the biggest challenge in making this?
I think money and time were always the hardest things to fight for.
What was the development process? How did you get green lit?
My team and I had trouble finding creative and financial partners for the film in the US. We had several meetings but everyone passed on it. Ultimately the film was financed all privately.
What inspired you to become a storyteller?
I had always loved to write so telling stories was something I very much enjoyed from a young age. I didn’t think about making films until I was in my late teens. I watched mostly big blockbuster films growing up. During that time I was introduced to the films of Ingmar Bergman and movies like the Battle of Algiers and Rashomon. Only then did I think about movies as an art form that had cultural and political resonance.
What’s the best and worst advice you've received?
Best advice I’ve received is to remind yourself of the world outside your frame. Worst advice I’ve received doesn’t usually come in advice but in the form of notes. I’m always trying to understand the note underneath the note.
What advice do you have for other female creatives?
Surround yourself with people that understand your vision and support it. I think the minute you feel like someone’s ego is getting in the way, clock that feeling and decide accordingly how to work with said person or not.
Name your favorite woman directed film and why.
Agnes Varda and Chantel Ackerman are some of the early female directors I was exposed to and what they showed through their films is a different sense of cinematic language and time. Their films are so personal and so transcendental to me at the same time. I also love the films of Celine Sciamma and more recently there was a debut feature that I often think about - Natalie Alvarez Mesen’s Clara Sola.