We’re seeing more individual projects from the members of Wong Fu Productions. This time it’s Phil Wang. He released a Chinese language short film that he shot while on vacation in Taiwan. Here’s the director’s statement from Phil about the short:

The feeling of regret or wishing for another chance is common when a couple separates. Whoever is at fault usually searches for sympathy as they have realized in hindsight their mistakes. In “Places” Becky has returned from a 6 month internship and runs into her ex-boyfriend. Based on the flashbacks we see that prior to her leaving, she made many efforts to keep him close, but he was not so receptive for whatever reason. While his rejection of her ideas to take trips may not have directly been the reason for their breakup, it’s enough to show his attitude toward the relationship and how much he had come to value it and her. Fast forward to her return from the job, we can see that she is not totally over it. And to her surprise, the ex-boyfriend has come to realize how he mistreated her. Whether or not she gives him another chance is left open, but the ending line is what I wanted to emphasize… When people break up, they usually handle it in one of two ways. They either push themselves to forget about it and move on, or they wallow in depression, holding on. In my opinion, I don’t think it’s good to do either. Trying to forget means getting rid of all the experiences and lessons. Dwelling means not accepting and growing from the same experiences/lessons. When Becky says “I will do neither”, she’s saying, I can move on, while still remembering why.

Read more about how Phil put the piece together on the fly while on vacation and the challenges he faced doing it here. Amazing how he can do it so quick with no real actors and having some translate his script as well. No crew or budget, just running around the city with a couple friends.

Also see this short by Wesley Chan while he was on vacation called “These Four Walls“.

The Places We Should Have Gone by Wong Fu Productions