Meet Cindy Chu

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cindy Chu a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cindy, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I think finding your purpose is a lifelong journey of figuring what’s for you and what isn’t. In college, I did a bunch of internships in various industries like politics, finance, online magazine writing etc. so I knew what wasn’t for me. Coming from an immigrant family that struggled with money, going for a financially secure job was ingrained in me, but I knew I was drawn to the arts, specifically towards acting, which is the pure opposite of being financially secure.

After I graduated college, I worked on a feature film as an office production assistant. I remember seeing actors coming in for auditions, and I knew I wanted to be doing that instead. So I eventually signed up for acting classes at T. Schreiber Studio, and I was hooked. I was able to express myself in ways that I never could as a child, and I realized no matter what “safe job” I took, there’s no denying that I would circle back to acting. So I got my MFA in Acting from the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University where I learned a lot about storytelling and character work. However, the roles for Asian American women weren’t truly reflective of our experiences and I wanted to change that.

I turned to writing and independent filmmaking and joined groups like Ghetto Film School and Asian Creative Network to find community with other People Of Color, Asian Americans, and female creatives. It became my goal and purpose to write about stories with socially conscious themes, and when I can, to hire as many folks from marginalized groups as possible for cast and crew because we continue to lack those opportunities in mainstream TV and film.

When I write stories, I lead with passion and I’m clear on what socially conscious issues need to be addressed that is important to me and to our society. I wrote a TV pilot called, ANGEL ISLAND that’s gotten me into multiple fellowships, and it’s a horror historical drama about the Chinese Exclusion Act during the early 1900s where the American government imprisoned Chinese people on Angel Island, off the coast of San Francisco. I was never taught this in school and it was a huge shock to me as an adult learning about this subject through museums, and to realize how American culture erases us from American history and has created a false narrative of Asians being “foreigners” in this country. It’s a travesty! Writing about this was my way of bringing light to this subject that most Americans don’t know about.

As I’ve gained more traction in my career, I realize that Hollywood doesn’t necessarily care about your “purpose”, it’s been about what’s their definition of “distinct” and what’s selling in the marketplace. It’s been a difficult journey and it’s easy to forget why I started writing in the first place, but I continue, even now, to remind myself of the impact I want to make with storytelling.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a filmmaker and I write television and film. My narratives often revolve around socially conscious themes, frequently featuring Asian American female protagonists who come from more humble backgrounds. My passions started as uncovering deeper truths of Asian American experiences and writing stories in a way that entertains the audience by genre-bending them. However, as my lived experiences have grown, my inspirations have expanded beyond the Asian American narratives. I lived in Mexico on and off for over a year and saw the impact of the migrant situation, U.S. deportation, and the desperation of migrants traveling to the U.S. While media and politics push a negative narrative about migrants, I aim to tell their stories that humanize and reflect their experiences while also entertaining the audience by scripting the story through a thriller lens.

In the last few years, I’ve also expanded to directing. I received a grant from Queens Council on the Arts to shoot the short film version of my feature script, BAYARD STREET. It’s an immigrant love story inspired by my parents’ journey working in Chinese restaurants in America. It was such a collaborative experience involving the Taiwanese and Chinese immigrant community in New York City where they allowed me to utilize their locations to film, and our donors helped us raise the rest of the funds beyond the grant. It had a successful film festival run where we won the Audience Choice Award at the Asian American International Film Festival and won Best Narrative Short at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival.

I’m also a part of the Sony Diverse Writer Fellowship, and I work as the writers production assistant on the Sony/Apple series, STAR CITY which is the spin-off of FOR ALL MANKIND.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

First is having grit. This industry is so difficult to break into especially if you’re a woman of color, come from lesser financial means, and with no industry contacts. Understand that everything is “figure out-able” but you need to have the stamina and tenacity to keep going because it takes many years to hone your craft and build a network to support you in moving forward in your career. There will be moments like last year when many people lost their jobs during the writer and actor strikes and this year when many shows have been canceled, you need to come back to your reasons of why you started this journey to begin with because I believe that’s what will keep you motivated to continue on during the hard times.

Collaboration is so important! Whether it’s in filmmaking or a writers room or writers group, it’s all a team effort. Be open to listening, and learn to take and give notes/pitches. Always be respectful when doing so and not be defensive, but also understand that it’s difficult when you’re the one receiving notes on your project. Ultimately everyone’s trying to make the story/project better.

To tie it all together, I think knowing how to emotionally regulate yourself and staying flexible are top skills in life. Because writers rooms only last 5 months or so at a time now and you may not know when the next job will come, you need to find an outlet or practice for yourself to keep the anxiety at bay. Going back to getting notes, while intellectually you might know it’s not personal, but the story you’re telling may be deeply personal to you, so coming into the meetings in a calm state goes a long way. And when you’re on set, it gets hectic very quickly especially if you’re the director and many people want to talk to you, find ways to keep balanced helps a lot whether it’s listening to music or having a breath practice.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

It’s been a roller coaster of a year. I was working on a show that suddenly went into redevelopment, and I was very anxious because the job was supposed to continue for a few more months. I recollected myself and tried to be productive during this time and focused on finishing writing my other TV pilots and planned out my exit strategy from LA if the show wasn’t going to continue. I also redirected the anxiety towards what makes me happy, and since I’m an avid solo-traveler, I did many day trips to explore SoCal and LA. It helped to relieve a lot of the work stress. Also having a spiritual or meditation practice and being out in nature helps.

The show ended up getting canceled. In moments like these, I think acceptance of what’s happening and grieving what’s been lost is the first step, and then prioritizing the logistics of what needs to be done. I ended my lease, put my things in storage, and bought a one-way ticket out of LA. I had to trust everything would be all right as it always has been in my life. The day before I was leaving LA, I got a call with a job offer that would start the following day and it’d run through the rest of the year. I said “hell yes!”, canceled my flight, and took the job.

Lately, it’s been hectic at work and I’ve had to reprioritize what’s important in my life so I don’t get overwhelmed. I think always making time for things that make you happy and joyful should be a top priority, and knowing what parts of your life you’re willing to take a back seat on temporarily. For me, dating isn’t a priority at this moment so this frees me up to spend more time on day trips, hanging out with friends, going to events etc. Basically, find ways to rebalance yourself so you don’t get overwhelmed is key.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bit.ly/cindychu
• Instagram: @itscindychu
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-chu

Image Credits

Sony Pictures TV, Eric Badique, Kamila Hoe, Austin Asian American Film Festival