Behind the scenes: "What I Had to Leave Behind"

Here I am dusting the miniature set of What I Had to Leave Behind, my latest film. In my (comparatively massive) hand, I’m wielding the same 1/2 inch acrylic paintbrush I used to paint this dollhouse-scale apartment. I should’ve made a dust pan before I started sweeping, too! Photographed by my director of photography, Wenting Deng Fisher, we wrapped filming in April 2021 with these miniature unit shots to help tell the story of this hybrid live-action/animation diary film. Featuring animation by my friend Cassie Shao, an original jazz score by Branden Brown and sound design by Jackie! Zhou, I’m looking forward to completion this summer and building whatever comes next!