for TIMID Magazine

Oscar-nominated director Sean Wang, following his acclaimed short film Nai Nai & Wài Pó, did not intend for his next project to be another story about his family. Yet, it was the story that wanted to be told. The theme resonated with Wang, having previously explored family dynamics within Asian American culture through the short dedicated to his own grandmothers. In Dìdi, the heart of the story became the relationship between a mother and her teenage son.

Coming-of-age stories for Asian Americans are a subject rarely explored in film. These communities grapple with balancing tradition and modernity, adding a layer of complexity to this universal experience. Dìdi takes on that challenge by telling the story of Chris, a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy who struggles with balancing internal and external expectations in the summer of 2008.

Drawing on his own experiences, Wang explains how his upbringing informed the making of Dìdi: “That's kind of how I felt growing up in Fremont, California. I think we have seen a lot of narratives about what it feels like to be the one Asian or Asian American person in a sea of white people, and you're so aware of your ‘otherness.’ I felt like there was something that was a little more subtle about the experience that I wanted to try and capture in Dìdi: What does it feel like to be surrounded by a bunch of people who actually share the same language and share the similar cultures as you, but even within that environment, you still feel like an outsider? ”

Through its casting and nuanced character development, Dìdi offers a cathartic experience for those who have grappled with similar anxieties in their youth. In an interview with Timid, Wang discusses the filmmaking process as well as the inspiration, themes, and message of Dìdi.