5Q's w/: Josephine Green Zhang "Wabi-Sabi" Writer, Director, Producer

QUESTION#1: What excited you the most when making this film?: The production design and stunts!

QUESTION#2: What was the most significant film you've seen AT THE THEATER in 2024, and how did it influence your filmmaking?: The Substance had such an impact on me. I went back and watched Coralie Fargeat's REVENGE as well. Coralie's not afraid to push boundaries and include her influences, much like how I went back and watched samurai films like LADY SNOWBLOOD and of course, KILL BILL, for this. While this film is dialogue heavy in my project, I also included an action scene. In the future, inspired by this year's films like THE SUBSTANCE and even CONCLAVE, which was also a quiet film, I'm inspired for a future project to rely less on dialogue and more on visuals. Finally, EMILIA PEREZ, BABYGIRL, and CHALLENGERS were among my favorite film this year for being passionate and propulsive. If I can bring such kinetic energy into what I make next, I'll really have grown as a filmmaker.

QUESTION#3: What's an obvious and not-so-obvious question someone might ask about your film?: What was the biggest challenge? And the answer was finding a location! We needed to find an authentic Japanese tea room and searched high and low only to find it was out of our budget, so our amazing producer Jeff Mizushima let us build the tea room in his home. The next difficult step was finding a production designer willing and able to build the set in someone's home. I scoured lists and set up interviews, and I was so happy to meet and work with Yu-Hsuan Chen and her amazing art department team who worked tirelessly to put this together. Our main cast and art department team worked so hard to create the world of the tea house that we stepped into.

QUESTION#4: A magic movie genie is giving you an unlimited budget for your next production! However, you're only allowed to use it on either "above line" or "below line" resouces. Which do you choose and why?: Below the line -- I'd love to make a creature feature next and also include stunts, so that's where the budget will go.

QUESTION#5: What is it about your current movie that will influence your next film?: Getting to work with a talented cast and crew and group of producers willing to invest in me and the story I developed. What an honor to work with this team. I look forward to the collaborative spirit and leveling up on the next project.

Social media tags to share with our readers: @wabisabithefilm, @josephinegreenzhang