Growing up in the suburbs of Sydney, Chinese Australian filmmaker Amy Wang has been a silent achiever having directed promo shoots on reality show X factor as well as other major US shows such as Criminal Minds, DOWNTON ABBEY and How To Get Away With Murder. If you read her CV, you will recognise the names of shows she has worked on.

Now living in the heart of entertainment of Los Angeles, Wang has tackled Hollywood and has been successful. In a recent interview with Being Asian Australian, Wang talks about her journey from suburban Sydney to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

“You know, I have wanted to be a filmmaker since I was 15 – 16 years old. I remember watching films by filmmakers I admired growing up and I was always blown away about the powerful messages they were sending as well as the impact they made on audiences and on the industry. This is what drives my passion for making films and working on awesome shows because I want people to feel what films and shows I loved growing up made me feel”.

“Coming out to LA was always a dream of mine, but I always knew there would be challenges as the competition is huge here and it is not easy to carve your spot as an acclaimed filmmaker. But my will is to continuously go for all and every opportunity”, Wang expressed.

If you all didn’t know, Wang is the writer for Crazy Rich Asians 2! Yes something exciting and worth celebrating as Asian Australians. For Wang, this is a major milestone and project for her, as it is an opportunity that once upon a time she could only dream about.

Following in the footsteps of acclaimed Malaysian American writer Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians, Joy Ride) who was the writer for the first and successful installment, Wang is looking forward to seeing her work in the second installment come to life.

“Crazy Rich Asians in many ways is an institution of films as when it was released, it became a watershed moment on the discussions around better representation of Asians in front of the screen. Even though there have been many other watershed moments of this sort prior to the release of Crazy Rich Asians back in 2018, this film really advanced this cause. It gave many Asian actors from all over the diaspora an opportunity to be heard, seen and defy stereotypes”, Wang discussed.

“I hope when we see number 2 released it will follow and continue the 2018 watershed moment. I want number 2 to be a milestone and hope it will show the diversity of my writing skills as well as create more opportunities for Asians in front and behind the screen”.

Well said in our opinion. In addition to her major opportunity with Crazy Rich Asians ( which is still listed as an upcoming project, credit for Wang), she has not stopped working and continues to deliver and has delivered with other major projects.

More recently, Wang has worked on some awesome projects including being a writer on Netflix’s “The Brothers Sun” (2024), which stars Michelle Yeoh and Justin Chien and on her own film “Slanted” which stars Shirley Chen (DiDi, The Truck), that premiered at the 2024 SXSW as well as at the 2024 Sydney Film Festival.

“Slanted” is an interesting film as it is about an Asian American teenager who has a desire to become and look more white. A timely film which questions identity, racism and self hatred. The teenager, Joan Huang goes through experimental surgery to appear white, hoping to secure the prom queen title and peer acceptance.

Maybe a bit extreme, but it spotlights the yearning and experiences of self hatred by many Asians all over the world. This film was extremely important for Wang, as the message mirrored her own experience growing up Chinese Australian.

“The film is about a Chinese American teenager who wants to win the title of prom queen so badly that she basically undergoes experimental surgery to become a white girl. The message and concept behind this film in the search of belonging and understanding identity came from my own upbringing in Australia. I came to Australia as an immigrant and moved over to Sydney when I was around seven. I experienced a lot of racism when I was young and that made me question my culture, hate who I was and what I looked like and there were times when I would wake up wishing I was white”, Wang passionately expressed.

“To have the film screen in Sydney at the film festival was a very surreal experience for me, as I had my family and friends all there supporting me. I have been going to the Sydney film festival since I was a teenager, so seeing my own film screen there was definitely a dream come true”.

Finally, Wang offered some perspectives and observations about what she has seen change or what has remained unchanged in the entertainment industry in the US and in Australia. The movement for better representation of Asians in front and behind the camera has been a huge movement in the US over decades and the question is whether this movement is reflected in Australia.

Asian Americans have now moved on in taking representation to mean authenticity in storytelling, casting and representations as opposed to just plain representation. Having spent a decade in Los Angeles, Wang states that from talking with friends and colleagues in Australia that things have improved but more still needs to be done.

“It is difficult for me to say or comment on the Australian industry because I have been living in the US for a long time. I do know that the movement in the US is quite advanced and people who have power in the industry are listening. Asian Americans are very driven in pushing this message, and I hope that this drive is also evident in Australia”.

“From talking with friends back home and colleagues who are deep in the Australian film and television industry, is improving but it is not as fast paced as the US. So I guess more can be done. I would love to see the Australian industry take more risks and try to write and show more bold stories that reflect what Australia looks like”, Wang stated.

To learn more about Wang, please click here for her IMDB