An Interview With Filmmaker Alexandra Hsu

Short of the Month: 'Farmers Dating'

Hi Allexandra! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat. Let's start off with you telling us a little bit about yourself, your background, your influences, and where you are at in life right now?

Well! My name is Alle Hsu, and I'm a director! I'm originally from Orange County, California, but I now live in Los Angeles. I finally made the move here after spending much of my life bouncing around.

I spent some time in Claremont, California—which is inland from LA—for college. Later, I went to NYU for graduate school. I actually attended their campus in Singapore: for several years, NYU Tisch operated there as part of their graduate program.

At Tisch we were encouraged to make thesis films all around the world. So I of course spent my years in Singapore directing and producing, but it also involved a lot of travel. It was really — demanding and exciting, and each new location meant adapting quickly, meeting local people, and crafting stories rooted in those places.

Now I’m based in Los Angeles and have been here for a couple of years. I’m still relatively new to the city, to be honest! In terms of influences, I think I’m inspired by the world around me—by people, by art. I grew up attending all kinds of stage productions, and I’ve always loved movies — obviously!

Can you tell me a little more about what the experience of studying at Tisch was like and whether you found it creatively beneficial?

I loved NYU, and compared to some other film schools, they really stand out. I did find it creatively beneficial, definitely.

I think as a director, you should understand all the other departments and how they contribute creatively. NYU does a great job of helping students learn this. In your first year, they actually have you cycle through different positions on a set, so you really get to experience and understand every role.

I want to mention, in my class, not many of us were actually from Singapore. I think about 95% of us came from outside the country. That added a layer of cultural adjustment while also being in school and getting to know the place. That’s when I started to really love going to places that are different and new, and really finding my place there as a filmmaker. I began to ask myself, "What kind of story can I tell here?" As a director or producer, you want to be thoughtful and respectful of wherever you're shooting. It’s not just about coming in with a camera and saying, "Hey, I’m making a film." That would be a little invasive.

You've directed quite a few shorts; it really struck me that they are mostly all in different languages. Can you tell me about what made you go down that path and how the directorial process changes depending on the language?

Yeah, it's interesting because I don't think I did that consciously—it just sort of happened that way! In our second year at NYU, I wanted to make a short film about a young girl in Hong Kong. I grew up visiting Hong Kong when I was a young girl because my grandparents lived there.

My Cantonese is a lot better than my French, and I understand Cantonese better than I can speak it. It really was an eye-opening experience to direct in a language I didn’t fully know. It really raises your awareness as a director, especially when it comes to performances. You can’t rely on understanding every line, but you can read the actors' body language, which makes you hyper-aware of how they move or speak.

When it comes to Farmers Dating, I was dating a French man at one point. He told me that his family lived just outside Paris, and he had a car. I thought, "With a car, you can do anything! You can make a film!" I don’t know why that was where my mind went, but I just started writing. So even after we broke up, I had already started developing the project. I was planning to go to Europe that summer anyway and thought, "I’m still going to make this." I didn’t know any French, but I decided, "You know what? I’m just going to do it." I didn’t want to make it anything but a French story, so I decided to commit to the language.

Farmers Dating is a very charming and somewhat light-hearted short film, which defines it a little different from your other directorial work - can you tell me what led you to the decision of building the film’s identity as you did?

Yeah, I feel like my co-writer’s (Chris Vennemeyer) voice tends to be a little quirky, so it was a mix of his perspective and voice and my own. At the time, we both had very different opinions on online dating—he loves it, and I hate it. I think the story ended up being a combination of our opposing views, and because of that, the tone just morphed into what it is today.

You really are a master of genres and tones - almost adapting the style of the film entirely to the story. To you, in this what directing is all about, or are you also looking to find your own specific ‘Allexandra Hsu’ niche and voice?

I think the latter, directing is about finding or putting your own niche and voice into your work, versus establishing the genre or tone first. I think the genre and tone will sort of find themselves. For example, if you're telling a story about a man walking down the street or a woman sitting in a park, you don’t want to control the story by deciding upfront, “Oh, I want to make this a romantic comedy.” Instead, you should ask, "What is the character’s journey? What are they going through in this moment?" Let the genre emerge naturally from that, and through your own voice.

And ultimately, my choices as a director define my voice. Filmmakers usually express their opinions and thoughts through the characters they create. It’s also about the choices you make technically: where you point the camera, what lens you use, and how you decide to frame the story. How do you see the world through this narrative?

You're really focused on telling stories through authenticity, and particularly spotlighting Asian American voices and experiences. Tell me about why this is so important to you?

Well as I mentioned before, I'm an Asian American girl from Orange County. And if anyone knows Orange County, they probably associate it with shows like The OC or Laguna Beach, which give the impression of a not-so-diverse place. But in reality, Orange County is incredibly diverse—economically, politically, and racially.

To be honest, I grew up not even identifying as Asian American. It wasn’t until college that I started to truly understand my ethnicity. It was really through my closest friends, who later became lifelong friends, that I started to grasp my identity fully.

So yes, for me telling Asian American stories is important, though they’re not the only kind of stories I want to tell. I’m passionate about shining a light on underrepresented voices in general.

How do you feel about the current state of the independent film industry in the States?

I think the industry is in a very challenging place right now, especially here in the US. If you're here, you can really feel the shift. You can sense the temperature of the industry when you talk to people in it. For example, actors used to get one audition a week, but now it's more like six a year. The landscape is definitely changing, and only time will tell how it will evolve.

The streaming bubble created a perception problem: anyone who got into the industry in the 2010s, myself included, had a bit of a wrong idea of how things usually are. We thought that was how it was supposed to be, but those years were the exception, not the rule. Now everything feels diluted. There are so many people in the industry competing for jobs, but the opportunities are shrinking, and it feels like the system is folding in on itself.

You also work as a producer quite a lot, developing narrative work, but also commercials and music videos. I find that there's a common misconception about producing, so I'll ask if you agree with my personal opinion - is producing creative?

I think it can be. Yeah, I don’t remember who mentioned this to me, but someone once said that producers usually have one of three qualities: creative, financial, or resourceful. Most producers don’t have all three but might excel in one or two. So, I definitely think producing can be creative, if the producer has that quality.

I’ve realised that I’m the kind of producer who is very much a "director's producer." I would do anything to help the director get what they wanted. In that sense, it is a very creative process, but also, as a producer, you have to step in and say, “No, you can’t do that. We don’t have the budget for it” or “We can’t add another location.” It’s about setting those guardrails.

And lastly, Alle - is there perhaps a feature in the works?...

That’s what’s next! I’ve made a lot of short films, and so I really feel like the next step is a feature. And, I’ve been developing a couple of big projects in the last few years, but I think with the pandemic and the strikes, it’s been really hard to get these off the ground.

But finally, I’m heavily developing a feature now, and it’s called Beach House. It’s a psychological coming-of-age drama and I think it brings together all my short films in a way. Or different elements from each. We’re hoping to shoot in the fall, this year. So, fingers crossed!

Watch Alexandra’s short film below.

Submit to our Short of the Month programme here.