“Basic” Story
Having lived in New York for a few years, I became interested in the dynamics
between roommates in an urban setting. One’s ordinary apartment is suddenly
transformed into a microcosm of drama.I wanted to tell the stories of
the young people who once belonged to and found comfort in Generation
X have now grown older and lost some of their identities. Now they are
struggling to find out where they belong.
BASIC EMOTIONS wasn’t created to offer any answers. Rather, it is my hope that audiences will identify with the young people in the film and reflect on their own paths in life.
“Basic” Concept
The foundation of BASIC EMOTIONS started in the late 2002. Being from
Denmark, I was influenced by the Dogma movement and it's creative approach
to filmmaking. I wanted to come up with an idea that tied a few stories
together creatively and that would inolve the collaboration of a large
number of people.
The main idea behind BASIC EMOTIONS boils down to telling good stories that people can relate to.
In spring of 2003, three screenwriters were selected out of 200 applicants.
They were given the assignment to create 3 different stories based for
a set of 4 characters in one location. By summer, final drafts were written.
The search for directors started when the screenwriters were chosen. It took a long time finding Georgia Lee, Julie Pham and Tom Moon. In one way, it was coincidental that they all were Asian American filmmakers, and in another way, it wasn’t. Young Asian American filmmakers have recently become more visible after Justin Lin’s 2002 blockbuster BETTER LUCK TOMORROW.
Being Asian, I realize how important it is to portray minorities in film, but also I felt strongly that Asian American directors should tell great stories regardless of subject matter.
Both the cast as well as the production team signed on because they loved the stories as well as the challenges of working on a film that essentially consisted of shooting three different short films in six days.