Please tell us about the projects you worked on before making ‘Her Nails’. How did you start, and how did you learn to make films?
I first entered the filmmaking world as an actor during my undergraduate studies. At the time, I was still majoring in economics, but my passion for performing arts and visual storytelling, nurtured since childhood, encouraged me to switch my career path to filmmaking.
While working with different directors on set, I fully utilized my opportunities as an actor to observe and learn about directing, which eventually led to the creation of my first film, Xiao Bing. Leveraging my previous experience as an actor, I also worked on various films as a casting director, helping the directors to find the best talent.

Tell us about ‘Her Nails’. How do you describe it?
Her Nails tells the story of a gentle yet powerful transformation of a middle-aged woman who is grappling with an inner struggle about letting go of her twenty-year marriage. It is a film that conveys feminist power through the subtle emotional journey of a divorced woman. We follow her thought process during her experience at the nail salon, which begins as an attempt to attract the attention of her ex-husband but evolves into a personal ceremony of change.
Please tell us about your favorite filmmakers.
I admire many international filmmakers and their works: Asian filmmakers such as Wang Kar Wai, Kore-eda Hirokazu, and Lee Chang-Dong. American filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan and Greta Gerwig. I also love European cinema in general, and those films are the source of my inspirations as a director. I’m recently studying the cinematic language style in Nolan’s films for my new project, and I find it very inspiring especially his approach on convey character’s inner world.
If you were given a good budget, what would be your ideal project?
I love many different Disney films, such as Wish and Zootopia. The innocent and uplifting spirit within Disney stories speaks to my soul and encourages me during challenging times. If I had a good budget and resources, I would create a similar story that fits Disney's culture. Bringing positive and uplifting energy into a story has always been my goal as a storyteller—to give hope for the future, even in our darkest moments.
Describe how you would ensure that production is on schedule. What steps would you take?
As a director I usually spend huge amount of time on character development and story structure to make sure that every element in the story serves the central idea. This helps my team to understand what we are going for when it comes to visual composition. I am highly communicative and embrace all the creative ideas come from different departments. This ensures we as a team are always going for the same goal, which makes our filmmaking process a smooth and effective one.
What was the hardest part of making ‘Her Nails’.
"The most challenging part of directing Her Nails was visually expressing the hidden emotions of our main character, Liu’fang, and externalizing her thought process. My cinematographer and I discussed many approaches that could work and studied a few films as references. Throughout this process, I discovered my own style of portraying the emotional journey of a divorced woman, making it a beautiful and powerful experience for her. My goal was to show the transformation of a woman and her courage when facing the most difficult decision of her life.

If possible, tell us about your next work. What plans do you have for your future work?
Toward the end of the post-production process for Her Nails, something unexpected happened that deeply challenged me. After four months of readjustment, my storytelling focus shifted from family to criminal justice. Recently, I shot a proof-of-concept film exploring the intense anxiety of a female detective during her investigation. While my goal remains to bring uplifting and encouraging stories to the audience, this exploration of criminal justice stories has sparked my journey into the crime and thriller genres.
I am currently also working on a proof-of-concept film that explores the world of psychological thriller, romance, and crime. The story begins with a man and a woman who are romantically drawn to each other, sparking an underlying danger that has yet to be uncovered.
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