[Exclusive Interview] Wan Kin-Fai: Walking as If in a Dream — Only to Realize the World Truly Understands My Childhood
LAPost / Culver City, CA | November 18, 2025 — A面：我的一天 (Side A: A Summer Day), directed by Wan Kin-Fai and winner of the Golden Horse Award for Best Live Action Short Film, recently completed its North American screening at the 11th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF). As the film moves forward to compete for the 2026 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, Wan reflected candidly: “Something I once thought was impossible has truly happened. It feels like I’m walking inside a dream.”
Using the seemingly small incident of “a child failing to finish summer homework” as its narrative entry point, the film unfolds through a three-layered structure that continuously shifts perspective. It moves fluidly between humor and quiet sorrow, ultimately returning to the emotional weight of family bonds. Balancing both artistic depth and accessibility, A Side has been praised by audiences as “a rare work that truly speaks to both refined taste and the general public.”
At the AWFF screening, as the truth of the mother–son relationship gradually emerged, the audience rose to its feet in spontaneous applause at the end of the film, paying tribute to the creative team with sustained ovations.
Throughout the festival, Wan Kin-Fai appeared at nearly every screening. He held a camera to document audience reactions and actively participated in post-screening discussions. On November 17, after watching Director Liao Hock-fa’s documentary From Island to Island at the Culver Theater, he accepted an exclusive interview with LAPost.
(Photo by: Richard Ren/LAPost)
“I Thought Only Chinese Audiences Would Understand — I Never Expected the Whole World Would”
LAPost: When you saw overseas audiences standing and applauding for five minutes at the end of the screening, what was your most genuine feeling at that moment?
Wan Kin-Fai:
I was truly, deeply happy. I originally thought only Chinese audiences could understand this story. But there were viewers from all over the world, many from cross-cultural family backgrounds, and they naturally connected it to their own relationships with their mothers. Many told me, “This film shows me myself.” That is the most precious feedback I could ever receive.
People also realized the story is closely tied to my personal experiences, and that surprised and moved them. In fact, I’m not a heavy person myself—I put a lot of my own humor into the film. When audiences laugh at those moments, I feel an incredible sense of happiness.
This is the first project of mine that truly had proper funding. I never imagined how far it might go. I only cherish every screening and every exchange. As long as the audience resonates with it, I am already completely satisfied.
Why Can “Unfinished Summer Homework” Carry Such Profound Emotion?
LAPost: The film uses a seemingly trivial incident—“unfinished homework”—to unlock the deepest emotions between mother and son. Where did this idea come from?
Wan Kin-Fai:
In my upbringing, family members rarely say “I love you” directly. Love is often expressed through scolding—when we’re young, parents scold children; when we grow up, children scold parents. Yet it’s still an expression of love.
After the mother and son go through a very difficult day, this sudden incident of unfinished homework pulls them back together to face life again. To me, that is the essence of family—when unexpected situations arise, you face them together.
So “forgotten summer homework” isn’t just a plot device. It’s a chance for reconnection, and a miniature reflection of how a family collectively carries the weight of life.
Multilingualism Is Not Decoration — It Is Identity Itself
LAPost: Hindi, Hakka, and Mandarin naturally interweave throughout the film. What does this multilingual design mean to you?
Wan Kin-Fai:
Language is extremely重要 in this film because it is the most fundamental symbol of cultural identity, yet also the hardest thing to judge from appearance alone.
Growing up, I never realized I was “switching languages” at home. We called umbrellas “cha-da” (later I learned it comes from Hindi), and spoons “si-gang” (from Cantonese). Only as I grew up did I understand these differences.
The sense of “strangeness” created by language actually makes the viewing experience more real. Dialogue that is too polished or too perfect feels artificial. Pauses, stumbles, grammatical mistakes—rhythms that feel like NG takes—are, to me, a form of beauty.
The Piano Scene: Captured from “Secretly Filmed Reality”
LAPost: The piano interaction scene has become the audience’s favorite moment—described as both heartbreaking and tender. How did you help the actors shed a sense of performance?
Wan Kin-Fai:
I believe in familiarity between people, and I believe in real emotion.
We didn’t start “working” only when we arrived on set. We lived together and played together. I’m a very playful person by nature. When people genuinely connect, emotions flow naturally instead of being designed.
Not “Discussing Issues,” but Being Honest About Life
LAPost: Side A: A Summer Day is seen as a breakthrough beyond the “over-issue-driven” tendency of Taiwanese short films. What do you believe is the key to its success?
Wan Kin-Fai:
I am not a director who deliberately sets out to “discuss social issues.” Even though cross-cultural identity is present in the story, it was never my creative starting point.
For me, the most important thing is honesty. If I’m not someone who can naturally tell stories through grand themes, yet I force that depth into my work, it becomes hollow.
So I simply used the depth I am capable of and told the life experiences I can honestly face.
“The Light in My Memory”: The Haircut Scene
LAPost: Since the film is rooted in your childhood, which “details about your mother” did you insist on preserving?
Wan Kin-Fai:
Although the story comes from my own life, the characters are still characters. Many choices were made simply because I wanted to make a film I myself would love, not to fully recreate my life.
But there was one detail I insisted on keeping: the scene where the mother cuts the child’s hair. I lived in that place for ten years. My mother always cut my hair there when I was little. The sunlight and the air of that place—I still love them deeply to this day.
To me, that is not only emotion; it is the light in my memory that I always wanted to capture on film.
Actress Ning Chang’s “Mother Figure”: Not Imitation, but Becoming Herself
When speaking about actress Ning Chang (张寗), who carefully studied tone, manner of speech, and even spent time observing life in Indian shops to prepare for the role of the mother, Wan explained that he never judged her performance by whether she “resembled his own mother.”
“I wanted her to be herself,” he said.
What mattered more was whether she could, through her own understanding, grow into a mother figure that was real and believable—rather than a mechanical copy of a prototype.
“What I Hope the World Sees Most Is Still a Mother’s Love”
LAPost: Side A: A Summer Day is now regarded as an international breakthrough for Taiwanese short films and South Asian Chinese diaspora narratives. What do you most hope the world will see through it?
Wan Kin-Fai:
What I most hope people see is still a mother’s love—the most universal emotional value between parent and child. That works anywhere in the world.
As for India, Taiwan, immigration, and language, these cultural elements are also very special in themselves. If the world can realize that there is such a group of people out there, I think that is a beautiful thing too.
In fact, overseas Chinese in India are spread all over the world, but you can’t tell from their appearance. Sometimes their Hindi is even better than their Mandarin.
Feature-Length Version Completed: Father, India, and Deeper Conflicts to Unfold
Wan revealed that the screenplay for the feature-length version of Side A: A Summer Day has already been completed. In addition to the mother–son relationship, the father’s character will be formally introduced. The film will further deepen the conflicts and everyday details of Indian immigrant life, and even expand into storylines set directly in India.
“This exchange with international audiences made me feel the universality of multiculturalism even more strongly,” he said. “With today’s constant global movement, everyone is more likely to see themselves in others.”
Conclusion: A Short Film Belonging to Taiwan — and to the World
From the Golden Horse Awards, the Golden Harvest Awards, and the Taipei Film Awards to Los Angeles, Side A: A Summer Day now stands on the threshold of the Oscars. Its success is neither the result of calculated strategy nor issue-driven packaging. It is, rather, the full integration of:
Honesty, memory, humor, craftsmanship, and emotion.
Amid three consecutive screenings in Los Angeles filled with applause, Wan Kin-Fai quietly said:
“So it turns out that my childhood, my family, and my story can be understood by people all over the world.”
This is not only a victory for Side A: A Summer Day , but also an important milestone for Taiwanese short films on the global stage.
(By: Richard Ren / LAPost)
