Interview with "My Heavenly City" Director, Sen-I Yu

In addition to being a film professor at Ithaca College in New York, Sen-I Yu is an award-winning filmmaker. Originally hailing from Taipei, Yu recently produced her first feature length project, My Heavenly City, a film that had been in production for the past six years. This week we were lucky enough to sit down and talk with Ms. Yu about her creative process, the immigrant experience, and seeing her vision come to life on the big screen!

Rua: "Today, I am here with Sen-I Yu, could we start with you introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about your film?"

Yu: "Hi, I'm Sen-I Yu, I'm the writer and director of the feature film, My Heavenly City, I'm also an assistant professor of Cinema Production at Ithaca College. My Heavenly City is a film about the immigrant experience but it's also about New York City. I lived in New York for twenty years, I have grown and I have suffered in the city, and these experiences became very precious to me. Y'know, living there I got to see so many people from all walks of life so this movie is a dedication to my experience in the city."

Rua: "How long did it take you to develop My Heavenly City?"

Yu: "It was conceived from a short film of the same name. It's about the experience of English-Mandarin interpreters. The main character, Mavis is not too sure what she's doing in New York and by working as an interpreter she gets to witness a lot of people's suffering and this experience gives her a sense of direction. I shot the short in 2019, and it's really hard to find funding for short films. But I had this idea to write two other stories, added them on, and that's how it came to be!"

Rua: "Wow, so it's really come a long way. How much of your own immigrant story did you insert into the script?"

Yu: "Oh, a lot! I was an interpreter when I was in film school. I put in a lot of my own experience as well as those of other people who helped me grow. Sometimes we focus so much on our own life that we lose perspective, so seeing the suffering of other immigrants gave me a full perspective on the subject. Through the film I've gotten to appreciate their stories as well as my own. The third story in the movie is about a middle aged couple dealing with mental illness, that's also coming from people I've known. So it's a very truthful immigrant story, both from myself and others. I think it's important now more than ever because we have all this push for a lack of diversity, perspectives, and opinions."

Rua: "And I really commend you for that, pushing through the noise and making sure your voice is heard. As a first generation American myself, I really appreciate it. Are there any films that come to mind when it comes to work that has influenced you?"

Yu: "Yeah, with this film I wanted to make a sort of triptych. I've seen a ton of films with that structure, I like how they deal with time and space. There's this one film I love from Macedonia called BeforeThe Rain from 1994 and that definitely had a strong impact on my process. Also the Kelly Reichardt film, Certain Women."

Rua: "And do you have any favorite movies?"

Yu: "Oh that's a really hard question. This one film that had a big impact on me was The Green Ray by Éric Rohmer, a french director. I actually have a quote of his on my office door, it says: 'I do not say with words, I do not say it with images either. I do not say, I show. I show people who move and speak.' Rohmer is a big influence on me, I really appreciate his kind of cinema."

Rua: "Did you always want to be a filmmaker?"

Yu: "Well, through high school and college I was very much into theater and I was acting a lot. But at some point I just became very self conscious, so that's when I started feeling like I wanted to be behind the camera, telling stories. That was my kind of awakening where I realized that I didn't want to put myself out there as an actor but I still wanted to tell stories. Now my favorite part about making films is working with actors."

Rua: "Now, in addition to being a filmmaker, you're also a professor. So as an educator, what would you say is the most valuable advice you can give to a student?"

Yu: "...I don't want to be cliché..."

Rua: "You can be cliché, it's fine!"

Yu: "Well, the cinematographer I worked with on set would always say 'just keep grinding.' So I would say that, find your voice and keep grinding."

Rua: "Nice, do you think your work as a professor has influenced your work as a filmmaker?"

Yu: "I think so. One of the best aspects of being a professor is that I get to know a lot of young people. It has definitely changed my perspective on things, being generations apart from these students, and I think it's important to keep that perspective alive."

Rua: "Have you experienced any challenges being not only an immigrant filmmaker but a female filmmaker as well?"

Yu: "Um, yeah, I think it's all about perception. I was teaching one of my cinema production classes and we were doing an exercise where students had to direct a scene, and I noticed that this female student was giving direction very timidly. All of her sentences started with 'I think you should...' or 'maybe do this...' and I think this is because as women we are expected to be more humble; smaller. But in a filmmaking environment you need to be confident."

Rua: "I've definitely struggled with that. Your student was probably thinking 'what if people perceive me as bossy or aggressive?' I've spent my fair share of time defending female artists after they were called 'pretentious' or 'over-the-top,' and it's for exactly the reasons you discussed."

Yu: "I work a lot with Film Fatales, this organization that helps female TV and film directors. And there was this workshop where the instructor talked about the importance of how you present yourself, you have to be fair and assertive. That's something female directors need to be aware of because it can hold us back sometimes."

Rua: "Now, as a teacher I'm very curious to hear what you have to say: do you think film school is essential to being a successful filmmaker?"

Yu: "I think it depends. I think it was very helpful for me, film school provides not just the courses but this environment and community which has turned into my support system. A lot of my collaborators are from film school and I cherish that very much, and some faculty really inspired me as well. But then again, Paul Thomas Anderson went to NYU for a year before dropping out but he continues to make films. So if you already have the community and those connections, then maybe it's okay not to attend."

Rua: "You always hear that the best thing you can take away from film school are the connections, that's the one thing everyone seems to agree on. Just to wrap up here, where can audiences find My Heavenly City to watch?"

Yu: "It's playing April 26th at the Taiwanese Community Center in Flushing, NY, and there's a screening at Ithaca College on May 3rd."

Rua: "Well thank you so much for meeting with us today, Professor Yu, you've been a wonderful guest."

Yu: "Thank you for having me!"

Thanks once again to Sen-I Yu for appearing on our site this week. All of her work can be found on her website, seniyufilm.com as well as her IMDB. Make sure to also support the non-profit, Film Fatales to help support the work of marginalized directors. Thank you for tuning into Cinemasters.net and remember to never stop watching!