“Dìdi (弟弟),” written and directed by Sean Wang and starring Izaac Wang, is a coming-of-age film taking audiences back in time to 2008 — a year defined by MySpace webpages and flip phones. The film, which is now in select theaters, follows 13-year-old Chris Wang (Izaac) as he learns how to skateboard, kiss and flirt.
In the latest edition of Character Media’s “Spotlight” series, Sean reveals that he dissected his old Facebook timeline to design the appearance of webpages in the film; he also referenced his old posts and internet slang. “I did try to hack into my old MySpace account too many times to count when writing this movie,” Wang laughed.
Izaac, 16, who didn’t grow up with the same internet references as Sean, managed to build a complex character through his relationship with Sean. “Sean helped a lot with creating the character overall,” Izaac said. “Something that helped more was learning more about Sean and learning more about who he is as a person.”
Sean also talked about his adaptive directing style which allowed his teenage actors to improvise so the dialogue would feel more authentic to how actual teens speak. “The hardest part of directing their dialogue was … don’t say ‘bet,’ or don’t say ‘deadass,’” Sean said.
“Dìdi (弟弟)” is in select theaters now and will be released nationwide on Aug. 16. Watch the full interview above, and head to theaters to see the charming film this summer!
