A Conversation with Sean Wang, Director of Dìdi (弟弟)
Sean Wang’s directorial debut Dìdi (弟弟) was by far one of my favorite movies I’ve seen this year. We follow Chris, the summer before he enters highschool in 2008 and watch him develop a crush, look for new friends, and form a bond with his mom. This film is deeply personal to Sean as it’s based on so much of his life growing up skating around Fremont, CA. The grandmother in the film is actually his own Nai Nai and the house where a majority of the film takes place is actually his childhood home! In my book, this is the true definition of an instant classic. It does an exceptional job at painting the 2008 landscape both IRL and online from AIM chats to silly Facebook statuses to filming your friends doing stupid shit at school. I’ve never felt more seen on film. Watching this in a theater full of people for the first time was incredible as we were all laughing so hard everytime one of the character’s voices cracked or sent an awkward message to a crush… We spoke to Sean about how important clothing is when making a period piece, the skating attire he grew up around, and the role Spike Jonze played in his journey to becoming a filmmaker.
Hagop Kourounian: When making a period piece, how important of a factor is the clothing to help sell the era you're depicting?
Sean Wang: I think for this movie specifically, it was one of the most important ingredients for depicting that late 2000’s era. We were an independent film so we couldn’t really take it to the nines but the things that will just thrust people into that time period was the internet but also really the clothes. My costume designer, Brianna Murphy and I were so meticulous about what character wore what brands. For example Fahad, he’s more of a streetwear kid and he wears a lot of Stussy. We tried to be super period accurate to what kind of shirts they wore with the brand. It was really fun getting to pick their brands, it was pulling from different subcultures. Obviously, Chris is pulling from a lot of skate brands like Girl which Spike Jonze runs, Emerica, and he wears the half cabs. We tried to get him these shoes called the Emerica Hsu’s which we couldn’t end up getting. It was a lot of curation and remembering certain articles of clothing that we needed in the movie and who to put them on.
HK: What was the sourcing process like? Was it hard to find the correct gear? I wouldn’t say that specific era of clothing has really hit the vintage and resell market per se.
SW: Brianna did a lot of the heavy lifting. There were a couple vintage skate shops that had some of the older era clothes, she went to a few stores in SD. There were a few articles of clothing that were very hard to find that we couldn’t end up getting. I remember there was this Girl Skateboards tee that a lot of people had that read “Get Your Girl Off My Deck” I remember it was such a thing, I really wanted to find that. Fourstar was a brand that went out of business and we couldn't source it. We did most of our sourcing, trying to find the right clothes for the right character. We knew Chris was gonna be an Emerica kid because he liked Jerry Hsu and Girl because of Mike Mo and Spike. For all the older skaters I had written back story blurbs for some of them. One was a Chocolate kid and another was a Baker kid and when I gave them these blurbs I said, “also, you guys are skaters, if you have affinities for different brands let me know.” So they ended up designing a lot of their own brands as far as wardrobe goes. So Nugget said he was a DGK kid, Corey wears these supper beat up Fallens. We really wanted brands like enjoi too but they were out of business.
HK: What were some of the brands you grew up wearing? Did any make it onto the main characters?
SW: Like every kid at that time I wore Vans. I wore Lakai’s as skate shoes and for some reason those didn’t make it into the movie, we had a hard time tracking down period correct Lakai’s. I wore Emericas. Girl was and is my favorite company. I’ve met Bobby Hundreds now and I don’t know how this slipped through the cracks but Fahad should’ve worn The Hundreds. If I could redo one thing in the movie it's that he would wear a Hundreds tee. That was such a big staple in the late 2000’s, it would’ve been the Adam Bomb tee. The things I really wanted to include we couldn’t get, we couldn’t track down the right models. I was excited to get the Glamour Kills brand in there and that’s something Madi wore. That was a big Warped Tour pop punk brand people used to wear. We connected with the brand and they sent us a giant box of all those old tees. It was really cool to see a lot of those t-shirts again that my favorite bands used to wear. We put them on a lot of our background extras. Cali Skates, the hoodie that Chris wears when he gets more entrenched in the world of the older skaters. That was a huge get for us, that was my local skateshop growing up. Now everybody from my hometown or in the Bay Area who skates sees it and gets excited.
HK: The film highlights this push/pull relationship between a brother and sister. I noticed Chris constantly wants to steal hoodies and t-shirts from his sister’s closet. What is it about clothing that forms this kind of bond between siblings?
SW: To me there’s two answers to that. I think thematically for the movie it is a series of Chris literally and figuratively trying on different clothes. In the opening montage, there’s a scene where he goes into his sister's room and tries on her clothes. I had an older sister growing up, I would look to her closet for clothes to try on. I certainly had an emo phase and I would try on her skinny jeans, but it wasn’t for me. Her hoodies and jackets were things I would take once in a while because I guess girls like oversized clothes. I would steal her American Apparel jackets when I was a kid. In the movie he starts with what’s closest to him, his sister’s clothes and later on he’s trying on different identities. He puts on an Emerica shirt when he goes to film his new skate friends. When he’s going to the party to meet Madi, he puts on his sister’s Paramore t-shirt. “What t-shirt do I wear that is the best representation of who I’m going to be in that moment with this person.” So that to me is the importance of the clothes in the movie. I also think it’s just a younger sibling, older sibling thing. When you're that age and you look up to the people older than you, you think they’re inherently cooler than you.
HK: What are your thoughts on the influence skateboarding has had on the high fashion world?
SW: To me skateboarding and fashion and other subcultures have always been informed by one another. Streetwear and skateboarding have always been intertwined but it does feel like skating and high fashion have been overlapping more with skaters going to the Met Gala and these two worlds coming together. Especially with skate brands like Alex Olson’s Call Me 917 in places like Dover Street Market and obviously Supreme has always been there. I do feel like within skating, style is such a big part of the appeal and it’s not just about their tricks but about how they look on a board and who their sponsors are. When I started skating it was still kind of counter culture mostly but it was starting to become mainstream with X-games and the Zumiez couch tour. But now, it’s so mainstream that it’s just going to seep into these different industries like fashion that is a lot more visible than it ever was before.
HK: Spike Jonze is a hero of yours and plays a small role in the film. What did you learn from watching his work growing up and how does it feel to work with him directly?
SW: I could talk about this for hours… The short of it is Spike is the reason I became a filmmaker, everything traces back to him and his work. I knew him more as a skater, he had directed a lot of these seminal skate videos like Video Days, Yeah Right, Goldfish, Mouse…Fully Flared was the one I saw and was like “Oh I wanna do that whatever that is!” That’s how I kinda knew him and also a little bit as the Jackass guy but mostly the skate stuff. And then he did Where the Wild Things Are when I was in 9th grade and Girl released a collaboration line of boards with the film. I didn't know he directed that movie and I assumed it was just a weird collaboration. It just didn't compute in my head. Then through that I discovered all his music videos, commercials, Being John Malkovich, and Adaptation. I fell in love with his work. I felt so seen. It felt like this guy who was just playing around even though the work was really deep. It really spoke to me in a way that made me feel like I could do it. Meeting him was so nice. We got on Zoom and we talked about everything. We got to know each other in an organic way, it was the best version of meeting someone whose work has inspired so much of yours. This was during the first week of being in the edit for Dìdi (弟弟) and it gave me this burst of inspiration and made me realize I was ready to make this movie and shape it into what it’s going to be. The absolute best case version of meeting your hero. Then he moderated a screening we had! He always has the best fits on set, he’s a style icon too!
HK: I loved your premiere night outfit by Goodfight! The matching red with your grandmother was a great touch! What’s your relationship with them like?
SW: They’ve become such good friends now. They dressed Daniel Kwan for the Oscars and I had lunch with him a couple weeks before I went to the Oscars for my short film, Nai Nai & Wài Pó. He asked me who I was wearing to the ceremony and since I had nothing lined up he connected me with the Goodfight people. One of the founders, Christina Chou, is also an agent. She represents Isaac Chung and Stephanie Hsu. I first met her at Sundance through my producer and later I ran into her at an art show in LA. After we caught up she asked me who I was wearing to the Oscars. I replied that Dan Kwan was going to hook me up with the Goodfight people and she was like “that’s me!” When I was looking for something for the premiere I reached out and they hooked it up big time. I’ve never felt so fly. Their clothes are so great and they’re such cool people. I love them. I did a GQ interview with Yang-yi Goh and asked him what I should wear to the premiere and he said “Goodfight!”
HK: What are your on-set essentials when making a short or a feature? Is there an item of clothing you always wear? Is there something you’d feel lost without?
SW: I’m thinking back to our summer shoot, I always needed a hat. I always wore a The Cinegogue hat, Jahziel is the best. There’s a 3 Sixteen jacket that my best friend Kevin Kim got me for my birthday a couple years ago. He said if I’m gonna be a director I gotta have a director jacket. I couldn’t wear it while making Didi. It was just too hot but I always bring it with me as a good luck charm. I always have my chapstick with me. I’m a very superstitious person so I always have these little things with me.
HK: Who are some of your favorite dressed filmmakers?
SW: I do think Spike is a very well dressed director. I don’t think I can rock the fedora he wears on set every now and then. If I ever get the chance to make the next movie, I’m a big fan of directors wearing suits. Like Mike Mills. Chris Storer I think is very well dressed. Celine Song’s press outfits are always fly. Paul Thomas Anderson gets a lot of love on your page. I like how he dresses on set. Wes Anderson as well with his corduroy suits. Greta Gerwig's style on set is very playful but still says “I’m a director.” Oh and also Lulu Wang!