We had the good fortune of connecting with Nuozhou Wang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nuozhou, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?

A filmmaker that continuously tells stories of the un/under-represented persons through innovative ways of storytelling. I also hope that my works could inspire people to think that there is no one right answer to how a film is made and what it should look like. And hopefully, that would make filmmaking less intimidating and more accessible to people.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

My video works include projection design for opera performances, experimental videos, music videos, and films. I enjoy experimenting with new visual languages and creating different viewing experiences. I am always excited about working with an all-women or mostly-women crew and building work based on women’s or marginalized persons’ stories. I am very lucky that most of the production that I’ve worked on are like this. And each time I feel more empowered and motivated by the people around me and the work we created. As in my personal time, I also like to paint, make digital wearables (through Instagram filters), make 3D print objects, and create digital images.

How did you get to where you are today and what was your journey like?
There’s definitely hard work I put in to get to where I am today but I also like to acknowledge that without the luck and support, either financially, emotionally, or otherwise, from my family and people around me, this journey would have been a million times more difficult. The free internet has also played an important role. Platforms like YouTube (definitely not sponsored) makes resources accessible. I learned all my technical skills for video editing and VFX making from the free resources online.

I studied Sculpture for BFA and it was my last year in school that I realized my passion for video and film and started to work in this direction. I am still navigating myself through the video and filmmaking world. I feel lost sometimes and doubt if I can make it as a good filmmaker without a relevant background. But in the end, I tell myself there’s no right or wrong path.

Are there any realizations in your artistic journey you would like to share?
My creative path hasn’t been linear and I’ve realized that it doesn’t have to be. One thing I learned is that this ride will not and does not have to be a straight line with no stop from start to end. Sometimes I take the wrong turn, the long way, or make a stop and that’s totally okay. I am proud of myself for making through the difficult situations and am very grateful for the people that have shared love and support along the way. I feel a lot more relieved when I started to embrace the uncertainties in life and accept the fact that I cannot make perfect decisions all the time. And when I am less stressed, I produce better work!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

We’ll start off the week with a chill afternoon at the Breakheart reservation where we can talk, hike and swim! I’ll also bring her to the Peabody Essex Museum, the Salem Witch Village, and ICA. And at night after we’ve had all the carbs from the local restaurants, we’ll take a walk at a beach nearby. In case my best friend is not feeling like going out, we can always stay at my place, play Catan and watch a movie together. I am pretty proud of being a host for my friends! They all seem to enjoy staying at my place and they keep on coming back and/or extending their stay! This makes me very happy too.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I’m very grateful to my parents who have been very supportive of my decision to pursue an artistic career. I’ve also met many badass woman artists in my journey- Aliana de la Guardia, Deniz Khateri, Bahar Royaee, Laine Rettmer, Andrea Merkx, Alice Millar, etc. They continue to inspire me through their great works and are absolutely wonderful to work with. Last but not least, my friends are always my source of strength in difficult circumstances: Kaining Wang, Jiusi Zhang, Sno, Wan He…The list goes on. You just know they’ll back you up when you need them. (I hope they feel the same way about me too! ;))

Website: http://nuozhou.live

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/7020207nz/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wnz

Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/nuozhou

Image Credits
(For the first horizontal image, and another close-up image with bubbles on the side) DIVA Music Video, Artist: Cristal Maze, MV Directed and Filmed by Alice Millar, VFX by Nuozhou Wang. (image with an ill woman lying on a couch and snow falling on her head) La Bohème, Directed by Laine Rettmer. From left to right: Bizhou Chang, ZIwen Xiang). Associate Directed and animated by Nuozhou Wang, (the orange image) (H∩H), Directed by Nuozhou Wang. From left to right: Tao Sha, Salama Albastaki, Yikka Ching, Jiusi Zhang (the pink image) ROLLER PORTAL!, Directed by Nuozhou Wang. Starring Sno Personal photos taken by: Wan He

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.