The Story

Aimee works in London as a freelance photographer after graduating from university, while her best friend Mira goes on to pursue a PhD degree. One day woken up by the notification sound of a barrage of messages, Aimee learns of Mira’s disappearance. Throughout the day, she tries all the methods she could think of to get hold of Mira but to no avail. And her memory of their day out together three weeks ago becomes blurrier as time passes. Being busy at work and reuniting with her flatmate Mandy only make Aimee feel lonelier and more afraid of a world without Mira...

Follow our journey of turning this friendship story into a 22-minute short film:

︎@TMCG_ShortFilm   ︎@TMCG_ShortFilm

Director's Statement

by Emma Nan Hu

We don't suddenly grow up when we hit 18 or 21. We grow up, through tears and heartbreaks, when we finally learn to take control of what we can and let go of what we can't. Although my first 20 years was spent in China, I feel that London is the place where I grew into an ‘adult’. Unfortunately for Aimee, this film is leading to the moment for her to ‘grow up’. And the audience would become aware of this before she does.

Through Aimee’s eyes, the audience will see two different sides of London. One side is illustrated in the ‘memory’ where Aimee revisits the idyllic day she spent with her best friend Mira 3 weeks ago. Here we see the vibrant international cultural hub, which the audience would recognise, through the iconic locations of the capital. The other side is the ‘reality’ where Aimee learns of Mira’s disappearance and tries all the methods she could think of to get hold of Mira in this cold, lonely - and all too familiar - metropolis. 

Growing up as an only child, I always saw my friends as the siblings I never had. Female friendship is the closest thing to sisterhood, but what makes it fundamentally different is the ‘boundary’ that is so delicate. These boundaries Aimee, Mira and Mandy try very hard to keep add burdens on their friendships, though by the end of the film the true meaning of friendship is revealed and these girls are brought closer than ever.

As a filmmaker, I want to tell powerful stories that resonate with audiences regardless of their family heritage. However, due to my own cross-cultural background, I do have a sense of obligation to provide a different perspective of the Chinese community in the UK for future generations of audiences. By making this film, I hope to deliver an authentic self-representation by portraying three nuanced female characters of Chinese ethnicity on screen.

The Film

Since we started working on this film, we've received so much support and generosity. We managed to shoot about 20% of the film earlier this year (2021) with our own funds and some sponsorship from incredible Asian-owned businesses in London like Tao Tao Ju and Miss Patina.



Photo: What Else Can We Make/ Dominic Ryan


After a few months’ efforts, we secured some private funds and investments enough to pay our wonderful cast and crew a minimum wage that they’ve so kindly agreed to. However, we still needed help to raise more in order to achieve the creative vision we had and the production values that we were aiming for. We officially launched our crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo on 11th May and raised £3,000 within 32 days. With blessing and support from our amazing backers, we’ve finally got back on set on 11th and 12th June and 16th July for our second and third block of filming.


Photo: What Else Can We Make/ Dominic Ryan


We’ve finally wrapped the principal photography on 19th August. It had been almost 7 months since we first started rolling the camera and sound. Thank you to everyone, who have been involved in this film in any capacity, for all your hard work, passion, confidence, trust, devotion and… being who you are! We believe that the process of filmmaking is just as important as the final film. Thank you for giving us a wonderful experience on set and for the beautiful memories that will give us strength for our journey ahead. And thank you to all who have helped, supported and followed our long and challenging journey!

We’ll keep you updated with the progress of the post-production and share some behind-the-scenes photos in the meantime.


Photo: What Else Can We Make/ Fanco Fang


The Missing Chinese Girl is now completed! 

Massive congratulations to all the cast and crew, and we’ll be in touch soon regarding our plans for the film! 
 
Follow our journey and stay posted:

︎ @TMCG_ShortFilm
︎ @TMCG_ShortFilm



Photo: What Else Can We Make

The Cast

During our casting process in December 2020 all the way through to January 2021, the responses we received from many talented actors and artists of East and South East Asian heritage were very overwhelming and humbling. We are proud to have assembled three of the most exciting Asian/ British Asian talents in the UK as the main cast of The Missing Chinese Girl.

AIMEE - Vinna Law

Vinna Law is a Malaysian made and London based Actor-Creator. She holds an MA in Acting from East 15 Acting School and runs an international all-women theatre company, Cognatus.

“ The main reason why I was interested in working on this piece was how familiar it was upon my first full reading of the script. Aimee’s relationships and encounters with the people throughout the story reminded me a lot of my own journey here in the UK and I’m sure others who came from a different country to live here would feel the same. The script is in no way dramatic or exciting, which is one of the things I love about it. Emma really highlighted the fact that people like us usually live quietly under the radar; the uncertainty, loneliness, the fear of burdening others with my own problems but also wanting to have someone to lean on and perseverance despite not being seen or heard. These feelings surface through small ‘minor’ moments, that people won’t have a second thought about but it is in those moments where you would feel, through Emma’s work, how these moments shape the way we view ourselves within our communities. ”

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MIRA - Dandan Liu

Born and raised in Beijing, Dandan Liu was originally trained as a child singer with National Radio Choir. She regularly performed in live concerts and TV in her teens. She found her passion in theatre eventually, and decided to train to become an actor. After graduating with a BA in Drama and Theatre Arts, she relocated to London and furthered her acting training at City Lit between 2014 and 2016. In 2017, she joined On the Wire - a touring theatre company and played Yi Di in From Shore to Shore - a bilingual play by Mary Cooper and MW Sun, and performed in various venues across the UK including Oxford Playhouse, China Exchange, and Oran Mor. Since then, she has appeared in a number of short films and TV programmes including Semi-Skimmed by James Soldan, filming opposite Tony Award winner Lee Sharpe; and a special poetry reading session with Gemma Redgrave for Sky Arts. In 2020 she was cast as Yuki - a Tibetan secret agent in spy thriller London Confidential playing opposite Mouni Roy. She has just wrapped on BBC's Silent Witness Season 24 playing Marie Yuen filing opposite Emilia Fox - the series will be aired in Autumn 2021.

“ I was attracted to the project mainly due to the fact that the film intend to explore the fragility of human nature and unpredictability of life events, as well as how young people deal with the consequences. In general, I am very much attracted to the creative process of working with young directors on short films exploring various possibilities of the film together. The Missing Chinese Girl presents a unique point of view of life from a young isolated woman's fighting with venerability - I was very touched by the script upon receiving it and hence decided to be involved in this project to approach these sensitive elements the film touches on through my acting. ”

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MANDY - Belinda Duong

Belinda is a multi-talented British Chinese actress and model. She has been the face of many international and household brands. Her debut feature film is the upcoming family comedy Fortune Cookies, directed by Brenda Lee with support of BBC Children in Need. Belinda is an avid globetrotter who has travelled to over 30 countries to date.

Other credits include: Spirals (2019), Fear of the Lotus (2018), Ambitendency (2017)

“ I am excited to be collaborating with Emma and the team on The Missing Chinese Girl because it delves into different cultures that resonate with me. The emotional story carries a personal connection, where I want to explore and further my own understanding of relationships, friendships and regret. I am passionate to bring my own influences to the character of Mandy, who like myself is British Chinese and have similar upbringings. ”

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The Crew

We have a team of international filmmakers from three different continents who are all too familiar with the experience of being a young adult living in a foreign country. Friendship isn’t only the theme of The Missing Chinese Girl but has also reflected in the assembling of our crew. Emma, Dominic and Miguel met on a film set in 2013 and have stayed friends ever since. Ariel worked with Dominic and Emma respectively on two different films, and now the three have reunited on The Missing Chinese Girl.

Writer/Director/Producer - Emma Nan Hu

Born and raised in China, Emma Nan Hu is a filmmaker currently based in London. As a producer and self-shooting director, she has worked in the UK and China providing short form documentaries and video contents for both artistic and corporate projects since 2011. After producing and directing five narrative short films, she discovered her passion and started production company What Else Can We Make in order to tell more stories that shine a light on cross-cultural experiences.

“ The Missing Chinese Girl is a story about the struggles of a young adult living in a foreign country, and how friendship provides support and a sense of belonging. Those inner struggles are something what many of us share and yet rarely talk to others about. I started writing the script in 2018, though I believe this story has become more relevant now than ever. The pandemic has reminded us how much we all crave for connections with other human beings. In the most devastating year of our time, we have seen the greatest compassion, kindness and friendship that people offer each other. These are what would help us keep going and overcome any hardship in our lives. And that’s one of the messages I hope our audience will take away from this film. ”

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Read Director’s Statement ︎

Producer - Dominic Ryan

Dominic Ryan is a producer/director who has been involved with many productions over the years from short form to feature film length. He is pro-active and always work hard to solve any problem given to him. In May 2020, he produced/directed a film over Skype called Four Walls, which was a Covid inspired story, that has since gone around the world in various festivals and has picked up numerous awards.

“ What initially struck me about The Missing Chinese Girl was the universal aspect of friendship. One of the most poignant feelings I found was the sudden jolt one would feel when something ends unexpectedly. Aimee is given no warning whatsoever about Mira’s disappearance, and is left unprepared for whatever feelings will eventually surface. Most relationships we experience in life happen in given moments of time and as we grow older, fewer and fewer people may – for whatever reason – no longer be a part of your life. We never know when we do anything in life if t may be the last time we do it, and that’s one of the biggest aspects of this story that intrigues me. ”

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Director of Photography - Ariel Artur

Based in London, Ariel has lensed over 60 films with recent features shot in France, Italy, USA and UK. His background in theatre and photography and a strong collaborative approach translates into solid partnerships with fellow filmmakers and cast. Member of ABC (Associação Brasileira de Cinematografia), he has been working worldwide with projects spanning from features and shorts to documentaries and music videos.

2019 Best Cinematographer for ‘Chasing Shadows’ - Flicks Film Festival 2018 Best Cinematography for ‘Happy Birthday, You Loser’ - London Short Series Fest

“ The Missing Chinese Girl has an intense narrative but depicted in a very sensitive way, touching on many elements that are so rooted in contemporary society yet so subjective to the way we relate to them. The story so well crafted by Emma Nan Hu dives into how lonely we can be even when we are surrounded by people, and this theme has really drawn me into the project especially regarding the visual approach Emma had in mind for the film. The idea of dwelling into the different worlds that the character belongs – or attempts to – and their inherent dichotomies, such as the pursuit to feel at home as a foreigner in another country and living up to professional standards that shape and threaten our personal values, offered a singular space to collaborate as a cinematographer. Emma is also a talented photographer which made this a special opportunity when it came to discussing references, such as the work of Philip-Lorca diCorcia and his use of high-contrast under twilight or at night and the street photography of Fred Herzog and John Goldsmith, considering the urban dynamics present on The Missing Chinese Girl. The challenge of appropriating ourselves with Aimee’s character and her emotional journey through loss and self-reflection and how amplified that can be for non-natives facing daily life as expats, seemed like an unmissable chance to explore the extent of a friendship’s impact on one’s life and how it can inform one’s choices and the path ahead. ”

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Sound Recordist/Sound Designer - Miguel Rodriguez

Miguel Rodriguez Puente is a sound recordist, editor, and designer based in London with seven years of experience.

Born in 1985, he studied music from the age of 9. Since then he has been involved in jazz and classical bands, orchestras, and drum ensembles. He studied composition at the same time and became interested in sound arts after taking lectures with composers who experimented in sound. He studied Sound Arts and Design at the University of Arts, London, where he collaborated extensively with film students and produced two radio plays. He graduated in 2014 and since then he has worked on film sets and also as a dialogue, foley, and sound effects editor, ADR mixer, and re-recording mixer.

Miguel has worked on a number of cinema-released feature films, as well as shorts, documentaries, ads, and a variety of audiovisual productions, and produced voice-over work.

“ I like Emma both as a person and a filmmaker, and I'm always up to working with her. It also helps that in this case the script is very good and the resulting film promises to be one I'll be proud to add to my portfolio. It should be, then, a pleasure and an honour. ”

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Score Composer - Ioana Selaru

Ioana Selaru is a classically trained film music composer and violinist born in Romania. Her compositions include original scores composed for short films, documentaries and animations, but her portfolio stretches out far from the traditional media, covering music production for art installations and exhibitions. Rooted in her classical upbringing and breathing the fresh vision of the contemporary landscape, her signature works are marked by unusual combinations of instruments and sounds, designed to strike that particular emotional chord in the audience, vital for the cinematic work to be complete. This delicate sensitivity to the realm of human feelings is also due to the fact that she never left her passion for the violin, instead, she uses it to create unique and unexpected sound elements from her favourite instrument.

“ I resonated with Emma's story ever since she presented her project to me for the first time. My personal experience made me better understand the struggles of an adult living in a foreign country and how important and beneficial the relationships with those around are. ”

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︎ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-missing-chinese-girl

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