With Children of Invention, Tze Chun gives a whole new meaning to “Sundance Kid.” His first feature, premiering at Sundance Film Festival this week, is a unique Asian-American story that draws on his own life. But it’s carried by Michael Chen and Crystal Chiu, its two child stars. Whether you’re kicking it in Utah or not, check out my convo with writer/director Tze Chun.

Twenty-eight-year-old Tze Chun pronounces his first name like the letter Z. He was born in Chicago and grew up in Massachusetts. Based in New York since 1998, Chun did a six-month stint in L.A. while writing for Cashmere Mafia [the now-canceled ABC drama starring Lucy Liu]. Last year’s writers’ strike spurred him to move back to New York, and now he’s based in Brooklyn.

Chun has supported himself by painting portraits while writing and shooting nonstop. In 2007, his short film Windowbreaker premiered at Sundance; later that year, Filmmaker Magazine named Chun one of “25 New Faces of Independent Film.”

Children of Invention, based on Windowbreaker, explores the harsh economic and familial realities faced by Asian immigrants. Michael and Tina Chen (Raymond Cheng and Crystal Chiu) find themselves alone in their squatters’ apartment in Boston. Their single mother, Elaine (Cindy Cheung), has been picked up by the cops for the questionable pyramid scheme she used to keep the family afloat. Michael realizes his ingenuity is the only means of his family’s survival.

Stevenson: Tze, tell us about the path you took to a career in film.
Chun: Well, my degree is from Columbia, class of ‘02, in Film Studies. I’m just a big film geek, I guess. There was no production component to my degree. So to supplement my film interests, I started making my own movies. [Many of Chun’s movies were made with tiny budgets and volunteer actors].

Stevenson: In the director’s statement, you told us that the inspiration for Children of Invention came in part from your own childhood experiences. The single mom in the film tried to support her family through pyramid schemes, and your family got involved in some direct marketing while you were growing up. Why are pyramid schemes so often a part of the Asian immigrant experience?
Chun: People who move to this country, they feel like they’re set behind; there’s not as many opportunities. And there are two things promised by the people in charge of pyramid schemes — financial stability and opportunity — and that’s the cornerstone of what every immigrant family needs. That’s why they came over here! When you’re new to this country, you don’t know the horror stories; you’re not as aware of the red flags. [In the Director’s Statement on his website, Chun recalls, “Most of the time, we got out (of the pyramid scheme) before we lost money. Sometimes we didn’t.” In an ironic twist, Chun's mother, Ai Cheng, played the mother in Windowbreaker, and also has a role in Children of Invention].

Stevenson: Your production schedule was tight, and many people in the production count COI as their first feature. What was the vibe like on the set?
Chun: Yeah, it was the first feature for me, and Mynette Louie, our producer, and our cinematographer, Chris Teague. Both had done a lot of short films, and had some good experience from them. I’ve also done a lot with shorts, and I’ve had horror stories from every production. But Children of Invention is one of the smoothest shoots I’ve been on. It was a great vibe. When you’re working with kids [the principal actors are in almost every scene], you need to improvise. We happened to choose [production] people who were more collaborative. When an angle or shot or scene wasn’t working, it was great to have a small crew, because we could change it up immediately. There wasn’t this huge machine that needed to change course.

Stevenson: I understand you had an extensive search to find the right child actors? Tell us more about them.
Chun: Actually, the brother (Michael Chen) and sister (Crystal Chiu) were cast as a brother and sister in the Transformers movie, and the scene was ultimately cut from the film. They are not actually brother and sister in real life. Casting [the kids] was a new experience for me. When we cast the kids for Windowbreaker, the kids did not see the script at all. The producer prompted them. But since this was a feature, we had to have a full script. The day of the audition, the kids we cast had all their lines highlighted in the script. They had their lines memorized by the first rehearsal. In so many films with kids, they have to cut around the kids’ performance, and get a line from here, and a line from there for the perfect scene. But if your kids are in character, you can go for some long takes, and we really took advantage of this for Children of Invention.

Stevenson: I agree—the long takes can really give the film a lifelike quality. Now, the original title for Children of Invention was The Kids are Alright. Tell us more about that….the classic rock band The Who had a song by that name, so it seems like an iconic title. But the same could be said of Children of Invention.
Chun: The Kids are Alright was the original name for Windowbreaker. In that film, the mother said that line at a key point, and it fit. But then we were made aware that there could be a lawsuit, and it felt like the wrong title [as Children of Invention took shape]. The mother was an important character, and the expression “mother of invention” is common. But the kids [in this film] are put in a situation that kids are not normally put in. In the second half of the movie, everything they do is done out of necessity. Raymond, the brother, does what he feels is necessary.

Stevenson: And it seems that his choices drive the dramatic tension. Tell us about the HD cameras you used.
Chun: We used a couple of cameras. Most of the film was shot on an HVX100 with a 35 mm adapter, which worked well. But with the HVX100, not as much light was let in, and it was too difficult to light everything. So for the nighttime scenes, we used a different, full-size camera.

Stevenson: What makes Children of Invention stand out as a film?
Chun: I wrote it as a very personal story [Chun’s Director’s Statement underscores how closely related his story is to that of the Chengs]. But I could never have foreseen our current economic situation. My hope is that people will make time to see it because of what is going on in the U.S. right now.

Like the families depicted in his work, Tze Chun has his sights set on an American dream. But the way he’s going about it is no pyramid scheme. Methodically, at his own pace, Chun’s set and met his own bar for artistic achievement. We wish him the best as the Invention of his heart wins accolades at Sundance.

If you’re going to Sundance, don’t miss Children of Invention’s world premiere. Tze mentioned that a few tickets are held for sold-out screenings. So, if you show up, you may still be able to get in. The Screenings page at the film’s website has a link for ticket info.

Sunday, January 18, 2:30 P.M., Prospector Square Theatre (SOLD OUT)
Tuesday, January 20, 6 P.M., Temple Theatre, Park City (SOLD OUT)
Wednesday, January 21, 6 P.M., Sundance Screening Room, Sundance Resort
Saturday, January 24, 11:30 P.M., Library Center Theatre

One Press and Industry Screening: Tuesday, January 20, 9 A.M., Holiday Village I

Also, sign up for Tze’s Facebook Group for Children of Invention. Twelve hundred fans strong and counting, the group keeps you updated with the latest screenings and links.

Stay tuned to my blog for a full review of Children of Invention, coming soon.

Tags: Children of Invention, Cindy Cheung, Crystal Chiu, Filmmaker Magazine, Lucy Liu, Michael Chen, pyramid schemes, Sundance, Tze Chun