We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jackie Fang. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jackie below.

Hi Jackie, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I give my mother the full credit for making me who I am today.

She has always been a great role model to me. She is very independent and intelligent, especially emotionally. She worked as a judge for 20 years and she always loved what she did. She was never somebody that would tell me if something is difficult or unachievable, she allows me to explore on my own, but would watch me from afar. If I hit a wall and get hurt, she would always be there to comfort me. Then she would say something like “Maybe now you know, it’s probably the best not to go that way again”.

I grew up having a lot of free spirit, courage and was always a curious person because of that.

My mother also taught me what is confidence, that it is something coming from within, not from anything superficial. I have particularly wide shoulders due to swimming, at a point I was feeling a bit ashamed because a lot of the clothes wouldn’t fit me well. My mother always complimented and said “The clothes actually look much better on you with your wide shoulders, you made the shape stand out”.

It may sounds narcissistic for me to say this, but I always feel special as a kid. I think that has a lot to do with my mother’s education. I almost feel like that there’s nothing I can’t try to do, and it is ok to fail, but lessons have to be learned.

I think, most important thing my mother taught me, is to be a human being. To have empathy, to have compassion and the ability to love ourselves and others. She taught me to be always respectful, she said that it is never shameful and always deserve respect for anybody who earns a living with their two hands, that every occupation and social roles deserve to be treated equally, despite the age, despite the race, despite gender.

What was amazing about having a mother like mine, is that there are still things she taught me when I was a kid that I just realized. Things that seemed totally unrelated, but then I would have a sudden revelation and link to what my mother said ten, fifteen years ago.

Because of my mother, I always carry respect for people, I never underestimate anyone’s ability, I’m always curious and want to explore, I’m into a lot of different things and constantly developing new hobbies, I work hard and I care about others.

Jackie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I studied film both in undergrad and grad school. The main reason I applied to UCLA right after undergrad was because I knew the industry is here in Los Angeles and this is the city I need to be if I want to get into the industry. I have to say that it is true that LA is filled with talented filmmakers, resources and companies for film, screenings and events are always happening. I don’t consider myself “in” the industry yet, I think I’m still on the outskirts. But I do firmly believe that I will be soon.

I am most proud of how I work on set. I’m very focused and efficient. In my undergrad, we didn’t have much in terms of equipment and resource, so it really trained me to be creative, to use what I have and still make things happen. I still bring that mentality on set these days. I believe that there will always be more solutions than problems.

I also deeply value the camaraderie and the integrity of a team. As the leader of my department, I always try my best to bring respect, equality, and laughters to all the members of the team. I believe it helps to build a long term healthy collaborating relationship with every body.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I was diagnosed with herniated disc in early 2019 due to a weak core, that was after I found out I got accepted by UCLA grad cinematography program and was about to start school in a couple of months. I had a breakdown the day I got my diagnosis when I was away from family and working alone in a different city, I wasn’t crying for the physical pain, I was so scared that I could never be a cinematographer anymore, before I was even one.

Luckily I had an incredible doctor, after three months of treatment, the pain was fading away. I started exercising again and soon when I started my classes at school, I was able to lift equipments and work on set without a problem. But the pain do come back from time to time, I had to learn how to properly take care of my body and release the pain.

This experience taught me so much. I learned to accept my vulnerability, to accept the unfortunate and to keep looking forward, most importantly, I learned to turn my weakness to my strength.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Experiences, it has been and will always be experiences for me. Every project I worked on was an unforgettable experience, every story I told through visual was an unique journey, and every one I got to work with and spent time figuring out the creatives together was one of the best part of being a filmmaker. What I think makes filmmaking a great art is that it is such a collaborative process that allows different voices and ideas to trade and shine together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jackiefang.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queenofcablewrapping/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-fang-463130172/