Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marcus Chan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Marcus, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Speaking as a director who also edits his own films, I really think all the lessons I’ve learned in my career came from experience. When it comes to filmmaking, there is no better way to learn than getting your hands dirty and actually shooting and making films.

I definitely benefited from my film school education, but even then we learned the most from shooting our student projects, and less so from all the lectures and classes (though they were good too!) You can spend all day reading up on how to direct actors or watch a ton of YouTube tutorials on editing, but you learn way more from talking to a real actor on set and actually putting an edit together.

Filmmaking is also a highly collaborative process, and it is very easy to lose sight of the humanistic part while focusing on the more technical aspect of the craft. More often than not, it is not just about talent, but about whether you know how to collaborate, how to listen, how to articulate your ideas, and how to be a team player.

I also think that whilst filmmakers and film artists need to have a strong conviction and believe in their creative voice, it is equally important to not let your ego get in the way or think “this is the only way I see it.” Sometimes we need to get out of our comfort zone and try something different or look at something from a different perspective. The result can be surprisingly rewarding.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I went to law school and spent my twenties working in corporate law firms, until my passion for film as an art form prompted me to quit law and go to film school in Los Angeles, where I first launched my career as a director and also an editor.

I have since directed, written and edited various shorts and features, both narrative and documentaries, that have screened around the world and are available on major streaming platforms.

I am currently editing a true crime docu-series that centers on a triple homicide linked to an illegal drug operation involving former members of the military, and am also producing a feature documentary on the war in Ukraine.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Given the nature of the business, sometimes it can be hard to say no to projects, especially the more lucrative ones or when you wish to maintain certain professional relationships.

I learned the hard way that it almost never pays off in the end. If a project does not speak to you, it can be hard to produce the best work even when you try your best, and you cannot just ignore and sweep creative differences under the rug — they always find a way to come back and bite you in the butt, so to speak. In the most unfortunate cases, it may end up hurting not just the project, but your own artistic convictions and the very relationships you wish to nurture.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As a filmmaker and editor who was born and raised as a member of the majority in Asia and now living and working as a minority in the US, I am hyper-conscious of the cultural stereotypes attached to different groups and communities, but having spent a significant part of my adult life living as both a majority and a minority, I also see not just the differences but the similarities between people from completely different backgrounds.

Ultimately I hope my creative work can help break down these stereotypes while showing the audience the similarities and universal traits shared by us all. In most of my career, I have focused on projects that showcase minority characters but whose stories do not necessarily center on their minority status but instead portray them as just ordinary members of the greater community facing struggles that may feel more familiar than alien to the audience. I guess at the end of the day, it is a preference as to what stories you choose to tell. And it is my hope that my focus on such stories can highlight the similarities between different communities and bring them closer together.