We were lucky to catch up with Polly Lau recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Polly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The feature film “Angels Near Death” has been one of the most meaningful projects that I’ve worked on so far.

Producing a feature for the first time while not having very enriched experiences is not easy and the pre-production process of a feature film is way different than another short film that I’ve produced before.I see Angels Near Death as an opportunity to push me further toward my dream of becoming a producer. Most of the time, I’m learning new knowledge during this pre-production stage. It has given me a deeper understanding not just of producing itself, but also of the art of storytelling.

This project is now in post-production, and I’m so grateful to have been involved and to have discovered where my true passion lies.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Polly Lau, and I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I moved to Los Angeles in 2021 at the age of 18 to study film. Leaving home and moving to a foreign country was hard at first, but all those experiences have transformed into the inspiration for the stories I want to tell.

As a writer-producer, I’ve produced three short narrative films and one feature film. I mostly worked as an AD or a producer on set because I love pre-production and the development process. I believe that the work put into pre-production is what defines the smoothness and efficiency of the production. It’s always been fun being on set, and I’ve treated every opportunity as a learning experience.

While developing other people’s stories, I’m also preparing my own project, Leaving Home, a story about Shelly, a fresh high school graduate who is torn between staying with her injured family member, Keith, or leaving him to pursue her dream. I like to tell stories that resonate with people’s souls, and I believe that being 100% honest in filmmaking is the only way to do so. This story comes from the depths of my heart, and I hope the audience feels the same way as my main character does.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A story that illustrates my resilience is my latest TV pilot script, Talking to Your Soul. It’s a dark comedy-drama about Naomi, a mortician who has managed to detach from her work. She believes dead people are just objects. Her partner, Liam, is completely different—he’s a sensitive person who treats everyone with empathy. Despite their differences, they love each other and decide to get engaged. Naomi has a secret: she can see dead souls but always pretends not to. When everything seems to be going well, the dead souls start talking to her. In the shocking twist at the end of the pilot, Naomi discovers that Liam is dead, and his body is in the mortuary.

As I mentioned earlier, I think the most crucial part of filmmaking is being honest about your story. I’ve always been like Liam—trying to take care of everyone’s emotions around me, but it actually drains me. Naomi, on the other hand, seems heartless, yet I find myself trying to be more like her—trying to connect with people less because, in the end, I can’t change anything, even though I care. However, we are human, and humans have emotions. We should allow ourselves to feel those emotions and be able to connect with others.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My main goal in filmmaking is to resonate with the audience by telling compelling stories and creating interesting characters. I want to tell personal stories—stories that people are afraid to tell, stories that need to be told.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pollylau2002.myportfolio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polllauy/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/polly-lau-9a02462b3/
• Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13826293/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_1_nm_7_in_0_q_polly%2520lau

Image Credits

Jonas Chang
Francis Kong
Ashwin Mitchell