Alice Wu

      Alice Wu was born in California. She is of Chinese decent and was previously a software designer for Microsoft before becoming a filmmaker. For someone new to the movie industry with no prior experience, her debut appearance as the director and screenwriter of the independent film, Saving Face, was a hit. This film was a controversial movie about a lesbian Asian couple (Wilhelmina and Vivian) facing cultural and societal obstacles. Although the plot of this film may be obscure to some, there is a level of intimacy and desire of belonging that any audience can sympathize with. Saving Face was inspired by Alice Wu herself as a gay Asian women who faced much backlash from the Asian community. Her personal experiences very much guided the progress of this film. As the auteur and the author behind the scenes, Wu has a lot of power over what this film will ultimately be. A big reason why the film was so successful is because Wu did not write the script to cater to the mainstream audience. Her inexperience in the industry actually helped her immensely in creating a truly honest film that is not polluted by mainstream media. Bell Hooks states that movies "give the reimagined, reinvented version of the real”(1) but this film is one of the rare exceptions to that statement.
In a Times article, Wu reveals that she was approached by producers that suggested changing the script into having Caucasian characters or making the film about a heterosexual couple. She cleverly declined those offers which would have made the film gear towards mainstream media. This independent film is a great example of how successful and relatable alternative media can be. By sticking with her original ideas for the script, she made the experience completely genuine and believable. As a heterosexual Asian woman watching the film, I was still able to relate to the main character's hardships of family approval and acceptance. Wu's cinematic choices as the auteur and author flawlessly portrayed the Asian culture and the delicate relationships between all the characters.
Debra Zimmerman and Catherine Saalfield's Author/Auteur: Feminist Literary Theory and Feminist Film touches on the subject of mother/daughter relationships. Alice Wu's Saving Face has a very genuine depiction of this type of relationship. Wu does stick to the stereotypical dictatorship-like mother/daughter relationship. Instead, she makes the character of Ma vulnerable as well. The movie takes you on a journey of healing in which both Wilhelmina and Ma aid each other's emotional wounds. Yes, it sounds sappy but trust me, Wu does an exceptional job of making the experience so realistic. 
The most common critique that Alice Wu has received is her bold decision to create a film that disputes such significant factors in our society-sexual orientation, race, and gender. While some may admire her gutsy debut film, others such as film critic Eric Snider degrade her film as "only a slight variation on a theme we've seen much of in recent films, that of the gay person who comes out of the closet in a strict conservative environment." Critics aside, this film was received very well by the general audience. In the Saving Face reunion screening, Wu speaks of audience members of different ethnicities and ages that express to her how they were able to relate to the film. 
      More specifically, there is no doubt that this film provided a powerful voice for the gay community and for the Asian community as well. As a young Asian woman myself who occasionally struggles with the traditional ties of my culture, I saw myself in this film.  The positive audience reaction has every bit to do with Wu's position as both the director and screenwriter. I think that if she had only fulfilled one of those roles, the film would not have been as successful as it was. This only stresses the importance of not only the prep work of writing the script but also the execution of it which Wu so brilliantly performed. 

Alice Wu on "Saving Face"

"Saving Face" Cast Reunion

Sources:

Saving Face directed by Alice Wu
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/movies/29leib.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (New York Times article on Saving Face)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qm0hAtCBP8 (Alice Wu on Saving Face)
http://www.ericdsnider.com/movies/saving-face/ (Eric Snider's Critique)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsxXbnphz-4 (Saving Face Cast Reunion)
Bell Hooks, Introduction Reel to Real
Debra Zimmerman and Catherine Saalfield, Author/Auteur: Feminist Literary Theory and Feminist Film