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Your new movie It's Our
Time - in a few words, what's it about?
It's Our
Time is about a filmmaker, Emilia Kong, who is about to get
evicted by her landlord, and the only way she feels that she can get some money is to apply for
funding for her script However, the funding officer, Shannon Edmunds,
rejects her application and he falls for her best friend, Zoe Chadwick.
Since It's Our
Time lead character Emilia is a filmmaker like yourself, is the
film in any way on your own journey and experiences, and to what degree do
you actually identify with Emilia?
Yes, the character Emilia Kong is loosely based on my life story as a
filmmaker. I would say the film is 40% true to my life story, however my
close friend/s didn't fall for the funding officer. The flashback
sequences particularly reflect my childhood experiences. (Other) sources of
inspiration when writing It's
Our Time? Some other sources of inspiration are Nancy Meyers and Nora Ephron
films, as I was a big fan of their work when growing up. I wanted to be a
filmmaker like them, but one who champions diversity. I believe I have
achieved that in all of my past films - The Gift that Gives, Get a Life
alright, Rhapsody of Love, The Script of Life. You just have to talk about that
rather hilarious film-within-the-film in It's
Our Time, and is this based on an idea you've ever developed in
more detail? I have developed this idea more in my next film, Her Last Laugh, which
we will be filming in January 2026. I was inspired by that idea when I
watched Tootsie, when Dustin Hoffman got cast as a female in a soapie. I
have always thought that idea was very clever. What can you tell us about your overall
directorial approach to your story at hand? Like all my films, I write a film based on my life story. As part of
the process, I allow actors to paraphrase and sometimes ad-lib to their
dialogue. I like to give actors that freedom, being in the moment;
exploring their creative instincts.
You also appear in front of the camera in It's
Our Time - so what can you tell us about your character, what did
you draw upon to bring her to life, and have you written her with yourself
in mind from the get-go? I remember the first day of primary school when I was watching
basketball where a group of year 6 boys were playing and their ball rolled
out of the court. At that moment I wanted to help them, so I ran straight
over to pick up the ball and threw it back too them, feeling proud of
myself, as I wanted to make friends with them and hoping they’d ask me
to play with them. Instead, one boy yelled back, “Hands off my
basketball you ugly Jap!” That moment stuck with me and I wanted to
relive that moment, by bringing it back in my movie. So I wrote myself a small cameo, pretending that I was face to face with that bully again.
Khan Chittenden played that character perfectly well in my film. I found
that moment empowering and therapeutic at the same time.
Do talk about the rest of It's
Our Time's cast, and why exactly these people? I cast Tiana Hogben
[Tiana Hogben interview -
click here] as the lead as I have been watching her in the
Aussie TV show Thank God You are Here, which is like a live
improvisation of skits, and she is part of the ensemble cast. I was
watching her for a few months and she never broke out laughing in her
skits and was very in the moment and focused. So I asked her to audition
for the lead, and she did a wonderful audition. I also had been watching
Peter Thurnwald in XO Kitty on Netflix
and loved his acting in that series, and I auditioned Bianca Bradey for the lead for my previous film The Gift
That Gives, but thought that role didn’t suit her but loved her
performance, so I remembered her and asked her back to audition for my
next film, It's
Our Time. Other actors like Susan Ling Young (The Office
- Australia), the late Lex Marinos (Kingswood Country) and Maria Tran
(Echo 8) were all from my previous film, The Gift that Gives, and
I gave
them different parts as I felt they suited the roles. The cast didn’t
know this film was based on my real life. It wasn’t until we had the Q&A at our Australian premiere in Sydney when I revealed that this is
the most personal film I’ve ever made. I think they were quite
surprised. Only Khan Chittenden knew that his scene was a flashback in my
life. I had him play that character as a chilled, egotistical, ignorant
guy who had a swagger just like that year 6 bully. He did a brilliant job.
He also starred in one of my previous films, Rhapsody of Love.
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A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
Like all my films, this film was shot in 8 and a half days, as that’s
all the budget I had. I have only applied for funding from funding bodies twice in my life
and was unsuccessful, so I have to rely 50% of the budget on my acting
work, TV commercials in particular, and sponsors and investors.
The shoot was well planned. I give notes to the actors beforehand. We
had 10 hour days for the 8.5 days shoot, and I don’t go overtime - as I
don’t have the extra funding to do so. I like giving actors the freedom
to play and the opportunity to paraphrase with the script as I don’t
believe it has to be word-perfect as that’s added pressure that they
don’t need. I believe in being the moment, listening to each other and
working as part of a team and being positive and kind to each other on set. Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of It's
Our Time yet? It's
Our Time was well received in Sydney and Melbourne for our
theatrical release, and we had a world premiere at the International New
York Film Festival where it was first accepted as a finalist. We’ve had great reviews in the
US.thus far and it
currently has a 9.4 rating on IMDb too. Any future projects you'd like to share?
We’re currently in pre-production for our 6th rom-com,
Her Last Laugh, with my co-producer Erica Long. We plan to film in January 2026.
It’s about two sisters who inherit their mother’s casting agency, but
in the will it has a clause, “if the business isn’t in profit after a
year, it will go to their uncle,” who they despise. I plan to bring back
Tiana Hogben as one of the sisters. You've started out your film career as an actress
- so what got you into acting, and did you receive any formal training on
the subject? Yes I had my lucky break in the late 90s as a presenter in a
children’s show, Play School (A.B.C. TV). At that time I had guest
appearances in TV shows as a doctor or nurse in G.P, Home and
Away, A Country Practice, Good News Week and so on, but there was very little
diverse representation on screen at that time, so I started my own
production company, Joy House
Productions, to write/direct/produce
feature films, and the annual Joy House Film Festival (short films with the
main theme of joy and sub-theme of diversity), now in its 11th year.
Thanks to the success of films like Crazy Rich Asians and The Joy Luck
Club, they are proof that Asians on screen can command box office success. I hope to continue making diverse films and hope to collaborate with
bigger production companies like Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine,
Drew Barrymore’s Flower Films, Nicole Kidman’s Blossom
Films or Jennifer Garner’s Vandalia Films, and get a 3 picture deal with a
streamer like Netflix. That would be a lifetime goal of mine. I find it
easy to write stories, and I can produce them on deadline.
I attended Edith Cowan University and received a bachelor of arts
degree with a major in Drama, and later a certificate in Creative Writing.
Creative Writing was one of my favourite subjects at school which I did
rather well in. I loved reading my stories out loud and listening to my
classmates laugh. Thanks to this subject, (and subjects like debating,
acting and sports, where I excelled) I gained respect from my peers and
was never bullied again after that first day at school experience. What made you branch out into writing and
directing eventually, and which side of the camera do you actually prefer? Due to the lack of diversity in the film and TV landscape, I started up
my own production company, Joy House
Productions, to make diverse films, and my own film festival, Joy House Film Festival, as a platform for
emerging filmmakers for their work to be embraced. I do enjoy writing and directing equally.
How would you describe yourself as an actress, and how as a director?
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As an actress, I like truthful performances which rely on listening
and working off other actors in the scene. This is how I like to direct
too, making sure the actors are listening and thinking, being in the moment of the scene too. I love authentic, truthful
performances rather than “caricature” performances. Filmmakers,
actresses, whoever else who inspire you? I love romantic comedies. My favorites include: Jennifer Garner
(13 Going on 30), Drew Barrymore (Music and Lyrics), Reese Witherspoon
(Your Place or Mine, Just Like Heaven) and Nicole Kidman (Lion,
Bombshell, Moulin Rouge). Your favourite
movies? My favourite movies of all time: When Harry Met
Sally, You’ve Got Mail, E.T. Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else?
My website is www.joy.net.au
Instagram: joyhouseproductions
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joyhouseproductions/
Youtube: joyhopwood
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joyhouseproductions
Blogs: https://joyhouseproductions.wordpress.com/
and https://medium.com/@joyhopwood
Pinterest: https://au.pinterest.com/thejoyhouse/
Twitter: https://x.com/JoyHopwood
Thanks for the interview!
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