Chatting With the Grandmas of Oscar-Nominated ‘Nai Nai and Wài Pó’: “How Could We Be Movie Stars?”

Sean Wang and his grandmas have had quite the month. On Jan. 19, the filmmaker’s debut feature, Dìdi (弟弟), had its world premiere in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, and then four days later he became an Oscar nominee for Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó. He shot the Disney+ documentary short in 2021 during the pandemic, about the daily life of his paternal and maternal grandmothers, Yi Yan Fuei and Chang Li Hua, who after being widowed about a decade ago became roommates and then, as Wang puts it, “sisters” and “soulmates.”

“We thought it would be special to fly back to Fremont and surprise the grandmas and watch the nominations with them,” Wang says of he and producer/cinematographer Sam A. Davis’ quick jaunt back to his Bay Area hometown in the middle of their Park City engagement. “Even if we didn’t get nominated, [we could] put an end to this surreal, amazing journey together in the place where we shot it.”

But nominated they were, and Wang and Davis were able to experience their indelible moment of gleeful disbelief with both grandmas, his mom and his sister (with his dad on FaceTime) before flying back to Sundance, where Dìdi (弟弟) won both the Audience Award, as well as a Special Jury Award for best ensemble on the way to its acquisition by Focus Features.

Yi and Chang had traveled with the rest of Wang’s family to Utah to attend the Dìdi (弟弟) premiere, and they also spent nearly a week in Los Angeles earlier this month for Disney’s Feb. 9 Lunar New Year-themed premiere party for Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó (the 20-minute short is streaming now) and then the Feb. 12 Oscars nominees luncheon. The pair were the guests of honor at the former, repeatedly fielding well wishes and selfie requests when they weren’t playing mahjong in the corner or watching lion dancers wind their way through the party.

It’s all been a novel experience that both grandmothers take in stride, perhaps because of everything they’ve already witnessed in their near century of living.

“A lot of people have this moment where you start seeing your parents and grandparents as more than just this label. They’re complex, and they have histories,” Wang says of his desire to turn his lens on his grandmothers. “But it’s hard to be vulnerable with your family, so I think the infrastructure of filmmaking and bringing them into my world as a filmmaker and getting to collaborate with them kind of forces me to close that gap between grandson and grandmother and bring us closer together.”

In Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó, Wang asks his grandmothers to reflect on their past and present, but the film is also a joyful chronicle that was a deliberate response to the nationwide wave of violence against Asian elders after the onset of the pandemic. “It was that juxtaposition of seeing people like them be victims of these violent hate crimes and then hanging out with them and feeling so much joy and that thought of, ‘How can anybody punch someone like them in the face?’” Wang says. “The impetus of making the film was two-fold: Both wanting to show everybody just how human and three-dimensional and youthful and fun and deep my grandmothers are, but also in a very selfish way wanting to have a memento of them… Wanting to capture this special moment in my life when I get to spend so much time with them, and they’re still together.”

With this reporter’s own nǎi nai and wài pó long passed, The Hollywood Reporter also seized the opportunity to chat with Wang’s grandmas. This interview was conducted in Mandarin over Zoom and edited for length and clarity.

You’ve been to Utah and Los Angeles in the past month. What have you made of these trips, and do you travel often?

Yi Yan Fuei (Nǎi Nai): This is a rare experience. Unless we’re on vacation, we don’t go out.

Chang Li Hua (Wài Pó): We feel very happy and very honored. I never thought that this movie Sean made would receive everyone’s love. It’s been an unexpected, joyful experience. Before, we were living the ordinary and simple lives of the elderly. How come suddenly, because we made Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó, we received so much of everyone’s care? We’ve become two people who everyone focuses on. Truly a very special experience.

What was your initial reaction when Sean first told you he wanted to make a documentary about you two?

Nǎi Nai: We thought he was just playing with us.

Wài Pó: That he was joking.

Nǎi Nai: We didn’t know what kind of movie he wanted to make. “We’re so ugly, don’t film us!” And we didn’t think this was something he’d show everyone publicly.

Wài Pó: He came home and said, “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó, you two be my movie stars, OK?” I said, “Stop joking. Your Nǎi Nai and I are so old and ugly, how could we be movie stars? Movie stars are young and pretty girls, handsome boys. But if we can be your actors, maybe that’s OK.” That was our reaction: simply impossible. But after a week, he brought his friend, the cameraman, and a lighting man, and they really did start filming. What he shot was just our daily lives. We thought, a familiar path makes for an easy drive (Editor’s note: This is a Chinese idiom that means the tasks in front of the camera were familiar and easy).

What have others shared with you about watching this doc?

Wài Pó: Some people said they watched this movie many times. They really missed their grandmothers because they aren’t here anymore. At the Disney party, there was a young person who ran over and said, “I want to take a picture with you two. I watched this movie and cried from beginning to end because my own grandmother passed away a month ago.”

What did you think when you finally watched the film yourselves?

Wài Pó: For many of the elderly who watch this movie, I hope that in their old age they can also spend their days with an optimistic mentality. That they can be happy. We Chinese people have a saying, “Lao (old) xiao (young).” When people grow old, they become like children. They also need the love and care of others. So I hope the younger generations will have time to get close to their grandfathers and grandmothers more.

Our generation, we encountered war for half our lives. Now in our old age, because our children are all dutiful, their jobs are stable, incomes are OK, they can allow us to live abundantly, not lacking food or clothing. So we feel very fortunate. Our children and grandchildren are the most fortunate generations. They don’t know poverty or bitterness. We were so poor we couldn’t afford eggs to eat. We were so poor, I fled with military troops to Vietnam for four years in an internment camp. That kind of bitterness they can’t even imagine. So I’m glad and thankful that our next generation can live in an era without war, and have a stable and happy life.

Did you recognize any of the celebrities at the events you attended?

Wài Pó: No, because nowadays we rarely watch movies. Not like the past: Elizabeth Taylor, I really liked Audrey Hepburn, Doris Day. Now we rarely go to the theater; every day we just watch shows on the laptop.

Nǎi Nai: This morning I read in [Chinese-language newspaper] World Journal that Steven Spielberg, that famous director, attended the luncheon that day.

Wài Pó: He took a picture with Sean.

Nǎi Nai: I had no idea until I read it in the newspaper.