Although you may think you are sparing your family from suffering, your dishonesty may do far greater damage down the line. If I could convey any message it’s that when you keep these things from your family members you deprive them of their chance to process what is going on and to form closure. I can totally relate to this with my family as well. SL: It’s so sad to me that people in Asian cultures feel the need to carry that burden themselves. Having had multiple relatives who had cancer and were very embarrassed about it (they passed away without me even knowing they were sick), is there a message you wish to convey about the stigma of cancer or death in society?

JFG: In Asian cultures, cancer is not normally talked about. Ultimately this isn’t a story that can only be told through an Asian lens the themes of love and hope are as universal as the grilled cheese itself. Just because we happen to be a Canadian family of Asian heritage doesn’t automatically mean that we have to be eating Asian food. I loved them when I was a kid they’re so simple to make and just the perfect texture of gooey and crunchy. Seriously, though, there’s a universality to the grilled cheese sandwich.

SL: Haha, I think it’s deliberate in that it’s something that a child would realistically be able to make on her own! I don’t think a six-year-old would have the knowledge let alone the arm strength to do any heavy stir-frying! I thought that was very interesting because it is a very Westernized meal. JFG: In the film, Rebecca Chan (the little girl character) sets out the ingredients for a grilled cheese sandwich. We all knew from the beginning that it was going to be a special little short film. We were so surprised and happy to have an overwhelmingly positive response – in fact, our director Tricia Lee absolutely insisted that she come onboard after I showed her the script. We knew that we wanted to create something that really moved our audience, though, and when one of us first suggested the idea that would become Meeting Mommy, we instantly knew that we had to do it because we couldn’t stop crying or just talking about it.Īfter I pumped the first draft out we knew we had to show it to some of our friends with a more personal connection to cancer to see if we were respecting the reality of the disease and its effects. SL: The process through which we came up with the story for Meeting Mommy was really interesting because we didn’t have too much personal experience with the subject matter. It eventually snowballed and we found ourselves crying as we kept adding more depth into this idea which later became Meeting Mommy. We threw a bunch of ideas around and landed on a story about a mother trying to raise her daughter despite knowing she couldn’t physically be there. We explored different kinds of relationships, but we zeroed in on the unconditional love of a parent for their child. TJ: The idea for Meeting Mommy came to us one night as we were brainstorming a project to do together. JF Garrard (JFG): What was the inspiration for Meeting Mommy? Before you read this interview, please watch this amazing short film on YouTube as this article will contains spoilers! Ricepaper caught up with Simu and Tina, who are no doubt basking in better Los Angeles weather than myself in freezing Toronto, to go behind the scenes of Meeting Mommy. Released on the popular Youtube channel Wong Fu Productions in February 2018, it has since amassed over 300,000 views! Their most recent project together is Meeting Mommy, which they wrote and produced together. It’s hard to catch up with Simu Liu ( Kim’s Convenience, Blood & Water, check out our interview with him here) and Tina Jung ( Kim’s Convenience, Saw: Legacy), both fellow Asian Canadians who wear multiple hats of being actors, writers and producers.

Tina mom of two videos