Detailing a Teen’s Life in the Décor of Dìdi (弟弟)

In Dìdi (弟弟), writer-director Sean Wang lovingly recreates the world of Chris Wang (Izaac Wang), an awkward 13-year-old kid living in the suburb of Fremont, California, with his doting mother (Joan Chen), older sister (Shirley Chen), and beloved Nai Nai (Chang Li Hua). While trying to forge an identity—both online and in the real world—that he hopes will be accepted by his peers, Chris’ life takes a comic, confusing, and calamitous turn.

To help him craft this world, Wang turned to production designer Hanrui Wang. Having worked on films like Minari and The Farewell, Hanrui understood perfectly how to reflect the complexity of identity and family in the set design. With Wang’s help, Hanrui recreated spaces that spoke authentically to the director’s experience. Indiewire writes that for the film, “sticking close to home proves to be a strength, conjuring a sense of time, place, and texture that sets the funny, fleeting movie apart.”

So we spoke with Hanrui about making Chris’ world feel fresh and real.

Dìdi (弟弟) is now playing in select theaters, so get your tickets!

How did you get involved in working on the production design for Dìdi (弟弟)?

I met Sean during the pandemic when we made a small video together. We were such a small team that everyone got to know everyone else on set. I felt that Sean had really great energy. When I learned he was making his first feature, I was very excited to work with him again.

When you read the screenplay, what got you excited about doing the film?

Since I'm an Asian production designer, I get a lot of scripts about the immigrant experience in America, most of them about people’s difficult experiences. But this is the story about a second-generation family and is more about living in the United States, dealing with your family, going to school, and making friends, as well as issues like culture shame. The people felt very fresh and real to me, as well as close to my life. I found it very touching.

The story takes place within a Taiwanese-American family in California in 2008. How did you bring in all these details with décor?

Sean shared a lot of photos and materials from his life. Also, the crew brought their own yearbooks, family photos, and such. When we were scouting homes, we visited a lot of Asian American homes whose walls would be layered with photos, family things, and sometimes a craft item the parents had made with their kids. We gathered a lot of those things from different people, so most of the stuff we used was real and not from prop houses. Luckily, the story didn’t take place that long ago so the photos and objects are in good condition.

How did you create Chris’ room?

First, I worked with the cinematographer and Sean to create a color palette for Chris’ space and the film generally. Even though we scouted scores of homes in Fremont, we ended up using the bedroom that the director grew up in. We also need to define his room in relation to others in the family. Even though his sister is older, Chris is given a bigger room. In Asian families, boys are generally more valued than girls, so we wanted to reflect that in the house layout.

What do all the images on the wall tell us about Chris?

All those images came from Sean. He is a big skater, so the images were pulled from his favorite skater magazines. I gave him a big stack of images from magazines, and he picked each picture for us to use.

How did you find the house in the film?

It was difficult to find the perfect house. For one, Asian families tend to be very private and don’t post online that they are open to filming. Ultimately, we chose two houses and we cheated them together. The first floor we shoot in one house. The art department then tried to match the two by doing things like painting cabinets the same color blue and using the same carpet in both places.

What did you want the house to show us about Chris and his family?

We wanted to emphasize the contrast between what is in the house and what is outside the house. We tried to show Chris’ culture shame in the way he relates to the décor. He tears down his posters and shoves all his toys and things under the bed when his American friends visit. He worries that they won't understand his life. For example, there are lots of Asian snacks in the house that Chris tries to hide.

In the film, Chris’ mom is an artist. Can you talk about her paintings?

Those are the actual paintings done by Sean’s mom. In addition to providing us with the artwork in the film, she was on set to give advice to Joan Chen about her experience.

Your suburban locations really capture the feel of places that could exist anywhere.

We scouted throughout the area to find the right places. One of my favorites is Golfland, a miniature golf course, where Chris goes with his friends. It feels like a bright and happy place, which was great since much of the action there is actually sort of sad. We created the same effect by having the kids have a party at the home of one of their grandmothers.

What do you hope people take away?

Even though the characters are very specific, the film speaks to everyone, whether you're a son, sister, or mother. Everyone can find themselves in this movie.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.