City Times

Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: Entertainment

According to Tzu Chun, casting the two child actors was really difficult, and to find the right children, he and his team looked at approximately 250 kids. "Most of the work happens during the casting process and not in the direction process," said Chun. Watching the movie makes it apparent that he chose well, as Michael Chen as Raymond and Crystal Chiu as Tina are absolutely phenomenal. Chun said working with the children was great because they offered a new perspective. "An adult can only approximate childhood so much, and it is […] nice to have an ongoing dialog with kids who are living in it."
The film industry, and more specifically the indie film model, is experiencing changes in the way movies are distributed. One can easily watch a movie online nowadays. Tze Chun and his director, Trevor Sagan, received numerous offers from distributors at Sundance, but none were interesting to them, so they decided to distribute the film themselves. Chun called their method of distribution "punk marketing."
According to Sagan, through DVD-sales at the festivals their movie has played so far and on their website (www.childrenofinvention.com), they have already earned twice as much as any of the distributors offered. The movie will be available on Amazon and Netflix in the future.
Chun describes the great cinematic experience that "Children of Invention" is, as "a family story, it's a story about the resilience of kids and family in difficult times."

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