Fluent In Film
Photo by Lawrence Tabudlo
It’s always lights, camera, action for Virgil Tan, a recent high school graduate who’s making his mark in the filmmaking world.
The scene begins on a mostly empty beach with two figures wading in the shallow water. A 3-year-old Virgil Tan is resting on the back of his mother, who smiles as the sun shines behind them.
This short flashback from Ocean Heaven, a 2010 Chinese movie starring martial arts star Jet Li, was Tan’s introduction to the film world — and he doesn’t even remember a thing about it! All he can share (based on what he was told) is that he was sick that day and paid a meager $20 for the gig.
Since his theatrical debut, Tan’s interest in film has only grown. While he initially dreamed of becoming an actor, he wound up developing a love for operating behind the camera.
“Especially during the pandemic, I was at home and watching around two movies a day … I have just been really drawn toward watching movies and I knew that I wanted to be in the process of making them,” says the young filmmaker, who graduated from Kalani High School less than a month ago.
“It’s a way that I can express myself without using words. I think that’s what really drives me toward making films.”
Just as Ocean Heaven began on a beach, so does Tan’s most recent short film, New Start.
The four-minute short tells the story of a teenager named Shane who must choose between remaining with his current family or starting a new one when his girlfriend becomes unexpectedly pregnant. Even with little dialogue, the film and its detailed work involving lighting and background music speak for themselves.
For Tan’s efforts, New Start recently captured gold for film, video and sound at Pele Awards 2025. Additionally, it was awarded the Best ʻŌpio Next Gen Film Award at Hawaiʻi International Film Festival’s ʻŌpio Next Gen Showcase and earned the prestigious National Silver Medal in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the nation’s longest-running recognition program for creative teens.
Inspired by friends who’ve dealt with teenage pregnancy, Tan got the idea for New Start last summer. It then took him about a month to write and edit the script, as well as search for a crew before filming could start in early fall.
Los Angeles-based film producer Joe Zheng, who’s mentored Tan for the past two years, remembers being impressed with the mentee’s desire to delve deep into challenging topics like teen pregnancy. Most youth typically avoid thorny issues, he says, but not Tan.
“I help him write more character-driven stories,” explains Zheng, a part-time University of Southern California professor. “We come to film not to look for a topic — sometimes, yes — but most importantly, we want to see people like us. What is their situation? How does their situation relate to us?”
Tan draws much of his inspiration from movies he’s familiar with. New Start was inspired by Blue Valentine — a 2010 film about a married couple’s complex relationship and their attempt to make it work for their daughter.
For his first short film, Palm Tree, Tan was inspired by the 1990 movie Fight Club, starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. His intention with this project was to make viewers question the difference between reality and illusion. (No spoilers here! Watch Palm Tree on Vimeo to experience it firsthand.)
“I have this philosophy of every single film idea has already been filmed. It’s just how you kind of change it up and make it your own style,” Tan says. “(My films) would kind of follow my age, but as I grow up, I can still write about a teenager, because I have experienced life as a teenager … I can’t really represent who I’m not.”
Born in China, Tan credits filmmaking for helping him find his voice and explore his identity.
“I’m not really great with Chinese, but I’m not great with English either,” says Tan, who admittedly experienced difficulties adjusting to a new culture after moving to the islands with his family at age 6. “I can’t really express myself as well as my peers and my friends at school. So, filmmaking for me is a way to express my thoughts, instead of using words.”
Like their son, Victor and Elena Tan have their own back story in the arts. Unlike him, though, the couple had no choice in what they did for their pastime in China.
Both were forced to attend acrobat school from age 7. They practiced 10 hours a day, six days a week. Despite the lack of freedom, Victor succeeded by becoming the first person to perform a backflip through five standing hoops stacked 8 feet in the air. He also won gold at the inaugural China Wuqiao International Circus Festival in 1987.
The couple moved to Hawaiʻi to attend acupuncture school for about 10 years, then returned to China to raise Tan and his two older siblings, Victoria and Vincent.
In 2013, they chose to settle permanently in the islands, where they opened the acupuncture and massage business Loong Qi Clinic. They also started the nonprofit Hawaiʻi Asia Pacific Institute of Culture and Arts, which promotes an exchange of culture and the arts between Hawaiʻi and China.
“His (Tan’s) family’s been through a lot and he obviously (is) still looking for his identity,” Zheng says. “He’s kind of caught up in two cultures … and is looking for his identity. He has a lot to explore, and he wants to tell stories.”
Zheng studied at Beijing Film Academy and got to work on some of Jet Li’s films there. So, when he learned that Tan was in Ocean Heaven, he decided to rewatch the movie.
“This is very interesting and amazing — that toddler … now he wants to be a filmmaker himself!” Zheng says.
Creating a film is hard work, but Tan says he enjoys every part of the process.
“It stresses me out at first while I’m doing it, but then it comes together and then that’s what really makes it enjoyable,” he says. “I’ve watched countless movies, and … over time I got to develop a thought process of a movie playing inside my head and how it would play out if the script was turned into a short film.”
Tan believes a good movie happens when all the elements — from visuals to acting — harmoniously come together.
All films are something to learn from and Tan is still discovering what his own style is, explains Zheng.
“He’s really interested in how the main character makes choices, how they deal with their problems, how they have their inner struggle and how that inner struggle manifests to the outside world, and how they interact with other characters,” says the film producer. “As artists and storytellers, we’re kind of ʻcursed’ to be this very sensitive human being, but having that self-awareness is very important for us … It’s traumatic, it’s painful, but at the same time, that shapes who we are and we can shine. Our stories can shine and become a blessing to more people.
“I want him to be blessed instead of cursed,” Zheng adds. “Use that as a medium, as a way to observe the world around him, to find authentic stories around himself in the long run, and I think that will lead him to better, greater stories in the future.”
Tan’s advice to other young filmmakers is to embrace filmmaking, and never consider it to be a chore.
“Think about it as a way to really express yourself and just have fun with it. It doesn’t really have to be all that stressful,” says Tan, who will be attending Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in the fall. “Every time I stress out about making a project, I remind myself that: ‘You wanted to do this, (and) it’s going to be worth it.’”
Tan is especially drawn to dramas, thrillers and musicals. Among his favorite movies are Nightcrawler, Tick, Tick … Boom!, Whiplash and Interstellar.
But while he remains an avid movie watcher, he also loves hanging out with friends and connecting with the world around him.
“I want to be out and experiencing things,” he says. “I think that’s where most inspiration comes from — your lived experiences.”
To view Tan’s films on Vimeo, search “Virgil Tan.” To stay up to date on his latest projects, follow him on Instagram
(@vtanuploads).
