Justin Lin returns to his indie roots with his final days
Yang, an English actor appeared in 2023 Rebel Moon, was deeply committed to the role, hopping on a plane to work on an Oklahoma farm in an effort to better understand Chau’s upbringing. He also traveled abroad, like Chau did, to understand his character’s deep desire for adventure. “I think the length of time it took to try to get this movie into production really helped us,” Lin said. It was amazing, because I felt like he was living it at that moment.
Ultimately, Lin realized that the production would have to grow larger to capture Chau’s global adventures (which Chau documents on his Instagram account and in his journal entries). Lin ended up filming for 38 days, cramming in scenes across Thailand, England, Iceland, India and Central California. Ultimately, it took my teams from all over the world on all these movies to come in and really help me bring it to life,” he said. Final, The last days Merging Chau’s early experiences of intimate, character-driven independent films with the ability to create powerful images from unique global settings that he honed on the bomb his tons.
At the heart of the story remains Chau’s relationship with his father, Patrick, which is played in the film Ken Leung. Lin said work on The last days has made him not only a better filmmaker, but also a better father. “I feel like as a parent, I always do the wrong things,” said Lin, whose son is now 15 years old. You don’t want him to feel pain, so you always try to impart wisdom. But what I’m learning is that they won’t be ready until they’re ready.
Sundance has been an important part of Lin’s journey, since he arrived at the festival as a 30-year-old with his debut Better luck tomorrow“Critic Roger Ebert Famously protected from a scammer. Now 53, Lin admits not much has changed. I like to think I’m more mature and I feel different. But talking to you now, I feel like I’m a kid again, because when you care and you want to connect with people, you become vulnerable. That’s the thing about being a filmmaker,” says Lin. “As much as I don’t like it, I’m glad I still have it.”
This feature is part of the insider’s prize Exclusive Sundance 2025 coverage.
