In Hong Kong, Eugenia Yuan Lai-kei is not as well-known as her kung fu superstar mother, Cheng Pei-pei, or even her beauty queen sister, Marsha Yuan Chi-wei. But her career has been remarkable in an entirely different way.
Yuan was born in Los Angeles and her teenage years were spent as a rhythmic gymnast on the US Olympic team. Although she dabbled in television in the 1990s, she didn't make her big screen debut until 2002, when she co-starred with her mother in Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger. Instead of following in her mother's footsteps, though, Yuan returned to the US, where she turned heads in indie film Charlotte Sometimes. Later that year, she won a Hong Kong Film Award for her turn in horror flick Three.
Since then, Yuan (right) has worked on a diverse range of projects, from mainstream fare to more offbeat features. Yuan is back in Hong Kong this month to write and direct a short film, which will premiere at the I Shot Hong Kong film festival on Wednesday.
Your mum and sister started out in the Hong Kong entertainment business but you've taken a more indie direction. Why is that?
It's just what I felt more comfortable doing. I love independent film in America, or anywhere really, because of the passion involved. I like the closeness, like a family feeling, on each of those films, and how the story really matters.
You've managed to dance between American indies, Hong Kong movies and big Hollywood productions. How do you keep your balance?
I've been lucky to get to do all of those because you can really get a taste of everything. Just because it's Hollywood doesn't mean every single Hollywood film is the same. That's true for indies as well. I try to choose, especially when it comes to independent films, projects that I believe in and directors who I feel are very passionate about their work and who I feel a connection with. Because you're going to be spending a lot of time with them, it's not always the end product that counts, it's the experience.