''My Wedding and Other Secrets'' is a 2011

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by Roseanne Liang, written by Liang and Angeline Loo, and produced by

South Pacific Pictures South Pacific Pictures is a New Zealand television production company. The company produces drama series, mini-series, telemovies and feature films for the domestic market and international market. SPP's largest property is ''Shortland Street'' ...

. The film is based on Liang's real-life cross-cultural romance.

Plot

A Romeo and Juliet story set in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, Emily Chu (

Michelle Ang Michelle Ang (born 17 October 1983) is a New Zealand actress. She is best known for her role as Lori Lee in the Australian television soap opera ''Neighbours'', and for voicing the female Jango Fett clone Omega in the animated series '' Star War ...

) is the daughter of traditional Chinese parents, whose only wishes are that she marries a good Chinese boy and becomes a

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

. But life seems to have other ideas for Emily, who dreams of becoming a world-famous

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and falls in love with a

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

boy from university, James Harrison (

Matt Whelan Matt Whelan (born 1985) is a New Zealand actor and comedian. Whelan is known for his roles as Brad Caulfield in the New Zealand television comedy-drama programme ''Go Girls''. He has also played Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in the Amazon Origi ...

). When she and James, two kindred

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...

spirits fall clumsily into love they must overcome the expectations of her parents. A Kiwi-Asian, Emily considers herself a banana (yellow on the outside, white on the inside), but her father Dr Chu has a different perspective, and his past threats of disownment on her sister hangs over Emily's head. With their secret marriage, Emily's documentary, and James' ultimatum to learn Mandarin or lose Emily, life suddenly becomes very busy for the young pair. Emily is faced with the difficult decision of having to choose between long-suffering James and her parents who have made countless sacrifices to bring their family to New Zealand. It seems Emily must learn the hard way that love and family require sacrifice and not everybody can be happy.

Themes

Significant themes in ''My Wedding and Other Secrets'' are those of cultural differences between migrant parents and their native-born children, of

filial piety In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian '' Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the lat ...

, and of

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

Cast

The choice to cast Kenneth Tsang and Cheng Pei-pei, as opposed to Australian Chinese and New Zealand Chinese actors and actresses, was intentional. On this decision, Roseanne Liang said, "What I wanted above all was authenticity", with her adding that, "All of the New Zealand and Australian Chinese actors were Chinese people who had grown up in

or Australia. I wanted actors who could speak

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

-accented Cantonese as well as

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

-accented English". However, middle Chu daughter, Melanie Chu, is portrayed by

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

-based New Zealand Chinese actress Celeste Wong.

Production

Development

Roseanne Liang sought to produce ''My Wedding and Other Secrets'', originally titled ''Girl Meets Boy'', a film based on her award-winning 2005 documentary ''Banana in a Nutshell'', and entered into negotiations with

. Filming for ''My Wedding and Other Secrets'' commenced on 14 February 2010 in Auckland.

Writing

-based Chinese New Zealander director and playwright Roseanne Liang and Angeline Loo, a friend of Liang's from university days, wrote the script, largely based on her life, for ''My Wedding and Other Secrets'' over four years. The character of Emily is based on Roseanne herself; James is based on Stephen Harris, Liang's boyfriend and later husband; and Dr. and Mrs. Chu and their daughters, Susan and Melanie, after Dr. and Mrs. Liang and their daughters, Renee and Rhea. Liang was born in New Zealand and, like her character, was set to attend medical school and become a

; but, after realising her passion in film and others realising this too, attended

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(B.A.) in Film/TV/Media Studies and a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

(BSc) in Computer Science and, later, a Master of Creative and Performing Arts (M.C.P.A.), concentrating in screen writing and directing. Many of the events depicted in the film are also based on events that occurred during Liang and Harris' courtship, including Harris' learning basic

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

to win over Liang's parents' approval, as part of

Chinese pre-wedding customs Chinese pre-wedding customs are traditional Chinese rituals prescribed by the 禮記 áih gei(''Book of Rites''), the 儀禮 ìh láih(''Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial'') and the 白虎通 aahk fú tùng('' Bai Hu Tong'') condensed into a se ...

Music

The following songs are featured in the film: *

Bic Runga Briolette Kah Bic Runga (born 13 January 1976), recording as Bic Runga, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pop artist. Her first three studio albums debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Album charts. Runga ...

— "Hello, Hello" *

— "Mama Hao (媽媽好, Mama's the Best)" *

— "Say After Me" *

— "This Girl's Prepared for War" *Esther Mitchell — "Shining Star" *Johnny Barker — "Spiderman's Secret" *K Nielson — "The Inhaler Song" *Thrill Kill — "The Cad" *Xiang Lan Li — "Mei Hua (Plum Blossom)"

Reception

Critical reception

''My Wedding and Other Secrets'' received positive reviews from major publications in New Zealand. Peter Calder of the ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' gave the film a five-star review, calling it "utterly charming" and the writing "The logical extension of the idea into a feature film has turned out a cracker - a heartfelt and mildly goofy comedy with a strong thread of pathos that tells a story we should all listen to". Christine Powley of the '' Otago Daily Times'' also gave a five-star review and recommended viewers to "See it with your girlfriends for a nice time, then sneak back by yourself to enjoy just how well-crafted it is". Richard Kuipers of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave a favourable review, adding "Liang's brisk and breezy direction is complemented by Richard Harling's appropriately simple and effective lensing around Auckland. Snippets of Liang's Super 8 homemovies are delightful. Other technical work is solid on a modest budget".

Awards

*Melbourne International Film Festival 2011 *Asian American International Film Festival 2011 - winner Audience Choice award *Feel Good Film Festival 2011 *Singafest Asian Film Festival (L.A.) 2011 *Friars Club Comedy Film Festival (N.Y.) 2011 - winner Audience Choice Award *Hawaii International Film Festival 2011 *China Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Festival 2011 *San Diego Asian Film Festival 2011 *Australia New Zealand Film Festival (Singapore) 2011 *Aotearoa Film & Television Awards (NZ) 2011 – winner Best Screenplay (Roseanne Liang & Angeline Loo); winner Best Actress (Michelle Ang) *Brussels Independent Film Festival 2011 *International Film Festival of India 2011 *San Joaquin International Film Festival 2012 *Chinese New Year Film Festival Auckland University (NZ) Feb 2012 *San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival 2012 *National Geographic All Roads Film Festival 2012 *New York Festivals International Film & Television Awards 2012 - Bronze World Medal for Feature Film *Newport Beach International Film Festival 2012 *Lighthouse International Film Festival (N.J, USA) 2012 *Prescott Film Festival (AZ, USA) 2012 *Warburton Film Festival 2012 *International Film Festival of Fiji 2012

References

External links

*
Synopsis - ''My Wedding and Other Secrets''''My Wedding and Other Secrets'' - NZ on Screen
* *{{Facebook, myweddingandothersecrets, name=My Wedding and Other Secrets 2011 romantic comedy films 2011 films 2010s Cantonese-language films Chinese-New Zealand culture Films about families Films about weddings Films set in Auckland Films shot in New Zealand New Zealand independent films Films about interracial romance New Zealand coming-of-age films New Zealand romantic comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s Mandarin-language films 2011 multilingual films New Zealand multilingual films 2011 independent films