Michelle Yeoh is reflecting on the challenge of increasing Asan representation in Hollywood.
“It continues to be a struggle. I don’t think issues like that go away overnight,” Yeoh told journalists at Berlinale.
The Wicked actress received the honorary Golden Bear award and touched on the subject of Asian representation in cinema.
She revealed that she and her Crazy Rich Asian colleagues were told they “ticked all the wrong boxes” with that film in 2018.
“Fortunately, we did hit a nerve and reached an audience, and that’s the thing about audiences, you can never predict or guarantee which way they’re going to go, because they are evolving,” Yeoh said.
“Making movies is a risk, and our job is about taking that risk because we believe that the story needs to be told,” she added.
However, Marvel’s Shang-Chi and Everything Everywhere All at Once also proved to be successful.
“I was eternally grateful to my two Daniels, my little geniuses, for being bold and courageous to do that film because once again, we ticked all the wrong boxes, but we prevailed,” Yeoh said of Everything Everywhere All at Once directors Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan.
Elsewhere, she was asked about the struggling Hong Kong film industry.
“I will always have a soft spot and a place in my heart for Hong Kong cinema,” Yeoh said of the industry, where she began her acting career.
She revealed that she intends to “go back and make a movie” in the country this year.
Yeoh is currently busy filming the third movie in The Wandering Earth franchise with Chinese filmmaker Frant Gwo.
