Wang Tianwei holds the trophy granted by the Accolade Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Wang Tianwei 

By Zheng Yi

He left his parents and went to the US to pursue his movie-directing dream when he was a teenager, and in his early 20s scored with a "Best of Show" award in 2010 from the online Accolade Festival for a film called Final Revision.

He is not Ang Lee or Zhang Yimo, but he might be in their ranks in the future. He is Wang Tianwei, 23, (or Sky Wang, as he is professionally known), a film sophomore at Columbia College in Chicago.

"I wanted to be a movie director since I was in kindergarten. I was always enthusiastic about watching films, acting and telling stories," Wang told the Global Times.

After graduating from junior high school, Wang left his home in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, and went to the US for further studies to broaden his horizons and pursue his dream.

Lonely hours

However, living alone in a foreign country is not an easy job for a teenager. Wang met with many difficulties when studying abroad, and the most difficult thing for him was to blend in with American culture.

"American culture is different from Chinese culture, and I spent quite a long time getting used to it. Sometimes I felt frustrated about living alone in the foreign country, but I did not give up," Wang said.

Told in flashbacks and clocking in at 13 minutes, Final Revision is about a creatively blocked screenwriter struggling to find the motivation to complete a script about a murder involving two brothers.

Wang said the "Best of Show" honor from the Accolade was unexpected.

The Accolade is an annual awards competition honoring filmmakers, television producers, videographers and new media creators who produce fresh, standout productions from all over the world. It recognizes those who have made a significant contribution to social change or humanitar-ian efforts, according to its website.

"I didn't expect to get an award, because Final Revision was my homework, and all I thought was to try to do it well," Wang said.

It was also featured in last year's Chicago International Film Festival.

Worth the effort

Wang began shooting the film in May 2010 and said though writing the script was easy, he and his crew encountered difficulties.

One time, they made great efforts to persuade the Chicago film bureau and local police to close a street for them to shoot a scene, but when the authorities agreed and cleared all the people off the street, a theater in the neighborhood was holding an open-door party and shooting was interrupted as partygoers came and went.

According to Wang, that scene required a deserted street, so they were all stunned at seeing so many people walking across it. But they calmed down and talked with the people and the theater manager, and finally they managed to finish shooting the scene in nearly 12 hours.

Although the Accolade praised Final Revision as an "excellent story, well-crafted and edited," Wang thought his work still needed improvement.

"The film is the first work of my life, and it gave me lots of confidence to pursue my dream. But it has shortcomings. For example, the story is not so profound and the shooting style is not mature," Wang said.

A mother's worries

Wang's mother told the Global Times that she had not expected Wang to achieve so much at such an early age.

She said when Wang told her that he wanted to be a director, she was worried because film directing is not an easy job. She preferred that he study law because it is a promising career, but after thinking, she decided to support him.

"Now I know I made the right choice," she said.

According to Wang, Final Revision reveals some of his experience of living abroad, but in the future, he intends to put more Chinese elements into his movies.

"I want to make a contribution to Chinese movies just like Ang Lee," he said.