"Cracked": Q&A With Writer/Director Lin Que Ayoung
Written by Marisa Bianco
Meliki Hurd (left) and Tatum Marilyn Hall (right) in “Cracked” Photo Credit: Lin Que Ayoung
The narrative short category at this year’s Bushwick Film Festival is perhaps one of the most exciting. The films selected explore a diversity of experiences, defying genre and encompassing a full spectrum of emotions. One of my favorites is “Cracked”, an intimate coming of age story directed by Lin Que Ayoung. “Cracked” is Lin Que’s thesis project for NYU Graduate Film. Before her filmmaking career, Lin Que was a hip hop performer and lyricist. A musical sensibility clearly permeates her film work.
“Cracked” tells the story of Toya, a young teen in 1980s Queens, who fights with her siblings and navigates her first love. Meanwhile, she is forced to confront a past trauma. In just 14 minutes, the film touches on a multitude of relationships and themes, and it paints a full picture of Toya’s interior and exterior worlds. The film, in part funded by the Spike Lee Production Fund Grant, has had a successful festival run. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and will now screen at BFF.
“Cracked” is one of the most arresting and emotionally gripping selections in the Narrative Short category at this year’s festival. I jumped at the opportunity to connect with my fellow NYU alum Lin Que Ayoung and learn more about this project. Read our conversation below.
Like you, I graduated from NYU virtually in May 2020. What was it like ending your time at Tisch online? Does the success of your thesis project, “Cracked”, in any way feel like a make-up graduation?
Graduating from NYU Grad Film marked the ending of a major journey in my life so graduating virtually had its pros and cons. After being in my thesis years, which included two years out of classes, I was looking forward to seeing my Tisch Family and having the opportunity to celebrate years of hard work together. It was difficult not having that opportunity, but we were able to still connect virtually and every last one of us was able to say something about their time at Tisch. This made it very special.
The success of “Cracked” is a joint venture and something that highlights the importance of all the incredible relationships I've been able to make at Tisch, the collaborators I plan on working with throughout my career. It's been absolutely a Blessing celebrating together as fellow filmmakers and filmgoers feel connected to the film.
This film clearly demonstrates an incredible attention to detail from you and your team, especially production design and wardrobe. I loved the way you give the viewer small glimpses into Toya’s world through close up-shots. It's the details in her home, the color of those details, and how they’re lit, that show us what Toya, her family, and Pooch are like. What details in the costumes, props, or production design were especially important to you?
Everything is/was important to me. I was born a detail-oriented person. The details are the underpinning that solidifies every other dimension of the film. It bolsters it up and hopefully imperceptibly draws the viewers into the world. It's absolutely delightful to know that you and others are noticing the decision-making that has been implemented to create authenticity.
Official Movie Poster for “Cracked”
Looking at your work on “Cracked”, where do you see the influence of your hip hop and music experience?
Music is so important to our culture. Within a millisecond, it can catapult us into a time and space with the efficiency of a state-of-the-art time machine. Its influence is so far-reaching. I had to work on post-production during Covid and I wasn't able to get the music that I wanted so I made the hard decision to record something myself, which in hindsight, made it even more authentic for me... being that “Cracked” is based on my childhood experiences. Prior to this, I would have undoubtedly told you that I was done rhyming. Life is funny.
You are open about the fact that “Cracked” is in part autobiographical. Did you always want to make a project using your own story? Or was it something that took time for you to become comfortable with? Has transitioning mediums from music to film changed your perspective on being vulnerable in your creativity?
Since I'm a former hip hop recording artist and lyricist, speaking from the heart is first nature and actually vital in order to connect with your audience. My aim as a filmmaker is to do the same. Film & television were Everything when I was a child. It showed me that there was a whole different world outside of my home, my block, my neighborhood. It fueled my imagination… and continues to do so every day. For me, my art, whether musical or visual, is about vulnerability. To me, my job as an artist is to have the courage to be vulnerable.
The ending of this film is incredibly impactful. During my first watch, I wasn’t sure how Toya’s father would react to what she told him. When his initial anger turns to love, and he embraces Toya, it feels right—because your film is full of love and warmth despite the trauma it addresses. What do you think this ending says about the relationship between anger and love, especially love that perseveres through trauma?
I probably get the most angry with the people in my life that I love the most. As a woman, I believe it is important to own our anger. As a society, I believe we are learning more about how to process anger in a healthy way. For me, emotions are signposts that help me navigate my inner life. It can get really tricky when I have mixed feelings. Anger and love can feel like they're on two opposite sides of the spectrum, but when someone loves you, they give you the space to process your anger. Anger can motivate you into positive action. Toya's father's anger quickly dissipates after he realizes what Toya needs at the moment. She needs unconditional love and that is exactly what he gives her.
Director: Lin Que Ayoung
Running Time: 16 minutes
Available to view from Oct 20-24 at watch.bushwickfilmfestival.com
