Remember MySpace? If the memory proves to be a bit hazy, don’t fret. Filmmaker Sean Wang vividly brings the user experience to life on the big screen (angst feelings and all) through his coming-of-age film, DiDi.
DiDi marks Wang’s first feature-length directorial debut, first making waves at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where it won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and Special Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Cast. The film immerses viewers into what he calls the “pre-technology technology era,” capturing the original screen experience from the 2000s that has yet to be portrayed in movies. Before Wang went on to become a filmmaker, stacking up accolades that include Academy Award nominations and film festival sweeps, he was a Google Creative Lab 5 alum and USC grad. He credits his work at Google Creative Lab, as well as experiences with his mentors in the ad agency world, with learning how to bring screens and stories to life.
Wang sat down with ADWEEK to discuss the inspiration for the film, including skate culture, his creative work at Google, and what he sees as the biggest shift in user behavior when it comes to the internet.
The era of playground summers
I grew up skating. It was something I kind of picked up and fell in love with. Never stopped skating since I was in seventh grade. And through skating, I got into photography and video, making or filming stuff. I discovered people like Spike Jonze, who I knew through skating. But then I discovered his commercials. And then through Spike, I discovered people like [directors] Michel Gondry and Chris Cunningham. [They were] the sort of directors of the ‘90s who also had a foot in the advertising world, like [David] Fincher. And one thing led to another. But, if we’re tracing one thing from my upbringing to this moment (the making of DiDi), I would say skating played a really big part in it.
The way I described the era in which our movie takes place is the “pre-technology technology era” where kids like me were still going outside and having playground summers. They would go out and have the type of summers that you see in The Sandlot or Stand By Me like messing around with your friends. But then you would come home and go on the internet. You would talk to your crush at night on AIM or go on MySpace or go watch stupid videos on YouTube.
