Crafting Nostalgia: Editors Arielle Zakowski and Christopher Tennant Bring the MySpace-Era to Life in Focus Features’ Didi

PH: The film "Didi" is set in 2008, a time marked by the rise of MySpace and the unique culture surrounding it. How did you approach editing the film to authentically capture the essence of that era, and what challenges did you face in making the visuals feel true to the time period?

Arielle Zakowski: So much of adolescence in 2008 was wrapped up in the way we communicated online, and Sean Wang wove that beautifully into the story. When editing the computer screen sequences, we had a blast trying to nail every detail from the away message fonts to the sound effects that play in the background, which tend to elicit a very strong sense of nostalgia to anyone who grew up at this time! We played a lot with the specific timing of how long our main character Wang Wang has to sit there waiting before his crush messages him back, seeing him type and backspace and re-type messages as he figures out the perfect thing to say. All these nuances help ground viewers in Wang Wang’s state of mind during these moments and allow these sequences to really resonate, even without seeing any shots of the character’s face. They were also really fun to bring to life.

Christopher Tennant: One of the challenges in recreating computer screens from that day is that a lot of those programs don’t exist anymore. Facebook, Myspace, AIM - they’ve all either changed or completely closed down, and they aren’t accessible through Wayback machines or anything like that. Plus, Facebook changed its design layout, like, 3 times in 2008. So me, Arielle, and our graphics specialist Aodhan Burns had to crawl through tons of old news sites to find screenshots of Facebook pages from specifically July/August 2008 that showed the different elements we were trying to recreate.

PH: The film is a coming-of-age story that also serves as a nostalgic journey for audiences. How did you use editing techniques to evoke that sense of nostalgia, and were there specific scenes where you felt this was particularly important?

Arielle Zakowski: As mentioned above, things like sounds and nailing the specific look and feel of the computer elements went a long way. It’s always fun to hear people laugh out loud as soon as something on-screen triggers a visceral memory. We also had a lot of fun designing the characters’ MySpace pages (big shout out to our graphic designer Joyce Ho who dove deep into the internet to find some of the unique touches!). People put so much thought into having their MySpace page be a reflection of their ~true selves~ back then, and it became a great way to showcase each character’s personality on screen. The way we used the internet back then was also a lot slower and simpler than it is now, so we definitely leaned into that slower pace to make it feel true to the time.

PH: Director Sean Wang brings a personal touch to the film, reflecting his own memories. How did you collaborate with him to ensure that the film’s editing honored his vision while also resonating with a broader audience?

Arielle Zakowski: Sean was incredibly generous and collaborative throughout the editing process. I think when you get to the editing stage, you sometimes have to ignore what you intended to capture and just look at the material you have in front of you. How can we make the best story out of what we got? Sean was very open to us trying new things, cutting anything that wasn’t working as well as it could have, and finding ways to continue pulling the best out of the edit. It was a 24/7 sprint to the finish line and we all got our hands dirty in the project and had a ton of fun doing it.

PH: Chris’s relationships with his family and friends evolve throughout the film. How did you use pacing, transitions, and other editing choices to subtly highlight these changes and the overall character development?

Arielle Zakowski: We spoke a lot in the editing room about how the pacing changes throughout the different worlds Chris inhabits. A pool party filled with 13-year-olds is fast and rambunctious, juxtaposed with the often languid pace of Chris’ family at home. As Chris evolves and the story unfolds, the pacing slows down a bit - he has no choice but to sit with his feelings, there’s no high energy montage to let him escape them. Adding in more shots of stillness towards the end helped accentuate this journey.

PH: "Didi" is both heartwarming and often hilarious. How did you approach the balance between humor and emotional depth in your edits to ensure that both aspects were effectively conveyed?

Arielle Zakowski: The performances in this film were amazing, even more incredible given that most of the younger performers were first time actors! The dynamic between Wang Wang and his two friends Fahad and Soup was hilarious in every take, so we had a lot of fun finding the best moments and letting them shine. Joan Chen brings incredible nuance and gravitas to her performance as Chris’ mother, we could hold on her face forever and just see so many emotions swirling through. They all made it easy for us to find the natural rhythm of the edit by simply responding to the energy they were giving us in their performances.

PH: You edited the film using Adobe Premiere Pro. Were there any specific tools or features within Premiere Pro that you found particularly useful for achieving the film’s unique style and tone?

Christopher Tennant: We used Premiere Productions, which is Adobe’s collaborative editing feature within Premiere Pro. That meant that me, Arielle, and Sean could all be in the project at the same time tweaking or watching stuff down. That kind of real time collaboration wouldn’t have been possible on a movie of this budget, say, 5 years ago, and these days it’s very fast and stable. Premiere is also great because it can handle any type of media we could throw at it, which got very useful in the mixed media montages of the movie that used old Sony handicams, flip phone pictures, and of course our Alexa footage. Lastly I also used Adobe’s new text-based editing features to help break down dailies into manageable footage stringouts so that Arielle could easily compare different performance takes.

PH: Adolescence is a complex time full of awkward, poignant, and transformative moments. How did you approach editing to ensure that these experiences were portrayed with authenticity, and were there any specific scenes that were especially challenging to get just right?

Arielle Zakowski: Sean cared deeply about seeing teenagers who actually looked and felt like real teenagers, which is not as common as you’d think! There are a handful of big group scenes where lots of the teenagers are together - we had fun leaning into those and letting the pacing reflect the amount of testosterone bouncing around those rooms. There’s a scene where a baseball team’s worth of boys end up fighting each other in a park - this scene originally had a good deal of dialogue, but we ended up stripping a lot of it away so that it felt more chaotic and crazy.

PH: The film delves into the Taiwanese-American experience. How did you work to reflect Chris’s cultural identity through your editing choices, and how did you balance this with the universal aspects of growing up?

Arielle Zakowski: Sean’s script is beautiful in how it captures so many specific elements, Chris’ family being a big part of that. The opening family dinner scene was a really fun one where we first get to meet the characters and learn their family dynamic against the backdrop of a home cooked meal. We had a lot of fun playing with the ebb and flow of that scene, how the siblings can go from silently eating and rolling their eyes to full on screaming at each other in a matter of seconds. I think that’s something anyone with siblings can relate to!

PH: Are there any particular scenes or sequences in "Didi" that you are especially proud of in terms of the editing? What made these moments stand out to you during the post-production process?

Arielle Zakowski: I’m super proud of what we were all able to accomplish together in the edit, and the way the movie turned out, which is a huge testament to everyone that worked on the film! It takes a village to take the movie from the page to the theater and I think the way everyone worked together to bring this story to life was nothing short of magic. Very grateful to be a small part of it.

Christopher Tennant: Every time I watch the movie I have a new favorite scene, and the scene where Wang Wang AIMs with Madi has always been one of the best. We all grew up at the same time as Wang Wang, and right from Arielle’s first assembly of the AIM sequence it evoked all the adolescent emotions you get from texting with your crush. Then our composer Giosuè Greco’s score really brought it to the next level.

PH: What are you most excited for audiences to see in terms of your editing work? How do you hope viewers will connect with the film on an emotional level?

Arielle Zakowski: It’s been amazing seeing the movie resonate with audiences in theaters. Hearing about people’s reactions is always so validating after spending many months alone with the movie in the edit bay. It’s been a ton of fun!