That’s what his mom did, as well as splashing water around the house and arranging the furniture a certain way, to ward off bad energy, Foss says. As he grew older, he realized that these superstitions were often rooted in myth and were uncommon outside of East Asian cultures. “Looking back at these memories, I remember the difficulties of navigating my mom being really proactive,” Foss says. “So what if I made a movie about it?” In 2020, Foss says he dropped out of film school at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) to create his first thriller short film, Talisman. It follows a cautious Chinese family who settle into a new house that their son Yi believes is haunted, but is told is protected by similar superstitions that Fos grew up with. “I’ve never seen this story before, especially in East Asia. This is a story I want to tell,” Foss said. In the movie Talisman, Yi talks to his worried parents about his recent paranoia. Yi thinks their new house is haunted. (Submitted by Reangsei Phos) It premiered this spring and received the Audience Choice Award at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) in Seattle, and was picked up by a YouTube distribution company last month. His TikTok account dedicated to his filmmaking journey has over 100 million views. Foss hopes his success will continue and help him tell more stories starring Asian characters on the big screen. “I’m very big on Asian representation and bringing the spotlight to us and representing us in a way that feels real,” says Foss.
“There wasn’t really a backup plan”
Since filming began in the summer of 2020, COVID-19 restrictions, staffing issues, and funding proved to be some of the biggest challenges the Phos crew faced early on. But even after it finished filming and editing nearly a year later, with about $10,000 in backing through an Indiegogo campaign, there was still a lot at stake. The NFFTY was their only chance for recognition, as it was the only festival to accept their film out of about 15 other festivals they approached, says Phos. “I took a huge risk to drop out … if it didn’t work out, there wasn’t really a backup plan,” Foss said. Although it was recognized at the festival and received by the film platform ALTER on YouTube shortly after, it was not enough. People aren’t flocking to the movie like they thought, he said. That’s why he turned to TikTok to expand his reach. There, he showed behind-the-scenes clips of Talisman and other updates on future films. Today, his most viral video auditioning for his next movie has over 800,000 likes. “If we hadn’t won the festival, ALTER picked us up and gone viral on TikTok, I don’t think my parents or I would have found it viable,” he says. The movie Talisman took place in Toronto. Producer Angela Wang says the actors and actresses were also from Toronto. Director Reangsei Phos says that casting was difficult, as they were specifically looking for people who could speak Mandarin. (Submitted by Angela Wang) Angela Wang, Phos’ producer for Talisman, says that while the progress they’ve made so far is exciting, there’s more work to be done. “I think there is still a long way to go for Asian representation,” Wang said. Wang, a fourth-year film student at TMU, met Phos during film school where she remembers being one of the only Asians in their program. He says a big part of why he got into the industry is to help other Asians in North America get representation in the media. “This is just the beginning,” Wang said. While Wang finishes school, Foss says he is currently finishing his second film in Toronto. By the time he’s 25, he hopes to have a major feature film. “Everything right now is leading up to it,” Foss said.
