Paying it Forward
Stowe Story Labs Mentor and Film and TV Director Bertha Bay-Sa Pan Speaks About the Importance of Enjoying the Process and Her Love of Supporting Emerging Filmmakers
By Marian Cook
Bertha (R) enjoying her time at the Sept. 2021 Stowe Story Labs Writers’ Retreat with fellow mentor Shari L. Carpenter.
Film and television Screenwriter, Director and Creative Producer Bertha Bay-Sa Pan mentored with Stowe at three workshops in 2021: the online Sidewalk Narrative Lab, the in-person Stowe Writers’ Retreat (our first in-person program since the start of the pandemic), and the online inaugural Producers Lab. She went three-for-three in the mentoring derby, and we asked her to talk with us about both her work as a filmmaker and her love of mentoring.
“Since I was a kid, so many teachers and mentors, people who are older or have more experience, have gone out of their way to mentor, help, advise, or just provide certain resources for me. And it's not like they have to. I've just benefited so much from people going out of their way, I always felt like when I'm in the position to do it, I want to pay it forward as well,” Bertha said. We are lucky she found an outlet through us.
Bertha has worked in the entertainment industry since she was 16. She studied film at Columbia University and has been prolific at work ever since. She directed an episode of the two-time NAACP Image Award-winning show Queen Sugar, directed a short film starring EGOT recipient Whoopi Goldberg, and directed (and wrote) her own critically acclaimed films including Almost Perfect (2011) and Face (2002). Given this track-record, she has a lot of knowledge to impart—and terrific tales like her first paying job being to translate Whitney Houston’s contract from English to Chinese. Not to mention a side-career directing music videos.
Bertha directing Lucy in the Sky: on set with Actor Whoopi Goldberg. Photo by Topher Maslanka.
Having been trained as a musician from a young age, she found music videos helped her combine her love of music and film. She’s directed for Slimkid3, Chris Trapper from The Push Stars, and Princess Katie & Racer Steve, a NYC-based indie rock band for kids.
Although now focused on narrative, she isn’t opposed to a return to the world of music videos. “If it's the right situation and right timing, yeah. Those are always really fun. Short and sweet. It's not like a feature film that takes a minimum of two years to get done,” she said.
Beyond all this, Bertha worked in concert promotion and music production as she was also attending college. It wasn’t until her friend brought her to a film class that she realized the power of film: “I loved photography, music, philosophy, psychology, languages, art. I didn't want to narrow my major to one thing. But film was one area of study where I could incorporate all of it. All of it just culminates to enrich the storytelling.”
After college, she got a job in distribution to learn about the business side of film and while working, she decided to attend Columbia to delve into the craft of storytelling and character development. “What enriches our storytelling? What makes the story a lot more relatable? If we spend more time observing and listening, staying curious, that not only helps in storytelling, but also in film and television production since it’s a collaborative process requiring clear communication in the most efficient way possible with lots of different people and different personalities with different wirings,” Bertha shared.
There, she also got the idea for Face, a story about a Chinese-American teenager who develops feelings for a charming African-American DJ at the disapproval of her grandmother, inspired by her friend and college roommate. Face went on to be nominee for the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award, a New York Times Critics Pick, a Gotham Awards Open Palm nominee, and winner of the Urbanworld Grand Jury Award for Best Director.
Almost Perfect, starring Kelly Hu (who also makes an appearance in Lucy in the Sky) about a 30-something career woman trying to find the balance between her demanding family and perfect new boyfriend, also experienced a great festival run, winning Bertha the HBO Emerging Filmmaker Award.
Since then, Bertha’s career has only ascended by her own accord and by the delicate hand of several mentors who genuinely want her to succeed. She saw that on the set of Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar, and she’s seen it at Stowe Story Labs as well. In fact, it was on the set of Queen Sugar through Stowe Story Labs former participant, now Mentor and Board Member, and Writer/Director Shari Lynette Carpenter (who directed the episode before Bertha’s), that Bertha learned of the Labs.
“I've had such a great time learning about the projects at Stowe and the people behind them. And I think it's very telling of the projects that Stowe selects in terms of the diversity in story, genre, and content, but there's something very consistent in terms of the heart, decency, and the humanity. I always feel like I’ve gained so much—uplifted and inspired by these projects, the people who created them, and the attitudes. It's very telling and I think it's a trickle-down situation,” Bertha explained.
It’s exactly that trickle-down situation that makes Bertha so passionate to mentor emerging artists. “In this industry, the results are so unpredictable and uncontrollable. There's so much about being at the right place at the right time, being seen by the right person, or having the right connections or opportunities. So I think to choose this career path, the most important thing—no matter how things unfold—is to really enjoy the process.”
Marian Cook is a former journalist, Stowe Story Labs staff member, and current USC student pursuing an MFA in directing. She’s been published over a dozen times, covering topics from local news to federal healthcare legislation. Although she loves the world of journalism, having done documentaries on a range of topics from plastic surgery to segregation in the church, her real passion lies in narrative film. She one day hopes to be a writer-director and tell strong, female-led stories, especially that of Latinas. When she’s not filming, she likes to explore, listen to blues and jazz, brush up on her French, and absorb everything science fiction related. Learn more at http://mariandcook.weebly.com/. At Stowe Story Labs, Marian assists with all aspects of operations, writes for the newsletter, and assists with research and writing to support fundraising and communications about programs.
