Hushed Noise’s 10: Fanxi Sun on Cinematic Memory, Human Connection, and Expanded Time
28 Mar 2025
Fanxi Sun is a filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist whose work bridges cinema, performance, photography, and sound. With roots in both narrative film and experimental media, her projects are deeply shaped by emotional memory, human gestures, and relational tension. In this interview, Fanxi discusses her evolving practice, the challenges of being an emerging artist, and how personal relationships fuel her creative world.
Hushed Noise: Can you share a bit about your artistic journey? What inspired you to start creating?
Fanxi Sun: I’ve been a fan of psychological thrillers since I was a kid–the first movie I remembered watching was The Silence of the Lambs. At the time, my dream was to become a fiction writer. In high school, I made my first music video and became deeply interested in studying filmmaking and mass communication in college. I ended up at a state university in Midwest America (University of Missouri-Columbia), majoring in film studies and production.
During my freshman and sophomore years, despite my passion for every aspect of filmmaking—directing, cinematography, lighting, sound, editing, and writing—I constantly doubted whether I was talented enough or even suited for artmaking. That changed in my junior year when I took a fine art photography class and started working with 4x5 large-format cameras, developing film by hand. It was a turning point. My technical skills, concepts, and aesthetics began to take shape, ultimately leading me to apply for a graduate program in fine art.
Since then, my artistic practice has expanded across different lens-based and time-based mediums, including film, video art, photography, sound, and theater. Through it all, I’ve come to realize that making art isn’t just something I do—it’s something I can’t live without.
Hushed Noise: How does your cultural background or personal experiences influence your work?
Hushed Noise: Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you develop an idea into a finished piece?
Hushed Noise: What themes or messages do you explore in your art, and why do they resonate with you?
Fanxi Sun: (I’m combing these four questions—my inspiration, my cultural background/personal experiences, my creative process, and my themes and messages—into one answer.)
All of my artwork originates from my reflections and emotions about interpersonal relationships in my life—friendships, romance, family, and everything in between. I am constantly drawn to how people behave and interact in different situations and how my feelings evolve as events unfold. My work seeks to capture both the most subtle and the most profound human gestures because, for me, this theme is deeply personal. I cherish every relationship I have ever been a part of, and these experience serve as the foundation of my practice.
I have a habit of taking notes whenever thoughts arise, and these writings become the raw materials for my projects. From there, I begin a process of translation—between texts, visuals, and sound. I transform my thoughts and feelings into relationships: among my characters, between subject and frame, between camera and performer, between the rhythm of sound and the pattern of image, and across different presenting channels. Research plays an integral role in the process, helping me refine my ideas and make critical decisions during editing.
Beyond relationships, I am fascinated by time and space. I explore time through units, durations, parallel timelines, and back-and-forth editing—because time is the medium thorough which events unfold and people change. I enjoy pre-planning and constructing narrative arcs, as well as choreographing elements to define the width and depth of space. In both the cinematic world and real world, measuring space is, in essence, measuring relationships.
Hushed Noise: What challenges do you face as an emerging artist, and how do you navigate them?
Fanxi Sun: My biggest challenge right now is securing funding and resource. As my work evolves, my ambitions grow, which requires more substantial support than what I currently have access to. To navigate this, I am actively applying for project-supporting grants and development labs, and fellowships. Additionally, I am reaching out to my mentors and fellow artists who are further along in their careers and have likely faced similar challenges. Their insights and experiences help me strategize and find new opportunities..
Hushed Noise: Are there any artists, movements, or experiences that have deeply influenced your work?
Fanxi Sun: Maya Deren, Chantal Akerman, Agnes Varda, Trisha Brown, Andrei Tarkovsky, David Lynch, David Fincher, Woody Allen.
Hushed Noise: How do you see your art evolving in the next few years?
Fanxi Sun: In the next few years, I envision myself producing my next experimental theater project, my debut feature-length film, and a large-scale lens-based installation. These projects will expand the scope and depth of my current artistic practice. To bring them to life, I am actively developing plans, drafting proposals, and submitting applications.
Hushed Noise: What’s a recent project or piece that you’re particularly proud of, and why?
Fanxi Sun: I am very proud of my expanded cinema piece, To, From, which combines live performance and film. Both narratives unfold in the same open, woodened-floor living room. Each narrative thread tells a different part of the story of two student dancer friends as they chat, practice dance, and spend time together. Throughout the piece, the performers’ movements and gestures, both on screen and in reality, interact with and respond to one another.
From conception to final performance, the project came together in just six and a half months. While it was not perfect, I fully realized my vision within a tight timeframe. My leadership and project management instincts drove me through the process. My meticulous schedule ensured ample rehearsals and practice runs with my performers, which also allowed us to build a strong sense of trust and synchronicity. Coordinating the live performance with the film demanded extensive, detailed planning, which I executed under significant internal and external pressure. In the end, the final performance conveyed my intensions and resonated with the audience, evoking both emotional and intellectual responses.
Hushed Noise: What role do you think social media and digital platforms play in shaping the opportunities for emerging artists today?
Fanxi Sun: Social media and digital platforms play a crucial role in advancing emerging artists’ careers and providing more opportunities. Their transparency and quick exchange of messages allow us to get access to things we might not be able to get in the past. I follow a handful of Instagram accounts and newsletters that share artist opportunities worldwide. It is very convenient to stay updated with the latest information.
Hushed Noise: If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Fanxi Sun: I prefer to collaborate with people whose work process I have observed and whom I know personally. Personality and compatibility are my primary considerations when choosing collaborators. Therefore, rather than naming well-known artists, I would highlight a few artist friends whose work I deeply trust—such as my sound designer for my latest film, Sihan Tsai, or my cinematographer/gaffer friends, Maryska Staczak and Jasmine Elmore.
Follow Fanxi Sun’s work on Instagram at @fanxis_diary. For more, visit Fanxi’s website: https://fanxisun.com. For inquiries, contact Fanxi at fanxisun.art@gmail.com.
Edited by Xeni R. Quine
Videos by Fanxi Sun