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Ex-fashion designer and now film-maker Sally Tran brings an artistic comprehensibility to what she directs. Fresh from filming the corporate brand video for Vend, we see that Sally has managed to bring her unconventional film style into the commercial realm. Ande Schurr finds out more in this audio interview.

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Film director Sally Tran moved to the screen production industry to find a place for her creativity and spirit that was sorely wasted in the commercial fashion design world.

Jolted by an attendee's seemingly harmless comment, "I like those pants", at one of her multimedia catwalk spectacles (and they were amazing 'elasticated satin' pants Sally assures us!), caused her to regard commercialism as having the most empty of aftertastes; as if all the effort to bring into creation an integrated world of art, beauty, philosophy was for nothing; to waste upon an unreceptive industry; spat out by an audience only interested in outer beauty.

Her transfer to the 'film' department is to our advantage. Her approach is design heavy and atypical in execution yet not in any way less impactful than the 'populaire' fare of film and moving content.

That being said, what I find most interesting about Sally Tran is her integrity. Through her talent, let's be honest, and seriously hard work she has been able to live the dream, through Film Commission grants and expense-paid trips to festivals as well as winning training opportunities such as the Killer Films Internship Scholarship in New York.

Essentially, there's something about Sally Tran worth paying attention to.

In the audio interview we find out:

• A summary of Sally's year from the Killer Films Internship Scholarship, to Berlinale to developing a film in Vietnam
• How Sally succeeded in bringing her flair and creativity from the independent film world into the corporate video world through being head-hunted to direct a high-production-value brand video for Vend (below)
• How she shot the Vend video including time frames and the collaboration involved 
• Sally explains what caused her to made the move from fashion design to film director
• What being different is and why Sally spends more time in pre-production than most people allow
• Why Sally loves New Zealand and why we are fortunate to have our Film Commission
• Why she considers herself a selfish artist