ArtView June 2014 | Page 21

After my family left New York City, we spent about 5 to 6 years living in Myanmar. During that period, I was inspired by the work of award winning Myanmar actors like Yan Aung and Soe Thu. Their movies left me more motivated to become part of the film and acting world. When I was 7, I told my parents and relatives that I wanted to be an actress or a filmmaker, or just be someone in the film industry when I grew up – which left a lot of people amused, as we didn’t have any entertainers in the family yet! I was encouraged by my family to finish university and get a job before I could follow my dreams. As we travelled as a diplomat family, I attended schools and colleges around the world, which exposed me to many different educational systems, and I had to learn the local languages as well. Thanks to that, I can speak some functional French in addition to English and Burmese. I used to speak German quite well at 14, but have forgotten most of it now!