Take 3 Narrative Film

Take 3 is an award-winning short film written and directed by first-generation Chinese-New Zealand filmmaker Roseanne Liang.

After the success of her debut feature — the self-financed documentary Banana in a Nutshell (2005) — Liang received production funding from the New Zealand Film Commission’s Short Film Fund for a script about the auditioning experiences of Asian New Zealand actors. Exploring Asian representation through her traditional upbringing and aspirations in the screen industry, Banana in a Nutshell gave Liang the impetus to make Take 3, alongside her “own experiences as a wannabe actor” and desire to address “the oft-seen, rarely questioned stereotypes surrounding Asian women in Western media.”

Shot on 35mm film and employing split-screen techniques and a satirical tone, Take 3 follows three actors (played by Michelle Ang, Li-Ming Hu and Katlyn Wong) as they audition separately for the same roles in a medical drama, a confectionery commercial and an action movie. Each time, they are instructed by casting directors to perform various racial stereotypes for the camera. Later, when the women meet at a joint audition for the part of an Asian sex worker, they’re empowered to ridicule and reclaim the stereotypes they’ve been asked to perpetuate.

Take 3 premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2008, where it was awarded the Crystal Bear – Special Mention in the Generation 14plus section for Best Short Film. Its first screenings in Aotearoa were at the New Zealand International Film Festival, on opening night before the world premiere of Sima Urale’s Apron Strings, and as part of the festival’s Homegrown programme. Reviewing for The Lumière Reader, Jacob Powell called it a “crowd favourite” and a “clever little black comedy” while giving special mention to the final audition scene as “simply brilliant.”

In her director’s notes for Take 3, Liang observed:

Feminists have been protesting the objectification of women for decades, and I’d be quite happy to join them, if only I hadn’t auditioned against dozens of other Asian actresses for that elusive ‘Asian’ role as the bitchy doctor, Samurai princess or sex-pot lawyer. How do I reconcile my cultural identity with my desire to get some acting work?

Liang is also the co-creator of Flat3 (2013–14), a comedy web series centred on three Chinese New Zealand flatmates. Although bearing thematic similarities to Flat3, Take 3 was inspired by Liang’s personal audition experiences, while Flat3 evolved from JJ Fong, Perlina Lau and Ally Xue’s motivation as actors to devise a production of their own, with Liang enlisted to help them conceive the idea, as well as write and direct. Flat3 Productions was formed through the collaboration, with Liang and cast members going on to co-create Friday Night Bites (2016–18), Unboxed (2017) and Creamerie (2021–23) under the same production company.

Take 3 at NZ On Screen

Take 3 at the New Zealand International Film Festival