Beyond breaking news: Local reporter follows his passion for filmmaking

SAN FRANCISCO -- Writer and director Sean Au focuses his attention on a large monitor, waiting as his actors and crew prepare for another take.

"Action," Au calls out with intention.

"What I love most about the movies is that when we go into the theater, we experience the feelings that these characters share...and we can relate to that. This is something which I feel like it is the most magical about the movies," Au says.

As a young man growing up in Singapore, Au first found a love of movies by going to the theater with his mother.

"She loves the movies. When I watch the movies, I feel like I could relate to this character or this is scary or this is a really touching scene," says Au.

It was these moments that sparked a deep interest in becoming a filmmaker.

"If we can create these feelings, to allow others to experience what we are experiencing or what we have experienced before. This is a great privilege," Au says.

Before moving to San Francisco, Au earned a degree not only in film, but also in journalism.

"By a twist of fate, I started my career in media in television," Au says.

As a reporter at KTSF, he became accustomed to telling short stories every day, which only furthered his desire to make films. One day, he found a touching story that would become the subject of his first film, a short documentary.

"It is about a tofu company in San Jose that is a family business that closed after 71 years," Au says. "So I structured it and made it longer, sent it to film festivals and started getting the film shown."

Seven years would pass before he would make his next film.

"I decided I wanted to make a narrative film, my shift from nonfiction to fiction," Au says.

The film "What We Said in the Blackout" follows two friends who wake up in a blackout and contemplate missed opportunities about dating.

His film garnered acclaim as it was screened at film festivals around the world. Less than a year later, Au has already completed his next film.

"The impetus of making the next film is that there are still so many stories that you want to tell because we're not getting younger anymore," Au says. "It's all self-financed and I do have a full-time job, so I can't wait for another seven years to make my next film."

The new film, "Just Not Naked Enough," follows an estranged husband who returns to his partner's house to celebrate their birthplace together.

"But this is perhaps the last birthday that they're going to be together," Au adds.

As the film makes its way around the international film festival circuit, working on another project is inevitable.

"And as we speak, we are already talking about the next film, creating the story. It's a story which would make probably a film outside of the Bay Area this time as well, to embark on, to take on even bigger challenges," Au says.

Although he's enjoying critical acclaim with both of his films, he always finds great reward in an audience's reaction to them.

"If someone were to be able to relate to that story and they like it, I feel like that is the success of the film," Au says.