by Ariella Vaystukh

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Rebecca Wang is an entrepreneur, executive film producer, and former psychotherapist currently based in London, England, where she is the CEO of her own production company, Rebecca Wang Entertainment. With a vigorous passion for the arts and philanthropy, Rebecca continuously contributes to making the world a better place by supporting leading charities worldwide, such as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), the American Foundation for AIDS Research, (amFAR), and the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF). In addition, Rebecca advocates all forms of artistic expression throughout the world with strong interests in film, music, photography, and fashion. Her numerous achievements on a grand scale have created a path of inspiration for many who are drawn to her genuine and humble nature. A lifestyle based on integrity, discipline, and a balance of inner and outer harmony helps illustrate the captivating aura of an outstanding individual such as herself. Rebecca opens up and shares her wealth of knowledge and experience in the world of cinema, by elaborating on her personal definition of what constitutes a great film. She goes into great detail about the 2014 BAFTA Awards in London and also gives her assessment for trophy possibilities for the highly acclaimed UK film, 12 Years a Slave. Rebecca comments on her views on the importance of philanthropy and the key role that celebrities play in setting examples for the people who admire them. The following is an exclusive interview between Hollywood Weekly and Ms. Wang:

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HW: Tell us more about BAFTA — why you support it, the full range of projects run by BAFTA, and the new initiative that it launched in November “Give Something Back”. How has being a part of this organization (you are a member for the Academy Circle for BAFTA)enabled you to further support the arts?

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RW: Supporting the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a natural choice for me because of my love for and experience of cinema. This leading UK charity celebrates and encourages art forms of the moving image, and enables the best creative work in films, television and video games to be accessed and appreciated by all. Most recently in November, BAFTA’s President HRH Prince William Duke of Cambridge has launched the Give Something Back Campaign. This major scheme will support talented youngsters from all backgrounds via mentoring, guest lectures, scholarships, and summer work placements, helping them to develop and use their creative skills and thus advance their careers and realize their dreams. As a member of the Academy Circle, through supporting the scholarship programme, I am very excited to be part of helping develop the skill of these technicians, actors, producers and games designers in waiting, and in so doing to play a small part in building and expanding these art forms for the future.

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HW: How do you account for the increased recognition and truly international standards of excellence that have developed in the BAFTA Awards over the recent years?

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RW: First I would say that the choice of nominations for the Awards has become increasingly broad and world encompassing, and within each category the range and representation of talent more inclusive and diverse – for example in 2013, after a lifetime of outstanding performances on the French screen, Emmanuelle Riva at 85 took the Leading Actress Award for her role in Amour, which also won the Best Film not in the English Language. Actor Ben Affleck changed his known role and took the Best Director Award for Argo. This year Wadjda, the first full length film ever shot in Saudi Arabia , and the only feature length film made in Saudi Arabia by a female director, is nominated for Best Film not in the English language, and the five Rising Star nominees hail from the UK, USA, France and Kenya. All this is hopeful and points to increasing world participation in this great art form.

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HW: This year’s BAFTA Awards will be announced next week. Based on your love and experience of cinema and your work as an executive producer in Hollywood, what would you say were the key ingredients or components that go towards an award winning film?

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RW: I believe anybody wanting to make a great film looks for the same things. Beyond funding, a unique story or subject matter, that is not just relevant and with universal appeal, but that will allow an outstanding human condition or life experience to be shown. The quality of the producer’s and more crucially the director’s vision: how he or she is going to turn that story or theme into wonderful cinema. You will want actors of the highest calibre, who have the capacity to bring out the best of the character they are playing, and whose parts will stretch their skills to the maximum. Outstanding expertise for cinematography, production design, costume design, makeup and hair styling, and all the many technical skills that contribute to the originality of the musical score, sound and special visual effects. The capacity of the direction for the film, the creative spark; how the vision is sculpted and woven together through the editing, and finally the overall message to its audience and how effectively it is transmitted. An outstanding film may inspire, uplift, challenge, and or provoke thought, questions and possibly action. Beyond that, and considering the stunning quality of entries over recent years, it will finally be down to luck and how the judges vote!

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HW: The British film 12 Years a Slave has had ecstatic reviews, already won a Golden Globe and is hotly tipped for the Oscars. How do you rate its chances at the BAFTA ceremony in the UK next week?

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RW: Twelve Years a Slave has received 10 BAFTA nominations overall, collected 9 overall nominations for the Oscars, and recently won Best Film at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, which is a fair indication of the quality of the film. Director Steve McQueen, already awarded an OBE and a CBE for his services to visual arts, was the first British director ever to win the Camera d’Or at Cannes in 2008 for his first feature film Hunger, which also gained numerous awards at festivals in a large number of countries worldwide. The acting team is strong, and its cinematography, production design, editing and music are all included in the nomination categories, so I think the chances are good, especially in the home country. As Chiwetel Ejiofor the principal actor says: “It’s so much a film about human respect and human dignity and it’s so powerful and relevant. It’s never too early or too late to discuss these kinds of topics.”

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HW: What other similar organizations do you support and why are they important to you?

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RW: I admire both the amfAR and EJAF for their highly creative and effective fundraising. The state of the art events they hold are huge attractions in their own right. amfAR’s annual Inspiration Galas across cities worldwide demonstrate how creativity can be moulded to serve philanthropy. Celebrating men’s fashion and style through catwalk shows with contributions from leading designers, these events also recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to the cause. I have joined others to sponsor the 2012 Paris Gala and in 2013 with others was a chair for both the New York and Los Angeles Inspiration Galas. Over two consecutive years I was a benefactor for the EJAF annual Awards Viewing Ceremony in Hollywood where guests enjoy simultaneous streaming of the Awards event. I am honoured to be supporting the Awards Viewing Ceremony again this year, this time in the capacity of patron, a role I also took for their 2013 “Enduring Vision” evening in New York, where Hilary Clinton and Elton John were both honoured with awards.

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HW: It is evident that you value and practice discipline, integrity and honesty among many other honorable qualities. This is a truly rare thing to come by in today’s world, and especially in regards to someone of your standing. How have these values helped you to accomplish what you desire in life?

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RW: For me, practice of discipline on a daily basis helps me to develop the quality of persistence, which I believe to be vital in order to overcome obstacles and to accomplish all I set out to do. I also feel it essential to hold a clear vision and intention, and be sure that you are honest with your own intention in order to act with integrity: any action you make in pursuit of your own goal should not be at anybody else’s expense. Practicing persistence on a daily basis has enabled me to graduate from the University of California Berkeley with a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology, and subsequently to practice effectively as a psychotherapist. In the same way this attitude and practice helped me to overcome the daily challenges when I entered the film industry with no previous experience, and produced my first Hollywood feature film Passion Play, working with two Academy Award nominees and one BAFTA winner.

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HW: I understand that your fields of work include, but are not limited to: music, fashion and photography. How are these various areas of expression an extension of you as an individual?

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RW: All the fields mentioned are different art forms which each express different facets of me. For myself, I believe that fashion represents how we express ourselves and reflects our inner emotions for that moment in time. Since we consciously choose the designs, concepts, colours, fabrics and workmanship in any outfit, it is a total vehicle for self-expression, a means to project our own self image. What you portray to the world is who you are and this gives people a visual expression of you. My experience of music is that it can act on another vibrational level for all of us. Melody boosts creative reasoning, while rhythm raises the level of the neurotransmitter serotonin which will transmit nerve impulses to help us to connect with our internal selves and find peace. Photography for me is that silent art form which catches an instant in time and immortalizes it. It is the only way you can hold on to any precious moment with all that it may personally evoke.

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HW: You possess a captivating and natural glow in your appearance. Is there anything about your physical or spiritual regimen that contributes to radiating presence and natural beauty?

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RW: I exercise regularly for my own health and physical well-being. I prefer natural forms of exercise such as swimming and yoga. Equally important for me is inner or spiritual exercise. I practice meditation daily: I feel it is important for us to make time for ourselves to retreat into our own space and connect with our inner self in order to have time to reflect and to make better decisions.

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HW: Despite your long list of remarkable achievements, you continue to strive to accomplish more, and work diligently to develop yourself. Is it important to you to be a role model and inspiration to people around the world?

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RW: Being a role model or inspiration to people is not and has never been a motivation for me. Striving to accomplish more and working to improve myself is important for my own life purpose. If, by being a better person who is clear and happy in my intentions and actions, I have a positive effect through how I am and what I do, then that is all to the good, and if each of us can do that the effect will be highly significant.

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HW: Helping others who are less fortunate or in need of guidance has been a recurring theme of your life: this is shown not only through your continuous patronage of the arts, but also through the organizations that you advocate, one of which is the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).Why is addressing health and humanitarian issues so important for you?

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RW: Health, or rather good health is the most vital and important foundation in our own lives, respecting and building that should be our first concern and aim. So for me it is natural to do everything possible to encourage and raise the level of awareness of health world-wide, most especially in areas of un-health where for whatever reasons, urgent intervention, education and prevention are needed. The AIDS epidemic has been one of the biggest health crises of the last few decades-a crisis as much of ignorance and prejudice as of physical illness. I have been proud to support both amfAR and the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) for some years now, as their dynamic global commitment and work over the past twenty years have achieved groundbreaking advances in treatment, prevention and attitude for the disease.

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HW: Could you explain to us some of the ways in which you have supported these two admirable organizations?

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RW: I admire both the EJAF and amfAR for their highly creative and effective fundraising. The state of the art events they hold are huge attractions in their own right. amfAR annual Inspiration Galas across cities worldwide demonstrate how creativity can be molded to serve philanthropy. Celebrating men’s fashion and style through catwalk shows with contributions from leading designers, these events also recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to the cause. I have joined others to sponsor the 2012 Paris Gala and in 2013 with others was a chair for both the New York and Los Angeles Inspiration Galas. Over two consecutive years I was a benefactor for the EJAF annual Awards Viewing Ceremony in Hollywood where guests enjoy simultaneous streaming of the Awards event. I am honored to be resuming my support for the Viewing Awards Ceremony this year, this time in the capacity of patron, a role I also took for their 2013 “Enduring Vision” evening in New York, where Hilary Clinton and Elton John were both honored with awards.

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HW: In recent years there has been a growth in younger celebrities seeking to make the world a better place. You, in addition to other celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, have made philanthropy a significant and active part of your career. Why do you think it is important for younger celebrities to raise awareness of social issues and advocate positive change in the world?

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RW: In present media coverage a celebrity can and does easily represent an example or role model for hundreds of thousands of young people who will know, watch and follow every action, and are influenced by what their hero or heroine wears, says and does. This is a huge responsibility and I believe that it is crucial to have a morality in such a position. As someone generally in the spotlight, a celebrity can use their own power and influence by being linked to an issue that is beneficial to the young such as healthy living or positive behavior towards others. The celebrity can, like a family member, seem a mentor or guide towards good living and behavior via their own example.

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HW: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for our readers pertaining to achieving one’s goals and pursuing self-actualization and personal fulfillment?

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RW: Be honest with yourself about your intentions, and that these are in alignment with your beliefs and your value system. You will know if they are in harmony by how you feel. Practice discipline and above all persistence in all you do to reach your goal; continue to work at all obstacles that present themselves. Your vision will not happen by itself, use these skills to develop the determination to reach it.

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