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An Exclusive Interview
with Director Adrian Kwan Shun-fai
(Part II)
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Christian Film
Cinespot: Talking about Christian film, it is a rather new form of cinema around the world.
As one of the pioneers of this genre, what is your goal?
Kwan: Thank you for your compliment. The goal of making Christian Film is to convey
the message of hope, that is, "there is always a turnabout for us!" There are always different
choices for us to pick. Say, during the SARS attack, we could do nothing or keep on fighting.
If we have faith, we would never give up and choose to keep on fighting! Moreover, we want
to promote a positive attitude of living, telling the audience that life is joyful, no matter how
tough the situation is, there is always hope around the corner. This is the core value of the film.
I would feel really good if the movies can actually inspire the audience.
Cinespot: What is the difference of making mainstream commercial film and Christian film?
Is there any specific rules you have to follow?
Kwan: Christian film has been evolving from time to time, it has become more and more
mainstream now. In the past when people heard about Christian film, they would think it
must be very boring and didactic, but now things have been changing. In order to introduce Christian
film to the public, we have to understand how to turn it into a mainstream product. While
the film should be made with "heart", the quality of the movie is also very important.
It is meaningless to make a movie with heart but without quality. I believe that if you want to arouse the
interest of those who are not Christians, you have to work on a subject that is welcome by the
majority, but not a minor group. One of the problems of the small scale Christian films in the
past is that it was a closed community, the films only focuses on subjects that interested a
small group of people. I think it's not the right approach, because we need to care about the
majority, we need to open up and learn what the general audiences want, we need to understand
the demand of the market, and then we would make a Christian film based on these underlying principles.
I agree that in the past Christian filmmaking was limiting themselves in a closed environment,
but now things have changed. Christian filmmakers begin to understand how to make a movie
that would fit the need of general audience.
Cinespot: Our reviewer Kantorates once mentioned that the characters in Christian film are not
realistic at all. The good guys are always too benevolent, and the bads are just too evil, the
classification just seems to be too simple and idealistic, that it begins to lower the dramatic
quality of the movie. What do you think?
Kwan: I think a lot of traditional mainstream movies are like that too. Take Star Wars
as an example, good and evil are obvious. In the past, there weren't too many Christian filmmakers,
so it wasn't strange that they would stick with a more traditional form of ideology, that, the good and evil
were distinctive, the grey area was hardly touched upon. But when more and more Christian films have
been made, the quality would improve and we would be able to find a better way to do it gradually.
In the past, Christian filmmakers might think the only goal of the movie is to preach the Good News,
but I don't really agree. I believe the first priority is to make a good movie. No matter how
beautiful or meaningful your message is, if the quality of the movie is bad, nobody would want to
see it! For instance, I really like The Passion of The Christ (Mel Gibson 2004), I would
define it as a Christian film, a really well done one! Mel Gibson has done what I have been always
hoping to do! (lol) What I learned from this movie is that it's actually possible to promote the
story of the Christ using a very violent approach. Mel Gibson employs a very new approach that
proves to be very successful. Then I would think, perhaps next time, it is possible to promote
a positive message through a horror movie, or a comedy, just like If You Care... or 6 A.M..
Cinespot: In If You Care..., Gillian Chung asks Candy Lo, "You said he (Eason Chan) doesn't
care about the feeling of others, but do you care about the feeling of others?" This dialogue seems to be
taken from the teaching in the Bible. So is it your intention to include some religious messages in your
movie in order to promote the Good News?
Kwan: I think it is the lesson of life. Sometimes, you may read about these lessons in
the Bible, but it is not easy to digest and apply it in daily life. So whenever I think it is
possible to include such lessons in the movie, I would do it. Back to the scene you said, the
original text in the Bible is about a man waiting for punishment. Because that man has committed
a crime, he is supposed to be stoned. Jesus then said, "Those who have never committed a crime shall
stone him." My intention is to turn the lessons in Bible into modern language, and I hope the
audiences could learn how to apply these lessons in daily life after they have watched my movies.
Cinespot: As a Christian, does it limit your choice in filmmaking? Just like Infernal
Affairs, the border line between good and bad is very vague. Would your religious affiliation
prohibit you from working on such projects?
Kwan: No. No matter Christian or Catholic, we always touch upon the grey area. For example,
today when I meet you, my impression on you is only some fragments, it is impossible for me to
understand every part of your life, and this is the fragments of life, where the grey area comes from.
Referring to the Bible, Jesus's apostle Judah was just like living in "Infernal Hell". Before Jesus's
last day, he was still a loyal member of the Twelve Apostles, but then the day before Jesus was crucified,
he betrayed Jesus! So he was just like Tony Leung's undercover character in Infernal Affairs.
Actually the story of Infernal Affairs also exists, more or less, in the Bible. Sometimes the
characters are in a crosspath, sometimes they have a choice. The only difference is that some people
make a honorable choice (just like Dr. Tse Yuen-man), some make an outrageous one (just like some doctors
in Taiwan who quitted the job during SARS attack).
Cinespot: Is it a requirement that anyone involved in a Christian film must be Christian?
Kwan: No, a lot of the cast and crew are not Christians. For the Christian movies I have worked before,
Cheng Pei-pei, Tse Kwan-ho and Maria Cordello are not Christians. But I believe it is important that the lead
character is Christian. For instance, when I make a movie about a chef, it is not persuasive at all if the
lead actor does not enjoy eating at all, or when I make a movie about motorcycle, it is also hard to convince
the audience if the actor doesn't know how to ride a motorbike or doesn't enjoy driving at all. It just wouldn't
work if I force the actor to do something that they don't enjoy. Contrary speaking, it is much easier to
work on a subject if you enjoy what you are doing. Take Miracle Box as an example, Dr. Tse Yuen-man had
a lot of encounters and religious belief played an important part in her life. So we were trying to look for an actress
who has similar experience. When I discussed with Ada Choi, she told me that she has also had some similar
experiences making difficult choices, and how her faith in Chrsitianity is helping her to get through. Once I knew that
she had similar encounters, I would tell her to apply these experience to her performance.
Cinespot: Is it hard for Christian film to look for financing
Kwan: The Christian films I worked on were produced by The Media Evangelism Limited, and the investors
were also located by them. Basically the company was formed by a group of people with the same ambition and interest.
Christian film is independent production, so they usually wouldn't look for financing from commercial
film companies. They would rather look for individuals or independent investors, and then when the production is
finished, they would discuss with the distributors to see if they could get a theatrical release.
Cinespot: What is your view on the future development of Christian film?
Kwan: I have made four Christian films before, two on film, two on video. I believe that the production
of Christian film should not become a routine. It is not a good idea to say, make two this year, and three next
year. The production of Christian film should be done carefully with "heart". Christian film does not usually
require very big budget or a very expensive cast, so I believe, if it is made with "heart", it is not hard to
survive, and certainly I hope its influence will grow bigger and bigger. In short, I hope that Christian film production
should not be a routine. A project should be initiated spontaenously when there is a suitable subject for us to work on
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Career
Cinespot: Talking about yourself, how did you become a filmmaker?
Kwan: When I was very small, a film inspired me a lot, and the title of the film is
called Ultra-Man, haha (lol). I am a director who really want to become Ultraman.
At that time, I would always pretend to be Ultraman and fight the monster at home after I have
watched it. Later, movies like Star Wars, Alien, Jaws also aroused me.
From the making of documentaries of these films, I first realized that there's a person called
director.
I really loved drawing when I was young, and I even dreamed of becoming a comic writer. But
comic drawing is really a time-consuming job, everytime I was not able to finish the entire
story, so I began to think it's probably easier to tell a story in film form. Later I went to
Canada to further my study. At first, I majored in a computer-related subject, but I didn't
like it at all (even now I still don't like computer), then I switched to film studies. In 1992,
I returned to Hong Kong and started working in TVB. A year later, I got to know director Peter
Chan, that's how I got myself into the filmmaking business. I worked in four of Peter Chan's
films, like Who's the Woman, Who's the Man, Comrades, Almost a Love Story, and then
I became the assistant director of Benny Chan's Who Am I. Sometimes later, my mother
had cancer and passed away. After she's gone, I wanted to make a documentary about cancer patients
getting treatment, I thought it would be an encouraging subject for other patients. I knew that
Yip Tak-sang, a former artiste and also a Christian, had cancer before, and he did recover from it,
so I wanted to have an interview with him, but I didn't make it, as he had already emigrated to
another country. Later I got in touch with The Media Evangelism Limited and finally started to
make a feature film myself.
Cinespot: Is there any actors you want to work with?
Kwan: I want to work with actors who really care about acting. Engaging performance by enthusiastic
actors is wonderful.
Cinespot: From what you have said so far, it seems that you are a very optimistic person, is it true?
Kwan: In the past, I wasn't really optimistic. I guess my faith in Christianity does help me a lot.
It teaches me how to maintain an optimistic and active attitude.
Cinespot: Can you tell us more about any of your future projects?
Kwan: In the future, I want to make some movies with anti-war message, or... perhaps it is better
to say it later, haha. About my next project, I am still choosing from various subjects. I am interested in
doing different kinds of movies, like, thrillers. I haven't done a thriller before, I am wondering if it is
possible to incorporate the message of "hope" into a thriller movie. Another comedy is also possible, but
now I am still doing research, so it is hard to say. I believe that a filmmaker should not limit himself in
one genre or subject. I myself would love to try out different things every time.
Cinespot: That's all we got. Thank you very much for spending a good afternoon with us.
Kwan: Thank you very much.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, the interview was a big success. Director Adrian Kwan Shun-fai was very generous and
patiently answered all of our questions in details. Again, we would like to appreciate director Kwan for
taking his valuable time and sharing his insight with us. Please give a round applause to director Kwan!
Special thanks to EMP for coordinating and making the interview possible.
Thank you!
Host / Text: Eric Liu
Photos: Claudia Wong
Planning: K. Lui, Eric Liu
Translation: K. Lui
11/2004
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Click here to go back to Part I.
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