Cinespot : An Exclusive Interview with Hong Kong Director Chan Wing-chiu

An Exclusive Interview
with Director Chan Wing-chiu
(Part II)

The realm of independent cinema

Cinespot: As we all know, the Hong Kong commercial film market is having a recession now. Do you think it is possible for independent film to survive at such a difficult moment?

Chan: Many people have asked this question before, and honestly, the situation is quite bad. Filmmaking requires a lot of investment and time, so public screening is always the best and most direct way to offset the cost. In other countries, the audiences appreciate the effort of independent filmmakers, and there are always some markets for independent films. However, the situation in Hong Kong now is that, if your film is labeled as "independent", it usually carries a negative connotation. It would not help you to gain any respect from the audiences. They would not care whether your film is independent or commercial, what they only know is that it is screened in the public theater and they have to pay to see it. When some people hear about independent film, they may even back out, as they think that the budget of independent film must be very low, and so why would they want to pay and see it in the theater? Therefore, it is really not easy to promote independent film in Hong Kong. As the pioneer in this field, we hope that more people would learn to appreciate our films, and so it would provide a better environment for us to further explore its possibility.

Cinespot: Your short film By Heaven's Grace was a jury award winner at the IFVA some years ago. Tell us something about this short.

Chan: By Heaven's Grace is a documentary, but it is different from those news documentary we always see on TV. It is a very personal work about a mother filming his autistic son. The mother wanted more people to learn about autism. Basically, my friend and I took the footage and re-edited it, and then we submitted it to the short film festival. The purpose of our submission was simply to get more attention from the community, and luckily we won an award. It is really not that difficult to make a short film, anyone could do it, I was just one of the people participating in the project.

Cinespot: How would you choose a subject for your documentary?

Chan: The territory of documentary is actually very big, there are a lot of possibilities. But no matter what you do, the priority is passion. If you don't have any passion for a subject, I am sure that you wouldn't do it well. In recent years, I am quite into documentary films, even A Side, B Side, Seaside, my narrative feature, has some documentary qualities. One of my objectives was to use the camera to capture a genuine record of the life of some 17 year-old people. I hope that many years later when they watch the movie again, they would find it a valuable memory of their youth. To a certain extent, film itself is a form of record, it simply depends on how you view and handle it.

Cinespot: Some people say it is more difficult to make short film than feature, because it has to deliver a message in a very short period of time. What do you think? What is the difference between making short film and feature?

Chan: It depends on the filmmakers... Personally, I am an impatient person, I find it quite difficult to convey a message in a longer period of time in a feature film, that's why I enjoy making short films more. It is more straightforward and concise. Yet the message of a short film should be incisive.
The reason why short film lacks the appealing power is that most audiences are more used to seeing a narrative film with a logical and conventional setup: beginning, development and climax. But the definition of short film is quite complicated. It can be 2 minutes or 60 minutes. Take By Heaven's Grace as an example, it is 20 minutes long and the challenge is to convey a message within that timeframe. Therefore, the interesting thing about short film is that, sometimes there is only a rough concept, and the filmmaker has to choose a creative approach to present it in an incisive way.

Commercial cinema and its future

Cinespot: Let's move back to commercial cinema. You have been the assistant director for quite some famous directors in Hong Kong. Did they influence the way you work now?

Chan: Absolutely yes! Every director has his own personality, taste and style, there are always a lot to learn. The more you learn, the more you are influenced. I remember that I learned some techniques to do comedy from director Alfred Cheung Kin-ting, and some action choreography approaches from Sammo Hung. These people are all the cream of the business, so I learned a lot from them.

Cinespot: As a veteran in the business, could you share with us some of the experiences that are influential to your career?

Chan: Haha... talking about influential experiences, in the past I was lucky to get to know some directors who provided an opportunity for me to work with them. Then some years later when they became producers, they would again provide an opportunity for me to become a director. Take A Side, B Side and Seaside as an example, the production company didn't know too much about me beforehand, but then some people there used to work with me before and they're familiar with my ability, that's why they trusted me and let me direct the movie. I think that's what you call "connection".

Cinespot: Talking about opportunities, right now you are also providing an opportunity for some students. We know that you are the instructor of a vocational filmmaking program.

Chan: Having been a filmmaker for so many years, I have never thought of becoming an instructor before, and honestly, I am capable to do it only because what I am teaching now is related to film production, the field I am more experienced. If you ask me to talk about film theory, I am sure I am weaker than many film scholars. Anyway, this opportunity just came to me spontaneously. As you may know, this program is jointly organized by the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers and Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education. The aim is to train up some promising new talents (mostly assistant director, production manager, gaffer and post-production crew) for the business. They approached me because they knew that I have been working in the field for many years.
Now it has been two years since I got the job, and I am taking a short break as the second year student just graduated and I am not sure if they will continue the program. But it is good for me, since I got almost no time to participate in any filmmaking job for quite a while already, so I could use the time now to take a break and also work on the promotion of A Side, B Side, Seaside.
Honestly, teaching is a pleasant experience. In the past, I always thought teaching requires huge responsibility, but now I enjoy it very much. It is a good learning experience for me too because I got to know how the young people see the meaning and significance of cinema now. It has widened my perspective a lot and certainly would influence the way I work in the future.

Cinespot: So do you think Hong Kong cinema should have a total shift of power in order to revive?

Chan: A total transformation is not practical! I think it is necessary to bring in more new people to the business, but then the veterans should not be expelled. The foundation would collapse if everyone in the field is too green, so the veterans should stay to help out the newcomers. However, the black sheep should certainly be eliminated. I think it is a process that takes time. Some people are already leaving, and some enthusiastic newcomers are entering. As for revival, it depends heavily on us! If we, Hong Kong people, still love our films, still have a feeling for it, then we would want it to revive. Otherwise, nothing can stop it from dying. So it is all about us. The fate of Hong Kong cinema is decided by Hong Kong people.

Cinespot: Lastly, what is your hope for the future of Hong Kong cinema?

Chan: My hope? I didn't really think too deep about this question. I only wish that some people who really love and understand filmmaking would be given the opportunity to make movies. The society of Hong Kong is really rapidly changing, the way Hong Kong people view movies is very different from that in the past. Just like the identity uncertainty most Hong Kong people are facing, we are also uncertain about our future, and so we are trying to explore a new path for our cinema now. It is just like what we have been doing in the past, but this time we would count on the zealous and promising newcomers. I look forward to seeing the "New new wave" of Hong Kong cinema.

Cinespot: Ok, let's look forward to a brighter future together. Before we end, I would like to thank director Chan again for sharing a fruitful afternoon with us. Thank you!

Chan: Thank you very much.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the interview was a big success. Director Chan Wing-chiu was very generous and patiently answered all of our questions in details. Again, we would like to appreciate director Chan for sharing his valuable time with us. Please give a round applause to director Chan!

Thank you!

Host / Text: Eric Liu
Translation: K. Lui

9/2005

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