#feff20

DING Sheng, director, A Better Tomorrow 2018

Why did you remake A Better Tomorrow? What was the experience like?

I got this chance about a year ago when the rights of A Better Tomorrow where acquired from the rights owner. The original film was a great inspiration for me, so I did not want to give up this opportunity. The greatest obstacle was that I wanted find a way pay homage to the original film, but at the same time, I also wanted to create something new, because I wanted my film to be different from the first one.

Which are the differences between A Better Tomorrow and A Better Tomorrow 2018?

At the core of it, both my version and the original are about human relationships, which I think is the most striking similarity between the two films. I preserved the feeling of brotherhood, but by changing the most emblematic scenes, I changed the way of expressing that feeling. Personally, I saw A Better Tomorrow when I was sixteen and I was influenced by the film’s full-blooded passion, but I didn’t want the remake to be that violent. I wanted to convey different values. That for me is the greatest difference between the two films. I also think that every person has their own style. For example, I love using handheld cameras, so despite the fact that it isn’t used very much in the original version, I used this technique nonetheless to recreate certain scenes and frames from the original A Better Tomorrow.

Please could you tell us a bit about the cast and locations used in A Better Tomorrow 2018?

Of the two lead actors, I had already worked with on one of them in Railroad Tigers (2016). For the supporting role, I trusted myself to make the right choice. I had always wanted my film to be different from the original, so I made it with young people in mind, rather than trying to please fans of A Better Tomorrow.

Back in the days when the first film was shot, printing counterfeit bank notes was the big business in the criminal world. Now the focus has shifted to smuggling goods, particularly drugs, which often enter the country by sea, so this informed my choice of the shooting location.

Peter LOEHR, FEFF20 Jury Member, producer and distributor – USA / Albert LEE, FEFF20 Jury Member, producer and distributor – Hong Kong / Massimo GAUDIOSO, FEFF20 Jury Member, screenwriter and director – Italy

What’s your experience been of the Far East Film Festival?

Peter Loehr:  This not my first time at the festival, it’s actually been a big part of my career. The audience was much smaller back when I was first invited here, but now it’s become huge. I’ve been able to witness the growth of the festival and this is all down to Sabrina and Thomas.  I am very glad to be here and I hope to come again in the future.  As a member of the jury, I was able to watch a lot of first and second films, 21 of them, to be precise. I’ve noticed that there’s been a great variety of genres, from comedies to tear-jerkers, so I don’t think that there can be fixed criteria to judge these films on. What’s remarkable is the fact that each of these filmmakers has a unique voice.

Massimo Gaudioso: This is my first time here. I was invited as a jury member by Sabrina and Thomas, who knew about my passion for Asian cinema. It is a great opportunity to discover films from other countries and to see in what direction the industry is moving in, especially with regards to first and second films. I was really impressed by the variety of genres we saw and by the technical awareness shown in the films too. I was surprised by how high the production values were across the board. I also noticed that action scenes were of a really high standard, that there was a return to genre films, as well as a preference for storytelling through images. This is just my opinion, but I found that the films were very clear in their visual language and this is something that I really appreciate. Going back to the festival itself, I found it to be so well organized and I hope to have the chance to come back, if only to watch films.

Albert Lee: This is not my first time here. It’s fantastic to come back and I think Sabrina and Thomas played a great role in making the festival the large-scale event it is today. As Peter said, the festival wasn’t very well-known at the beginning, but then it became bigger and bigger. I feel extremely honored to have been chosen to be a jury member, because it gave me the chance to see fantastic films by first- and second-time Asian filmmakers, which was a wonderful experience. I hope to be back. I think the award itself is very interesting, because it represents a unique opportunity and a great acknowledgement for new filmmakers. We got the chance to see films that came from across Asia, not just the countries that are the biggest, most established producers of films, such as China and Korea, but also from the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. We’ve seen some wonderful films, all very different from each other, and it’s a shame that there can only be one winner.

YEH Ka-lun, director, Fresh Wave: Bright Spring Days / HO Chung-ken, director, Fresh Wave: Fires / LAM Hei-chun, director, Fresh Wave: Goodbye

Please could you tell us a bit about your experience here at Far East Film Festival and about your short films?

Ho Chung-ken: This is the first festival I’ve attended, so everything is new and exciting. It is fantastic and my short film was well-received by the audience. After this experience, I would like to continue making films, whether they are shorts or features. The most precious thing Fresh Wave program gave me is encouragement: being a director is hard, there are many struggles, especially if you want to tell a story that is close to your own experience.  My short is Fires and it tells the story of a young actor who is struggling in his career. Family plays a really important role in the film. I chose not to discuss social issues in a direct fashion, but to do so using a more intimate point of view. When you consider family relationships you can focus on emotions, actions and behaviors and question the reasons behind these, and by discussing these relationships, you are also able to reflect on other subjects, such as politics and others. From the artistic point of view, I chose to give my short film I a dream-like atmosphere because I think cinema has some sort of magic, and I wanted that to show in my film.

Yeh Ka-lun: My short film is Bright Spring Days and it tells the story of a middle-aged woman, who works as a singer of traditional music, and her son. As you can see, family is an important theme of my short, too. I think that in depicting family struggles, you can also deal with important emotions and different kind of issues. The idea for this story was born when I found out about the background of those traditional singers and of middle-aged women in general in Hong Kong. Some things you see in the film are the result of what I saw and experienced and other things are taken from what my friends and other people told me.  I will definitely try to learn more about the people of Hong Kong in the future. I think the festival is great and I really like Udine, it is a beautiful city, and I was really happy with the audience reactions to the film.  Also, I loved Fresh Wave program so much: I think that in a lifetime there are not so many chances, so I treasure this opportunity a lot.

Lam Hei-chun: The atmosphere of the festival was really nice for me, too. I really appreciated the audience response to my short film. I am surprised that here in Italy people love Asian films so much and I believe this is a great opportunity for us. I am really happy with Fresh Wave. I shot mainly documentaries in the past, so I did not think I would have the chance to come here. In Hong Kong, there are few opportunities, so I am grateful for this chance. I will try to shoot more films in the future. The story of Goodbye is based on my personal experience, since my dad died when I was at university. Family is a really important theme for me, I am interested in showing how relationships are affected when people face struggles. Casting was a very interesting process: I auditioned many girls for the role of the little girl, but in the end I chose a friend’s daughter. I saw her photos on Facebook and I noticed she had a very thoughtful face. She was the right one for the role, so I cast her with her parents’ blessing.

Peter LOEHR, White Mulberry Award Jury Member, produttore e distributore – USA / Massimo GAUDIOSO, White Mulberry Award Jury Member, sceneggiatore e regista - Italia / Albert LEE, White Mulberry Award Jury Member, produttore e distributore – Hong Kong

Potreste raccontarci qualcosa della vostra esperienza al Far East Film Festival?

Peter Loehr: Non è la prima volta che vengo al Festival. È stata una parte molto importante della mia carriera. Ricordo che la prima volta che sono stato invitato l’afflusso era basso, mentre ora il festival ha assunto una grandissima dimensione, ha visto una crescita enorme e bisogna darne credito a Sabrina e Thomas. Sono molto contento di essere qui e spero di poter tornare in futuro.

Come membro della giuria ho avuto la possibilità di vedere molte opere prime e seconde, per l’esattezza 21. Ho notato che sono presenti una grande varietà di generi, dalle commedie a quelli strappalacrime. Penso che non esistano dei criteri fissi secondo i quali giudicare questi film, piuttosto è importante il fatto che ognuno di quelli che abbiamo visto abbia una propria voce.

Massimo Gaudioso: Per quanto mi riguarda è la prima volta che vengo al festival ed è grazie a Thomas e Sabrina che sapevano della mia passione per il cinema asiatico. È una bella occasione per conoscere film provenienti da altri Paesi e per vedere in che direzione sta andando il cinema, soprattutto per le opere prime e seconde. Mi ha colpito molto la varietà di generi presentata e la consapevolezza tecnica. Non mi aspettavo un livello produttivo così alto. Inoltre, ho notato anche una grande capacità nel raccontare le scene d’azione, pur con un ritorno al film di genere, oltre a una maggiore attenzione al racconto per immagini. È solo una mia opinione, ma trovo che i film fossero chiarissimi già nel linguaggio per immagini, che è una caratteristica che ho apprezzato particolarmente. Infine, far parte della giuria è stata un’esperienza entusiasmante e mi ha dato la possibilità di confrontarmi con persone di altri ambienti e culture. Tornando al festival in sé, è organizzato davvero molto bene e spero di tornare, anche solo come spettatore.

Albert Lee: Non è la prima volta che vengo qui. È bellissimo tornare e bisogna dare atto a Sabrina e Thomas di averlo reso un festival su grande scala. Come ha detto Peter, all’inizio era poco conosciuto, ma ora si è ingrandito molto. Sono estremamente onorato di essere stato scelto come membro della giuria. Ho avuto la possibilità di vedere opere prime e seconde fantastiche di registi asiatici ed è stata un’esperienza meravigliosa a cui spero di poter partecipare ancora. È un premio molto interessante, oltre a rappresentare una possibilità e un riconoscimento importante per i nuovi registi. Abbiamo avuto poi la possibilità di vedere film provenienti da tutta l’Asia, non solo dai Paesi da cui di solito si pensa arrivi la maggior parte della produzione cinematografica, come Cina e Corea, ma anche Filippine, Thailandia e Indonesia. Abbiamo visto dei film meravigliosi, molto diversi l’uno dall’altro ed è quasi un peccato che ci debba essere un solo vincitore.

Chedeng and Apple

Rae RED, director

Fatrick TABADA, director

Bianca BALBUENA, producer

Elizabeth OROPESA, actress

Don FRASCO, director of photography

Qual è il messaggio più importante che questo film trasmette secondo voi?

Il messaggio più importante è che non è mai troppo tardi per fare coming out, anche in una società patriarcale oppressiva bisogna sempre fare di tutto per essere davvero felici. Nei film filippini sono spesso rappresentate donne molto lontane dalla realtà, noi non volevamo mostrare le classiche ballerine poco vestite, ma donne vere con i loro problemi quotidiani.  

Credete nell'amicizia tra donne?

Certo, anzi l'amicizia tra donne è sempre molto emozionante, gli uomini non hanno idea di quello che condividiamo. Non voglio dire che l'amicizia tra donne sia più profonda di quella tra uomini ma sicuramente è molto bella. Tra l'altro l'amicizia e la collaborazione tra donne è anche quello che ha permesso ai movimenti femministi di avere successo.

Qual è la condizione delle donne omosessuali, in particolare nelle Filippine?

In alcuni paesi gli omosessuali maschi sono accettati mentre le donne no, e questo è un fatto molto triste. Chedeng, una delle due protagoniste, ha addirittura dovuto aspettare la morte del marito per avere la sua libertà sentimentale ed essere finalmente sincera verso se stessa. La maggior parte dei filippini sono molto conservatori, quindi è molto difficile per le donne fare coming out. In generale le persone pensano che essere lesbica abbia qualcosa a che fare con l'apparenza, con il modo in cui scegli di vestirti, ma non è assolutamente così.