Film Hong Kong — Director’s blog on making movies in Hong Kong

When we went to Tokyo to present The Drummer at TOKYO FILMeX back in November 2007, Jackie Chan, Daniel Wu, et al were also there filming Shinjuku Incident, so we had fun hanging out with them. One evening Jackie (we all call him “dai goh” – “big brother”) took us out to his favorite teppanyaki restaurant in Roppongi.

 
The teppanyaki chef meticulously laid the garlic out and cooked it to perfection
 
Then Dai Goh wanted to have a go at it. The director, Derek Yee, told Dai Goh to keep his new haircut under wraps until the film is released

 
Watching the live shrimps cook was excruciatingly painful

 
Dai Goh and Daniel Wu marvel at the amazing skills of the chef

 
 
Jackie Chan and Jaycee Chan…a nice father and son moment

Rice Rhapsody, starring Sylvia Chang, Martin Yan, Melanie Laurent and Maggie Q will be the Opening Night Film at the Toronto Singapore Film Festival on Friday, April 3, 2009 at 7:15pm. Venue: Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto, Canada

Director Kenneth Bi will be doing a live online Q & A from Hong Kong after the screening

The Hong Kong Film Directors Guild had its annual Spring dinner this year on Thursday, Feb 19th. Directors who have made two commercially released local films are eligible to join the Guild. Around 100 veteran and emerging directors, and guests attended the festive event.

Me and Lam Wah Chuen (dir,Nothing is Impossible; also cinematographer on Made in Hong Kong and my film, Rice Rhapsody)

Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs) and Gordon Chan (Painted Skin)

John Sham (actor, producer), Mabel Cheung (dir,The Soong Sisters), Alex Law (writer, City of Glass), and Christina Yao (dir, Empire of Silver)

The day after I received the invitation I got a phone call from the Guild secretary letting me know that all directors are requested to perform during the dinner. Since it was all for good fun, few declined. Some brave souls, such as Stephen Fung (dir, House of Fury) Barbara Wong (dir, Wonder Women), and Arthur Wong (cinematographer, The Warlords) did it solo while most of us performed in groups.

Stephen Fung

Barbara Wong


Arthur Wong

My ensemble  consisted of Philip Chan (actor, director, producer), Mabel Cheung, Alex Law, Chi-kin Kwok (dir, The Moss) and finally, a professional singer/musician, Lai Siu Tin (Michael Lai), who played keyboard for us. We sang a Mandarin song called “A Love Letter to Filmmakers” (sounds kinda corny in English, but much more poetic in Chinese), a beautiful ballad by Taiwanese songstress Tsai Chin. I played the guitar and provided background vocals. I don’t have a clip of our performance, but here’s how it should be sung:


One of the highlights was Teddy Robin’s rendition of “Wipeout.”

Teddy Robin & band

Awards were also handed out and it was a big evening for Wilson Yip, who won three prizes, including Best Director for Ip Man.

Cheang Po Soi (dir. Dog Bites Dog) & Wilson Yip

John Woo and Ann Hui were also honored for Chi Bi and The Way We Were, respectively.

Congratulations to our sales agent, The Match Factory, for their huge success at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. Their films, The Milk of Sorrow and Gigante, won the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bear for the Jury Grand Prix, respectively.

The Milk of Sorrow

Gigante

A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. — Leopold Stokowski

January 1st, 2009, the first day of the year marked the date The Drummer was being released theatrically in Germany. Along with the release of the film, a German version of the film’s soundtrack CD was also produced and distributed. There is already a Hong Kong version of the soundtrack CD sold throughout Asia, but the German version contains five bonus tracks.

Click thumbnail for the artwork of the Hong Kong and German CD’s.

In the Hong Kong film industry, and I imagine elsewhere also, one often hears this comment from a director or producer before a film is finished: “Music in this film is going to be very important.” I used to be impressed by such clear, decisive insight, but years later have found that you can say that about any element of a film. “The cinematography is going to be very important in this film…The casting is very important in this film…The editing in this film is very important…” etc.Music in films is never the element that initiates a project unless it’s a musical, and even then the subject matter usually comes first. So why do we all love music in films? When we walk out of the cinema, we want to be humming the main theme. How does music in film work?

Music is most often used as “cues.” Cues to indicate to the audience how they are supposed to feel in that certain section of the film. An emotional trigger, so to speak.

For example, in The Drummer there is a sequence where Sid, the main character, is training on the mountaintop. So we added “training music”, with a rhythm and a beat. The audience would feel the exultation as well as the humility in physical exercise. The sequence works in isolation from the rest of the film.

Click here for the original sequence

However, within the context of the film, the music tells you very quickly that this is the “training section” because there’s the proverbial training music. One gets bored by it very quickly unless there’s some progression in the sequence that piques your interest continuously.

What really was wrong is that the music is telling the wrong story at that point in the film. In many instances, filmmakers and musicians will score to picture, meaning that when your main character is being chased by someone, you put on “actiony” music with a percussive and syncopated beat. When the pace is slow and a sensitive exchange is happening between the characters, then one puts on piano music.

In the end for the training sequence, something else was used — silence. Silence is never really just nothing, there’s music in it, the actual ambient sounds from the scenes themselves: the atmosphere, footsteps, clothes swaying in the wind, the breathing, etc. That can be “music,” too.

Click here for the final sequence

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THE LONGEST SUMMER

I have composed for several Hong Kong films before, including The Longest Summer, the second of director Fruit Chan’s trilogy on the 1997 Handover. I remember watching the rough cut and thinking this was not a typical genre film, so there were no specific genre expectations in the story or in the music. So how does one begin to create the soundtrack?

“What is the film in musical form? What’s the idea of the film, the soul, in musical form?” If one can find the soul, then half the battle is won. In The Longest Summer, the soul clearly was the ambivalence of being a “Hong Konger”, who’s ethnically Chinese and employed by the British garrison in Hong Kong, but is now being handed back to China with all its history and political baggage.

Lam Wah Chuen (cinematographer and co-composer of The Longest Summer) and I were experimenting with Chinese melodies that sounded communist to add on top of the dance track when we stumbled on to the main theme of the film. It was a “Chinese-ness” that was bigger than the politics of Hong Kong being a British colony handed back to China. The soul of the film now had a voice.

Click here for the piece of music

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RICE RHAPSODY

On my first 35mm feature, Rice Rhapsody, I sought out famed Japanese composer, Masahiro Kawasaki, to create the soundtrack. I fell in love with his music from Bounce Ko Gals, directed by Masato Harada, because it elevated the emotions and illuminated what was unsaid in the film. So his music, when used interestingly, can serve as a character, manifesting the soul of the film.

Here’s a scene from Rice Rhapsody before music was added:

Click below for the Dream sequence with voice over but no music

Click below for the same scene with final music

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THE DRUMMER

For The Drummer, Andre’s amazing composition for the sequence where father and son come together spiritually but take a divergent turn in life, perfectly illustrates the power of the soundtrack. Click below for the sequence with voice over but no music:

Click below for sequence with final music:

I recently found some photos of Singapore in the 70's taken by Matthem Schramko. I was astonished to find two photos of Chinatown where we shot Rice Rhapsody. The two photos were taken exactly where we made the film some 30 years later.

The photos really show what the original Chinatown was like, full of life and vitality. Although the atmosphere has changed, the buildings have been preserved well.

Top photo from the film and bottom photo was taken from almost exactly the same angle...

The Drummer will be screening at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 9th and 13th, 2009. Click on link for the official website for more details.

The festival runs from January 6-19, 2009 and the opening film is Last Chance Harvey starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson.

A big thanks to everyone for your tremendous support in 2008. We look forward to sharing more interesting tidbits on making films in Hong Kong and hearing from you in 2009.

Wish you all a happy, healthy and properous new year!

Click here for full picture

On December 4th, the Hong Kong Film Development Council headed by Wellington Fung led seven new up and coming directors from Hong Kong to Taiwan for cultural exchange under the new heading “New Action.” The initiative showcases the current Hong Kong film directors.

This was the first step in introducing the South-East Asian market and China the new talent of Hong Kong, distinguishing itself from Hong Kong’s past directors. A glossy and impressive catalog was printed to showcase the directors like myself, Pang Ho-Cheung, Barbara Wong, Vincent Chui, etc.



We met with Vanessa Shih, the Minister for the Taiwan Government Information Office, who oversees all matters related to films in Taiwan. She told us many encouraging things like she started a program that if a Taiwanese film’s box office reaches NT$50 million, then the GIO office would reward them with 20% of their box office as policy to encourage filmmakers to make films that will attract audiences. This was back in August when the local Taiwanese hit film Cape No.7 started to gain attention in the market.

The box office for Cape No.7 is expected to reach NT$500 million when the film finishes its run. So the Taiwan government will have to dole out NT$100 million to that director. The $100 million awarded is not for his own financial gain but the money has to go towards the financing of his next film. We think the Hong Kong Film Development Council should consider a similar scheme.

Front row: Mr. Wong Pak Ming, Mr. Wong Nguk Chung, Ms. Mabel Cheung (Director); Back row: Brian Chung, Chung Kai Cheung (Director), Kenneth Bi and Vincent Chui (Director)

The Hong Kong Film Development Council hosted a luncheon with Taiwanese
producers, directors and distributors. Each director from Hong Kong sat
with an experienced Hong Kong industry professional. Nansan Shi (Tsui Hark’s
wife) and I hosted our table and got to know the Taiwanese directors
and distributors like Zero Chou, Atom Cinema’s Liu Wei-jan…

Distributors and industry professionals in Taiwan attend the luncheon. Ang Lee's brother, Lee Kang, sits in front of the poster.

Kenneth Bi, Pang Ho Cheung and Vincent Chui share some stories about our Taiwan experience.

Nansun Shi (Tsui Hark's wife) shares her stories about shipping the film prints of Tsui Hark’s new film All About Women from Thailand to Hong Kong and China for the premieres. Thailand's Bangkok airport had been underseige by anti-govemment protestors a week earlier. Even though the airport was opened by then, there was a backlog of travelers trying to leave. So she had to find ingenious routes to get the prints out via train, ship and then finally plane out of Thailand.

While the whole delegation took the bus down to the Golden Horse Awards in Taichung, I stayed in Taipei. I visited U Theatre who happened to be rehearsing for a show the next day.



Their mountain had been under renovation when we were filming The Drummer. Their new structures were finally finished with a new pavilion which is two storey high…


...a new stage with new lighting rigs and sound system…


...and six levels of audience seats up the mountain slope.

U Theatre has grown into a huge organization with young students and junior members. When I was up at the mountain, there were about 60 people there. Some performers, some behind the scenes people.

One great note is that the dog we acquired for the filming of The Drummer, XiaoHuang, now lives on U Theatre’s mountain. If you watch carefully XiaoHuang appears a few times in the film. He’s bigger now and roams the U Theatre mountain happily.

The Drummer was the opening film for the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival on 12th November. It was an electrifying night, even the mayor David Miller and Member of Parliament Olivia Chow came to show their support.





The venue was at Bloor Cinema where I used to see art films when I lived in Toronto.

RED CARPET


Deanna Wong (Executive Director) of Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival walked the Red Carpet with me

Toronro mayor, David Miller, with my parents in the background



Deanna, Mayor Miller, my parents and I posed for photographs

The night began with a 10 minute Taiko drumming performance by RAW (Raging Asian Women). It was an auspicious start. The performers really fired up the crowd.


RAW (Raging Asian Women)


The Bloor Cinema is an 850 seat cinema. We had a full house on Opening Night. (Balcony not shown)




SPEECHES


Executive Director, Deanna Wong, opened the festival and welcomed the guests.


Ms. Maureen Siu from the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, Member of Parliament Ms. Olivia Chow and Mayor Mlller


Artistic Director Heather Keung introduced me and The Drummer, saying that my first feature (a digital film) A Small Miracle was in their 2001 program and that seven years later, The Drummer is opening the festival.


I was thrilled to present my film to the Toronto crowd.

Click here to watch the Mayor’s and my speech

Family friend, father, mother, uncle Bobby.

During the screening, there was a black out between reel changes. It was a technical error. I nearly had a heart attack when that happened. It went black for 10 seconds but the sound can still be heard. It’s of the sound of a violent fight scene. When the image finally came back the audience quickly got back on track.



I joked during the Q & A after the screening that the blackout was the result of the Canadian Censor board cutting out the excessive violence.

AFTER PARTY


Friends: Jennifer Walton, Katherine Johnston, Mary Laundry, Me, Heather Keung and Claudette Brundage. They're old friends who have all traveled far to come to the screening. I have not seen most of them for 20 years.

Toronto International Film Festival Midnight Madness programmer Colin Geddes reminiscing about the first time he went to Hong Kong. He's an expert on Hong Kong cinema


Friends whom I haven’t seen in 20 years, Pat Noonan, Victoria Williams and Diane Konkin




HONG KONG 100 YEARS OF FILM


I was on a panel at the University of Toronto, organized by the festival on the history of Hong Kong films, headed by Bart Testa, a professor of Cinema Studies at the University of Toronto.


Bart Testa

Raymond Phathanavirangoon (programmer for both Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival) and Colin Geddes


Colin Geddes talking about 70's Hong Kong films

Heather Keung; Director, Kenneth Bi; Deanna Wong - photo courtesy of Joyce Wong

The NOW Audience Award for this year's favourite feature film was chosen by the audience and it went to THE DRUMMER (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany 2007), this year's opening night gala film.

The Drummer will be released in theaters Germany on January 1, 2009.

Watch the German trailer here...

http://www.kenbiroli.com/drummer2/trommlertrl480.mp4

We just attended the Tokyo Project Gathering (TPG) at the 2008 TIFFCOM/Tokyo International Film Festival. There were 34 projects (features and documentaries) chosen to participate. Our project is called The Portal. Other participating projects included Pang Ho Cheung’s The Bus, Zero Chou’s Scarlet…



Tokyo Project Gathering opening reception

TPG meetings in progress. The organizers arranged meetings for directors/producers with investors, distributors and other co-producers. We met with delegates from Japan, Korea, Germany, France, U.K, U.S. and Canada.

There is an interview of me discussing TPG and other things related to film markets on lovehkfilm.com with interviewer Kevin Ma. Click the link below...

http://www.lovehkfilm.com/blog/thegoldenrock/?p=863

High in the Mori Tower looking down to Tokyo




At night from the Observation Deck in Mori Tower




Academy Hills (Library) in the Mori Tower where everyone hangs out and checks emails during their off time. Back when Rice Rhapsody was in competition at the 17th Tokyo International Film Festival, we held informal photo shoots and interviews for Sylvia Chang and Martin Yan here too. Everything remained the same.





Head of the jury for the competition films, Jon Voight (aka Angelina Jolie’s father). It was 8:30 in the morning at the Grand Hyatt. I didn’t think it would be polite to stick a camera in his face so early so, we got a picture of his back instead.



Thai Princess Ubol Ratana at a special cocktail reception announcing her film at the festival. She stars in the film Where the Miracle Happens based on a book she wrote about underprivileged kids.


Tokyo Tower behind me


Tokyo Tower up close


Gonpachi in Nishi-Azabu – a popular Japanese restaurant which resembles the set in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill where a huge massacre takes place. There’s a Gonpachi in Beverly Hills, too


Rosa and our friend, Mariko Kimura


In the restaurant, the cooks yell out their orders rhythmically like in the army.


This is from another restaurant where you order on the computer screen from your table.


This is the most expensive restaurant we visited on the trip. The candle-holder was made of turnip.


Sarah Jessica Parker on the Diet Coke can in Japan



Other beverages have no celebrity co-branding, but “Freshness Burger”?


We met a new friend, José Cotté, who’s a well-known actor from Puerto Rico. He had a sizable role in Steven Soderbergh’s Che, starring Benicio del Toro, and will next appear in a movie with George Clooney called Men Who Stare at Goats.

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, which focuses on East Asian filmmakers, opens this year with The Drummer. The Opening Gala Screening will take place on Wednesday 12th November, 2008, 7 pm at Toronto's Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor Street West.

I will present the film and attend the Q&A session after the screening.

http://www.reelasian.com/

The Drummer will be released in theaters Germany on January 1, 2009.