THOMAS PODVIN’S FREELANCE WORK
Freelance writer - translator - Editor

French fashion-design houses have always been ruled by strong-minded and creative individuals including Coco Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld and the likes. Nelly Biche de Bere is no exception and may soon find her name among this prestigious list. Combining artistic aptitude and a strong entrepreneurship spirit, Biche de Bere's designs are creating an international roar that is currently rumbling through the Middle Kingdom.

"China is a bit like the US 30 years ago" says Biche de Bere. "At that time, there was this same kind of energy, which I find here to be 10 times stronger." In 2003, she set up a fashion boutique in Shanghai and a workshop in Xinzhuang. "I always have been fascinated by Shanghai. There is an incredible energy."

Biche de Bere's own energy has been her primary strength in making a name for herself. After 10 years in the US and another 10 in Europe to develop her business, Biche de Bere is now in Asia for yet another decade, with Shanghai as her headquarters. Her company has set a foot in four continents and reports a current world-sales turnover of US$19 millions. In late 2004, she received the Pierre Cardin "Best French Designer in China" award in Beijing and currently dresses Chinese stars Mimi Sun, Anna Wang, Lu Yi and Jane Zhang. For another feather in her oh-so-fashionable cap, this year the French business magazine L'Expansion named Biche de Bere one of France's five most influential business owners.

"She is full of energy" says Shanghai-based communication assistant Vivian Dong. "[Biche de Bere] is a woman with a strong character, if she has a goal, she will simply do it."
But achievement isn't possible without a tad of luck and loads of talent and ambition. After graduation, Biche de Bere left France for New York to pursue the American dream. Already pragmatic and business orientated, Biche de Bere sold her "anti-atomic shelters" thesis to the France Ministry of Defense to finance her departure in 1985. She fought her way up the New York fashion ladder by creating evening jewelry from recycled materials, which led to a surprise 30,000 piece order and a full-time career.

Returning to Europe in 1993 with her husband and associate Christophe Cais, she launched the Biche de Bere Company, specializing in jewelry and ready-to-wear collections for women. They've since diversified into kids, men and couture lines, as well as sportswear, house linens and general design. The company currently employs 350 personal, owns two factories in France and delivers 15 collections a year. This is what you'd call productive, creative and successful. Born in Brittany, a French region where traditions are highly valued, Biche de Bere graduated in industrial design. This influence is clearly seen in her creations which combine traditional style with modern techniques. Such concepts have successfully attracted American and European women in the past and are whipping Chinese into a frenzy since the move to Shanghai a year and a half ago. "I am fascinated by China, because it is a place so different, with a huge history" she says. "But despite this, the country has a strong desire to come into the third millennium at full speed."

Dressing women of the new millennium - to enhance each female's individuality - is her prime motivation. "There is certainly a common point between all women," explains Biche de Bere. "They want to feel pretty, to satisfy themselves and others when dressing." But the Biche de Bere brand aims to take fashion past the basics by using unique fabric, color and style combinations, leading to their motto: "Difference is that wonderful thing that we all have in common."

Weekly cocktail parties are held every Friday at the Xintiandi boutique, among displays of Biche de Bere's new collections. For those not lucky enough to live in mainland China's fashion mecca, check out Biche de Bere's line at www.bichedebere.com.

(c) City Weekend, national edition
Editor: Lydia Holden
Photo courtesy Biche de Bere
September 1-15, 2005 issue

Belgium may be a small country, but it's big on talent. Like Benoit Franquet, a master of musical composition, who's delivered a 24-carat debut with "Zero Gold".
Immersed in classical music from an early age, Franquet has become one of the leader's of house and techno music. He's wrote a number of early club anthems at his own studio, including 'I'll Be Right Here" and "Angel". Later, he signed with the respected UK label Bedrock Music and released another hit single "Apollo Vibes" under the pseudonym Pole Folder. After 18 months in production, Franquet released his first full album of material, Zero Gold in May 2005 which was immediately boosted by DJs round the globe.
Distributed in China by Hinote Records, this release is far more that the usual sequencer sounds and beats. "Zero and Gold represent two human fears," says Franquet, "which characterize the main theme of the album. Human fears govern our acts more than our own desires."
Zero Gold is a mix of electronic music, pop, atmospheric melodies and the human voice. Several tracks ("Before It All Changes" and "Fall In Violet") are clearly influenced by film. "When I was younger," Franquet says, "I was composing for imaginary movies. This vision of the music is strong in me and this feeling came naturally during the creative process."
In the studio, Franquet starts with the drum track, later adding melody with a bass line and pads. Then he wraps the music with mental elements, "the mainstream melodic atmosphere is present but the psychedelic side makes it special, and allows listeners to feel the music on different levels."
And feel it you will. This CD is richly rewarding, whatever camp you're in.
Asks Franquet: "Is this a psychedelic pop album or a progressive electronic album. I let you choose."

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Shanghai Chief editor: Steven Crane
August 2005 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
August 2005 issue

So what's in a name? This band's moniker was borrowed from Haruki Murakami's novel Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World. But which version? Various translations of the book gave the band three choices: Cold Fairyland, Cool Fairyland and even Frozen Fairyland. At different times, they have used them all. "The name Cold Fairyland already carries a contradiction," explains singer/composer Lin Di, "and that's the feeling we want to deliver to the audience."
In Shanghai's relatively unsophisticated alternative music scene, Cold Fairyland, stands out. Arguably, the most original ensemble in the city, this quintet cultivates an image of ambiguity. In a recent gig at Creek Art's damp and dusty warehouse, the band offered a blend of guitars, drums, pipa and cello, accompanied by all-but-indecipherable vocals, that was impossible to pigeonhole.
"Typical Shanghai bands make posh fashionable music, but I think we bring a deeper meaning," Lin tells that's.
Formed in 2001, Cold Fairyland has just two unofficial releases to its credit: Flying and The Zoon of Stranger (only available on their website www.miyadudu.com). Composer, lead vocalist, pipa and keyboard player, Lin is the band's creative muse and the only band member that's doesn't have a day job. In addition to her work with Cold Fairyland, she's released two solo albums in Taiwan, Ten Days in Magic Land and Bride of Legendin. Both CDs offer her take on 'world music' and have yet to be released on the Chinese mainland.
On stage the band performs her solo works and their own music, but the studio versions of Lin's solo work bear little relation to the band's live renditions. In concert, the tone is darker, much darker. "We want to express despair rather than hope," says Lin. "When both coexist, hope comes second; it is a comfort from pain."
Cold Fairyland's unique brand of music is miles away from the Britpop often favored by local bands. But Lin is at a loss to describe her style. "It belongs to Chinese-folk music mixed with other elements—it's hard for me to identify. We never follow a pattern," she says.
While many musicians resist labeling, Cold Fairyland is one of the few groups who legitimately cross genres — from one song to the next, their style is never the same. On stage, in just one set, they go from jazz improvisation to world music —stunning the audience with their seamless transformations.
Currently, the band plans to release a collection of tracks from the first two CDs, and is working on a CD for release in the US. Meanwhile Lin is preparing for her third-solo release, a Stone Age throw back, so to speak, employing the percussive sounds of wood and stone. Says Lin, "It will be more experimental and less accessible."
Once these projects are wrapped, the only thing that's certain, is that nothing is certain. "We are considering performing only instrumental tracks in a near future," says Lin.

Cold Fairyland will play on Aug 14 at Ark Live House, 15 North Block Xintiandi, 180 Taicang Lu (6326 8008)

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
Photo courtesy Hugo Hu www.huphoto.cdd.cn
August 2005 issue

"Many young, talented actors in Hong-Kong can do three flips and give three kicks in a row," said Kung-fu star Jackie Chan at the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) in June. "I am very impressed, but none of the producers want to bet on them!"
A major player in the film industry over the past four decades, Chan is getting a bit old for back flips but he knows the film business intimately. When Chan talks, people listen. And one of his biggest concerns is that this new generation of Chinese actors and directors lack industry support, without which, he fears, Chinese cinema will find it difficult to compete in both domestic and international markets.
"Nurturing new generations of moviemakers and actors should become a priority of the industry," stresses Chan. He hopes to set an example with his company JCE Movies, and has produced several films such as House of Fury and Rice Rhapsody with young actors and emerging directors. Despite his efforts, he remains worried about China's film industry: "I really don't know what will be the next step," says Chan.
One thing is clear; the future of the industry is likely to involve compromise on both sides, creative and commercial. True, the Chinese mainland is pulling ahead of Hong Kong in film production; the former released 212 films compared to 63 in Hong-Kong. But the challenges are the same. New filmmakers are under tremendous pressure from investors, stars and the media to play it safe. Few investors are willing to back novice directors, and even when they do they frequently insist on controlling the shape of the film. What's more, the field has become extremely competitive, just as investors have cooled towards the industry. As a result, young filmmakers have become more and more timid — one mistake and they're out of the biz.
Take award-winning Hong Kong filmmaker and actress Barbara Wong (Wong Chunchun), for example. Wong spent nine long months building a network of connections to finance her first project — A Carburetor for Suzy – some of whom wanted to make significant changes to her script. Says Wong, "You need to persevere and to talk to many producers, but shouldn't be influenced by others' opinions." Unlike her early non-mainstream work featuring relatively unknown actors, Wong's latest movie Six Strong Guys, starring Ekin Cheng and Chapman To, was a modest success at the box office.
But hiring 'names' is something of a doubled-edged sword. Many investors are more interested in the cast, than the script. For Chinese mainland director Lu Chuan, filmmaking is a power struggle. The first battle is to convince investors the project is commercially sound; the second is to maintain authority with often pompous and petulant stars. "I don't feel comfortable with stars," says Lu, recalling his directorial debut, Missing Gun, starring Jiang Wen. "I will never use a star that ruins the direction of my movies."
The Xinjiang-born director's second film, Kekexili, with a cast of unknown mainland actors, won many awards for its poignant story and minimalist cinematography. Indeed, awards are near essential for young directors. "The media are so picky," says Lu. "If you don't get an award you're a nobody." But making films to please festival judges, is no guarantee of commercial success.
Lu's latest project, Bian Jiang, will be shot in Shanghai in Shanghainese, and concerns a local teacher who travels to Xingjiang to teach English. To increase the film's commercial potential, Lu agreed to the producer's request to cast big names – on one condition, that he maintains full control of the process.

Special thanks to the organizers of the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
August 2005 issue