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

Hong Kong director Yim Ho delivers a tender story about youth seeking identity, while looking at others. With great subtlety, Yim explores a new generation of Chinese confronting old questions of love, marriage, and faithfulness, and modern concerns such as abortion and environmental damage. Yim Ho is one of the leading directors responsible for Hong Kong’s new wave movement in the early 1980s, which was begun by a group of directors with overseas television experience. This group is more concerned with the realist form and social issues, rather than any commercialism. And both these attributes are in evidence here, as is Yim’s obvious rapport with actors. Although not one of his best works, A West Lake Moment, set in Hangzhou’s gorgeous West Lake (two hours from Shanghai), offers a fresh take on the love genre which of late has fallen on trite times.

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

This flick is billed as "the first Chinese psycho movie". Which is not quite accurate. Like me, viewers will wonder if this is a psycho horror movie or simply a movie with a psychological subtext. The film begins with Chinese bourgeois Shen Xiao (Ge You) alerting his friend Yiran to the disappearance of the latter’s wife. What follows is a series of ghostly illusions and endless questions concerning the missing spouse. The plot is as simple as ABC on paper, but director Zhang Bingjian complicates the story to no discernable purpose. Redundant effects, flashbacks and illusions make for an uncomfortable and confusing viewing experience. For Zhang, cheap thrills take precedence over a clear mise-en-scene. As a result, by the end of the movie, the viewer could care less about what happened to Mrs. Yiran. Suffocation offers cheap thrills and is mildly entertaining, in part due to Ge You’s performance, but is far from being an unforgettable experience.

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

Deke Erh began his career in photography in the early 1980s as one of China’s first freelance cameramen; his specialty is China’s architectural legacy. Since then, his publishing company, the Old China Hand Press, has published more than 10 books, most of which focus of Western architecture, including The Heart of the French Concession.
Divided into four parts – villas, apartment buildings, lane houses and public buildings – this volume covers the period from the early 1920s to the Japanese occupation. The French, whose influence on the city’s architecture, urban development and lifestyle is second to none, dominate the book. Naturally, the former French concession takes pride of place; in its heyday it was the most modern, and agreeable place to live in Shanghai. Witness the numerous politicians, diplomats, scholars and artists who commissioned homes in the area.
That said, this book is more than a historical exercise; the author presents a valid pictorial argument for the preservation of Shanghai’s invaluable, and endangered, architectural heritage.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
Book courtesy Old China Hand Press
July 2005 issue

What better way to learn about Chinese women than straight from the source? This collection of 25 essays delves deep into the female soul, both past and present with each essayist offering her viewpoint on life’s vicissitudes.
Subjects include life during the "cultural revolution"; love (which according to Dai Houying is a topic best treated in a light-hearted manner, if treated at all); and literature (acclaimed Shanghainese writer Eileen Chang pays tribute to fellow writer Su Qing). Other essays tackle the generation gap (Tie Ning on her mother’s behavior), and relationships with partners or family (Zu Lin’s offers a touching account of her search for her mother in "Blue Phantom").
In addition to the often poignant, always revealing, essays, this volume includes short biographies of all the contributors for those readers who wish to further explore the works of a particular author.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
Book courtesy Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House
July 2005 issue

Since the birth of the Chinese film industry a century ago, Shanghai has played a starring role in works by talented filmmakers from all over China, a part she continues today. In the last month alone, Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan (with Jackie Chan as executive producer) wrapped The Song of Everlasting Sorrow (Chang Hen Ge) at the Shanghai Film Studio in Songjiang District, and Chinese-American actress Vivian Wu announced plans to produce and star in a series of movies based in the city. Cheng Liang shares the seemingly endless fascination with Shanghai's distinctive personality. In person, he's the sort of guy who arrives for an interview wearing a checked shirt and a peaked cap, covering his prematurely balding pate. Just 25 years of age, he flashes a warm boyish smile. Indeed, at first he appears rather shy which is altogether fitting for this young man who spends a great deal of time communicating from behind a camera lens.
Shanghai-born, Cheng studied at the prestigious Beijing Film Academy where he produced 15 short films. Since then he's divided his time making TV commercials, TV series and mainstream movies, as well as directing more personal films, with Shanghai center stage. In his spare time, this Wellesian wunderkind writes scripts and novels.
Cheng's short films have been screened (and nominated for awards) at numerous film festivals, including The Toulouse and Cannes Festivals in France, and the Independent Short Film and Video Awards in Hong Kong). His most recent release, Network (Wang), was shown at theaters China-wide, earning big box office receipts. He's currently at work on a major film production in Beijing.

that's: Why did you become a filmmaker?
Leon Cheng: A lot of film directors make the transition from watching movies to making them after realizing that it is a good way to show off their talents – and attract girls. I wasn't really a film buff, but I did want the girls to like me.

that's: You're joking, of course.
LC: Well, I never dreamed about making films as a boy, but I did dream about Shanghai. At film festivals, many works are associated with a city or country; I'm a city filmmaker. There's Chen Kaige in Beijing; Zhang Yimou in the North West; John Woo in Hong Kong and Luc Besson in Paris; I shoot in Shanghai.

that's: Describe your style and theme.
LC: My influence is Shanghai. I'm passionate about the city. I think it's unique in China and the world. Growing up in Shanghai, we are exposed to eastern and western culture, and as a kid I absorbed it all. Beijing is different, more traditional. I live in the former French Concession; it's small but full of subtlety and beauty. This is what I like to film. In Beijing, people say Shanghai is too small. Sure there's more open space there, but in Shanghai, people are more independent. Maybe that's because unlike other Chinese, we think more like foreigners.

that's: Your short film On My Way Home, made when you were a student, is a love story, but one that could have been shot anywhere. What makes it typical of Shanghai?
LC: Shanghai people are very different. Especially the women. They don't want to live quiet lives. In this film, the girl is a very typical Shanghainese. Like most Shanghai girls she wants to make friends with foreigners, to be trendy and live a fashionable life. On the other hand, Shanghai boys are weak; they live ordinary lives. In the film, the boy must attend the University entrance exam; he doesn't have any choice. He's destined to be as ordinary as his parents.

that's: You also directed a famous romantic TV series in Shanghai, Red Apple Garden which relates the story of four boys and a girl.
LC: It wasn't good. I discovered the lead actress, Huang Sheng Yi, who's now one of the most famous actresses from Shanghai! She is in Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle. Anyway, after graduating from the Beijing Film Academy, I wanted to live alone, without roommates, so I needed a lot of money. The plan was to bring a lot of pretty girls from the Beijing Film Academy to play in the TV series, and that's what happened. I brought in some girls and I got this job. One other thing, the TV series was shot by a Taiwanese director and I was the second-unit director. In the Chinese mainland we cannot credit a Taiwanese director, only locals can be credited so they used my name. The series was bad, but it was very hot in China at the time.

that's: You've directed a lot of commercials. Why?
LC: For the money! One or two days' work shooting an advertisement is equal to what I earned on my last two films. The money allows me to take a few months off to think about my own movies and write novels and scripts. It is worth doing.

that's: Tell us about your latest release, Network.
LC: The movie was shown in every city in China. It's about young people so addicted to online gaming that they neglect their studies, their family, everything. And they argue a lot. The producer gave the film this horrible name, Network, I suppose, because a lot of older people think that the Internet has a terrible influence on young people. The film is really about human relationships, but the producers wanted to send a message. In the end, they were right; the title attracted a large audience so I have to eat my words. I shot the film for RMB 1 million, one of the lowest budgets ever for a major studio release in China. But because of the so-called educational content (Chinese schools pushed every student under the age of 16 to see the movie at the discount price of RMB 5 per ticket) it earned between RMB 6-8 million.

that's: What's it like to work in the official Shanghai film community?
LC: The organization is okay, but there's a generation gap. On my first three films, the combined age of the producers was 180 years! While my cameraman and I add up to less than 50 years. So we had a few problems because young people see things differently. For example, we use a German-made camera, "Ariflex"; the producers had never even heard of it. They just don't know the techniques of modern filmmaking. They are more interested in making money for their children which is understandable, and I respect them for that.
that's: What changes would you like to see in the film industry?
LC: I'd like to see more independent film production. Each filmmaker should be allowed to make a movie in his own way. It doesn't require a lot of money; with my team I can shoot on a very low budget.

that's: Changing the industry won't be easy; the Shanghai film industry is said to be the most powerful in China.
LC: The Shanghai film studios formed the first major film center in China many, many years ago. Today it is still one of the leading studios, but not number one. That position belongs to Beijing – practically every good Chinese film is made there.

that's: What's your next project?
LC: My next project is co-directing a big-budget movie with female director Xu Jinglei in Beijing. Independently, I'm working on a movie that will be titled, Zoo Bride or Animal Baby. Yesterday, I was in Suzhou interviewing a girl who owns around 28 cats, five or six dogs and a lot of tortoises. She's crazy about animals, and she's kind of crazy herself, but beautiful too. She's a crazy beauty. I'm fascinated by all the attention she lavishes on animals. It's a very hot topic in China; more and more people are in love with their pets, especially girls. They don't love boys anymore or, don't even want to touch them. They love their dogs more! In the Zoo Bride the main character marries a foreigner, but they fight every day because there are too many animals in the family. I'd like to cast Gao Yuanyuan [lead actress in Shanghai Dreams, winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival] in the lead role, but now that she's famous she may be too expensive for me.

that's: Casting Shanghai as one of the 'lead characters' might cut costs.
LC: Actually, you are wrong. It costs a lot of money to shoot in Shanghai; no matter what the location, you have to pay authorization fees.

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

In June, Jia Zhangke chaired the jury panel for the Asian New Talent Awards at the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival, which, not incidentally, celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Chinese film industry. One of China's "sixth generation" directors, his early films were hailed abroad, but not at home. In late 2003, however, officials at the Film Adminstration Bureau shifted their attitude towards a number of the so-called "underground" filmmakers.
Since then, Jia shot The World (Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography at Spain's Sixth Las Palmas International Film Festival), partly sponsored by the state-owned Shanghai Film Studio, and the first of his films to be approved for public screening in Chinese cinemas. He has also announced a new film to be shot near Shanghai at the end of the year based on a novel by Chinese writer Su Tong, The Age of Tattoo, set during the "cultural revolution." And another film about revolutionaries in 1920s Shanghai, which may star French actress Juliet Binoche.
So what's it all about? Born in 1970 in Fengyang, a small town in Shanxi Province, Jia entered the Beijing Film Academy in 1993 and soon went 'underground' with the creation of an independent production company, the "Youth Experimental Film Group", the first of its kind in China. After producing a documentary and two award-winning short films (Xiao Shan and Du Du) Jia focused on capturing the changes in modern Chinese society.
His next three feature length films - Pickpocket (Xiao Wu), Platform and Unknown Pleasures - were financed abroad and not released in the Chinese mainland. However all three works reflect the director's delicate sense of portraiture and the intricate social forces at work in an evolving culture. They also won numerous awards overseas: Platform won the Best Asian Film award at 57th Venice International Film Festival; Pickpocket, the Dragons and Tigers award at the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Wolfgang Staudt Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Sky Prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival, while Unknown Pleasures was selected as the only Chinese film to compete at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2003.
Jia's fourth major work, The World depicts Chinese society as it deals with an international market economy and globalization. He casts a critical but compassionate eye on the relationships and dreams of twenty-somethings who come to live and work at Beijing's World Park, a bizarre theme park featuring live performances amid scaled-down replicas of the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, and even the Twin Towers. From the sensational opening track shot of a young dancer's backstage quest for a band-aid to the dream-like animation sequences, Jia transcends the kitsch potential of this surreal setting. The Village Voice calls Jia Zhangke "the world's greatest filmmaker under forty," and The World his "funniest, most inventive and touching work to date."

that's: Where did you get the concept for the The World?
Jia Zhangke: I'd been thinking about how Chinese people react to change. Then lead actress Zhao Tao (Tao), who once worked as a dancer in the World Park, told me about the experience of working in this fake world, in these fake situations. I thought this idea reflected what's happening in China as a whole.

that's: Explain the first long take where Tao is looking everywhere for a band-aid.
JZ: I wanted to express a little wound. When I first scouted the location, I witnessed some girls searching for a band-aid. I think the little wound reflects their life, their situation and their work in the World Park.

that's: One of the most important topics from the movie is globalization. How does it influence the life of Chinese?
JZ: Globalization, of course, affects everyone. In China, I feel that many ordinary people contribute to the country's economic development, but their return is small. This process is very painful for many Chinese people, so I wanted to tell a story about it. I am especially worried about young people because globalization seems to dilute their own cultural identity.

that's: There are many copies in the movie, copies of monuments, ID cards, luxury brand clothing. Do you think creativity is lacking in China?
JZ: Yes, I worry that China simply copies Western models. As a result, people lose their own identity. There is a conflict between economic development and cultural identity. A lot of people aren't confident in their ability to create. I hope that we can work to rebuild our cultural confidence. We should go back to the basics, to the foundations of our beliefs, our concept of freedom. That's the starting point to redevelop our own identity.

that's: Communication is another theme in The World. For example, when Taisheng's (Tao's boyfriend) friend comes to visit all he can talk about is money.
JZ: Nowadays, money is too important for most people. It affects their values and relationships. That's why I really think we should go back to the basics.

that's: Ironically, Tao befriends a Russian girl who can't speak Chinese.
JZ: They go back to the basics of communication; they try and find a common language to understand each other. It helps too that they have similar backgrounds; Soviet Union is also a communist nation. In the film there are communication problems, but also miracles of communication.

that's: That miracle doesn't seem to apply to communication between men and women in the film.
JZ: For Tao, communication isn't about having sex with Taisheng; she's self-protective sure, but she wants to build a relationship based on mutual trust.

that's: One of the characters says, "People are one thing China doesn't lack." Meaning?
JZ: It's a challenge to people who are disrespectful to others, especially to migrants who come to work in the big cities. They contribute a lot but don't get much in return. I think they deserve more respect from others, but unfortunately they don't always get it.

that's: The World has been critically acclaimed in the West, but do Chinese filmgoers want to see their society shown this way on screen?
JZ: I have been thinking about this problem for a while. We have had an independent film scene for over 15 years in China, but only in the last two years or so has it won general acceptance. Even now audiences still need more time to develop an appreciation of this kind of film. It is a big challenge. After we released The World, there was a debate about my film and its distribution. To me the debate is very important. The discussion is meaningful to me, whether people loved the movie or not. We still have a problem though in the way Chinese audiences perceive our films, and what kind of film they appreciate. It's a gap between us and them.

that's: Talk about the independent movie scene in China.
JZ: Independent cinema in China is entering a new stage as the Film Bureau relaxes its control. There is more opportunity for young directors, and we have a better chance to distribute our films. However, we still have to improve the way independent films are produced.

that's: What is the difference between the film industries in Shanghai and Beijing?
JZ: There is a big difference. Most of the big talents have settled down in Beijing. Yet with the success of the economy in Shanghai it could easily become the center of the country's film industry as it was in the past.

that's: Talk about your next project.
JZ: The Age of Tattoo is a gangster movie set in the mid-seventies at the end of the "cultural revolution." The shooting will take place in Suzhou, very near to Shanghai. As for financing the project, it won't be a problem for us as we already have the funds. It will be a co-production between Japan, France, Hong-Kong and UK. Regarding the censorship and authorizations, I am not too sure. I'm working on it.

(Special thanks to Jia Zhangke and Chow Keung)

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
Photo courtesy Mick Ryan www.mickryan.com
August 2005 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
August 2005 issue