Tri-lingual (sort of)

On Friday, I experienced my first Hong Kong press conference that didn't have anything do with the entertainment industry. Because Gino's been in the US for the past month, I sat in for him as a judge for a Hong Kong Observatory weather icon contest. Friday was the official unveiling of the winners in front of the press.

This was the first press con in which I actually had a moment in the spotlight with TV and newspaper cameraman snapping pictures of me. I couldn't help but think to myself, 'self, you'll have to ask one of your model, actor, or director friends how they handle so many camera flashes going off in their faces.' It is so blinding and distracting!

While most of the conference was in Cantonese, a Chinese reporter from the South China Morning Post interviewed me and several other people in English. As the Cantonese dialect is not spoken by a majority of mainlanders, it's not uncommon for Chinese from the mainland to communicate with the Chinese here in English. That event and two others that day made me think about how people in Hong Kong have increasing pressure to be trilingual. At least sort of. Mainland Chinese is written and spoken very differently from Hong Kong Chinese. It's almost an entirely different language!

So what were the other two 'trilingual-themed' events that day?

1) Two interviews: I participated in interviewing two candidates for a position with MERECL. They spoke Cantonese, but then were obligated to also answer questions in Mandarin and English. Sheesh! I certainly would have failed that interview!

2) "Heavenly Kings" movie: This an interesting new HK movie which lampooned the HK entertainment industry while making some good observations about the current sad state of the industry. There were many things about the film that made me sit up and take notice. But among the most intriging is how each of the 4 lead male actors are overseas Chinese who were either born and raised elsewhere or were educated overseas. They all spoke perfect unbroken English and most of them had accented Mandarin and Cantonese. For all these reasons, I found the movie to be as enlightening as it was entertaining.

So there you have it: We poor Hongkies have to be trilingual to survive and thrive! I'm so screwed!! ;P

The Dichotomous Nature of Children's Dreams

I had a dichotomous day.

The morning was spent talking about a child's dream sequence in a project I really would like to VFX supe. The director is heavily influenced by some very cool, but dark material. I've been studying Dave McKean's art, Marylyn Manson's videos and digging up my favoriate Nine Inch Nails songs for ideas. On the surface it seems to be the stuff of nightmares, but I see it as a post-modern Grimm's Fairy Tale dream sequence.

By contrast, this afternoon was spent with a major global, corporation in which we essentially talked about hocking products to children and families. On the surface, this was much more pleasant and the art direction would lean toward the bright colored, saccharine, commercial goodness side of things.

So was the afternoon or evening the true nightmare?

If I were an eloquent writer, I'd close my blog with that semi-rhetorical question. But I ain't no eloquent writer nor am I even close to an elegant writer, so I'll answer: I'm more excited about the morning meeting. After pursuing and working on many commercial projects in which I'm supposed to sell something, I'm excited as hell for the opportunity to tackle something that is essentially a short art film on a topic that I feel very close to. That topic would be children's dreams.

From my childhood to this very evening, I've been blessed/cursed with insomnia. Sometimes it's not being able to shut off my mind and other times it's the subconcious playing tricks on me. It's not that I have nightmares very often, but I often have dreams that ride that delicate (and delicious) border between sweetness and nightmares. Not good for sleeping, but great for imagination and creativity. Should his producers give me the greenlight on this film, the director told me to unleash my creativity. That type of direction is the stuff with which my dreams are made of!

Sweet dreams indeed...

Everything is Everything

I just had a very full weekend where everything seemed to fit together. I worked with master students on their projects, I met with friends @ CNN International, I met a new film director about his new film and I coordinated a meeting between a VC and my colleague. Tonight I just had a conference call with a fellow Asian American and a Canadian American about a short film we're working on together. It was a little strange and surreal to be collaborating with North American English speaking people on this side of the world. But oddly enough, it also seemed to make sense and felt quite natural. North Americans working together in Hong Kong? Nothing strange about that.

On a practical level, all these projects and events interconnect in some way. On a broad visionary level, all of these events relate to the reasons I moved out here; To expand the boundaries of what is possible with digital media, to spark something new and exciting and to make a difference.

Without getting into details that could jeapoardize some of these projects, I'll just say it feels like everything is very interelated at this moment. Sure my life is extremely hectic, busy and full, but it also feels a little zen-like. Or to borrow a song title from Grammy winning artist, Lauryn Hill; Everything is Everything.

If that's all a little too psychedelic or corporate-manufactured-self-help-like: Too bad. It's late and that's just the state I'm in right now!

I'm a Hongkie!!!

After 6 months of living in Hong Kong, I am now officially a permanent resident of Hong Kong.

I just picked up my Hong Kong smart id card last week. While visions of Big Brother have popped in my head when thinking about the chip in the card, it does seem to make things easier. For example, coming into and out of Hong Kong appears to be as simple as swiping your card and reading your thumb print.

I still need to get a Hong Kong passport and a China pass called a "Wui Hueng Jing" (sp) so I can go into and out of China without paying the crazy US Visa fees. But I pretty much am free to come and go as I please into Hong Kong to work as long as I like. Yep, to borrow a term I've read in some Hong Kong movie sub-titles; I'm now officially a Hongkie!

Isabella @ the HKIFF

Last night I attended a screening of "Isabella" at the Hong Kong International Festival. In attendance was the director, Pang Ho-Cheung, lead actor, Chapman To, lead actress Isabella Leung, and Peter Kam, who won the prestigious Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for the film score.

Most people in the world probably don't know who Pang is. In fact, until I met Pang and his wife, Subi at the 2005 HK Entertainment Expo last year I had no idea who he was. But I have a feeling with a little bit of the right promotion and luck, Pang may be recognized as one of the great new directors of this region.

After years of HK films dropping in prestige and box office draw (due to the lack of quality, repetition and the rise of Korean media), Pang is considered a great hope of HK's film industry. To date his films have been comedies with a very local flavor. His latest film is a local drama that represents a very new and exciting direction for him. I have always respected people, and especially artists, who are willing to try new things and push beyond their comfort zone. By doing so they risk failure and embarrassment, but they also have a great a chance for reward in the form of growth and success. With Isabella, I believe Pang has achieved the latter.

Simply put, this is a very good, perhaps bordering on a great film. Like wine, I think it takes time, age and perspective to see if a film is truly great. So only time will tell. But at this moment, I know that I enjoyed Isabella on many levels. First of all, as a visual artist, I loved the cinematography. There is not much new or innovative in the cinematography, but there are frames of this picture that are beautiful works of art. I loved that Pang let the photography, music and moment sit there and unfold without the manic cuts that are so rampant in even many of today's dramas.

As a budding screenplay writer and filmmaker, I also appreciated the script. Pitting this tale against the backdrop of Macau's handover from Portugal back to China gives it a flavor and texture that is unique to Macau. It also mirror's and provides a slight metaphor for the two main characters’ relationship. I have never been to Macau and know little about its history. But this film gave me a glance at some very interesting aspects of Macau's personality. I can't wait to visit.

I also enjoyed the subtle moments in the film between the two main characters. These are the moments where what is said on screen is often less important than what is felt, implied or acted upon by the actors on the screen.

So that brings us to the music. It is a very good, powerful and touching score. George Lucas has said that sound and music is half the movie-going experience. The importance of the score to this film cannot be overstated. It gives the film half of its mood and personality. So I can certainly understand why this score won the Silver Bear for the score. There are times that the score truly enhances the somber mood and atmosphere of the film. But I felt that the score at times didn't reflect some of the lighter moments of the film. Isabella is a film about change, reflection, sentimentality and ultimately responsibility. But peppered throughout Isabella's poignant moments of a daughter searching for something, a policeman dealing with the consequences his past and Macau feeling the foreboding weight of the world's largest Communist nation bearing down upon her; Pang fits in his characteristic humor and lighter moments. In other words, he gives us depth and humanity. That is the true beauty of Isabella and perhaps that is where the score sometimes fails Pang’s wonderful story and vision.

So in case you haven't figured it out yet; I liked the film. Check it out at a film festival near you!

I'm a Baaaad Blogger!

I haven't made an entry in over a month! That's a terrible blogging record. No excuses other than the usual; I've been busy. So I'll try to make up for it with a few neat-o pictures and words to summarize some of highlights in the last month.


This first picture is from a rock concert I attended last month. Yep, my first rock concert in HK. My friend Kelly a.k.a. "roller girl" invited me to go along with some of her friends to see a small five band concert. The highights of the evening included my first mosh pit in HK, meeting Helen Fang of the band Ziyo and then hanging out with new friends on someone's house boat in Aberdeen. Helen has great stage presence and Ziyo just go signed to a record contract. They're from Beijing, but the other bands were from HK and weren't half bad either.


Next up was the official opening ceremony of MERECL, our entertainment lab. It was quite an event. I worked night and day with students on our animated logo, a video game sequence and highlight video reel. Several big wigs from government, academia and the local entertainment industry attended. This is a picture of my friend and former US student taken the day of the opening ceremony. She just moved from California back here to HK. Being fluent in English, Cantonese and Manderin, she's now become my teacher in maneuvering the local social and celebrity scene.

This picture is from a press conference from earlier this month. I missed most of it, but this picture summarizes the experience. On stage in the background are the director, lead actor and actress of the new film, "I'll Call You." In the foreground is HK legend and superstar Andy Lau. Most people paid more attention to him then the actual film makers on stage. I was able to hang in the press pit thanks to my friend who works for his company, Focus Films. I've met him before, so I pretty much tried to keep my cool in contrast to the crowds of star-struck, sreaming fans right outside the press pit.

The 2006 Entertainment Expo kicked off last week. This photo was taken during the opening ceremony. Thanks to my boss's boss, I got to walk the same "purple" carpet all the celebrities walked on to get into this exclusive event. It was obvious the press had no idea who I was, nor did they really care when Jackie Chan, Wong Kar Wai, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, and just about all the biggest stars walked the carpet or went up on that stage. Did I say I'm not easily star struck? Well, consider me star struck! I've never seen so many live stars in one place before!


The Entertainment Expo is what brought me to Hong Kong last year and eventually led to my moving here. It is still going on this week and I've been lucky enough to attend many industry mixers and parties. After a year, it is quite surreal to experience the expo again but so much more up close and personal. I've met so many industry pros, oggled over many beautiful people and even met some of my heroes, like cinematographer extraordinaire, Christopher Doyle. The expo continues this week with the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Hong Kong film festival.

Yes, I'm a terrible blogger. But it has been a bit crazy and busy since my last entry. While the above may seem like play, much of the above is work-related and I've also had to keep up with the usual academic workload and MERECL-related biz dev work. I'm not complaining about my full schedule by any means. On the contrary, I'm very excited about the bright future I see here in Hong Kong and Asia.