GZ: This was the first screening in China and quite honestly my expectations were low because the Chinese critics and audience can be quite mean. Even with the Cannes selection, everyone is very fixated on business and recovering the money they lost during the pandemic, so it’s difficult to find distributors willing to take a risk.ĭL: What was the reception to the film like here in Pingyao? We’re trying to release it in China but so far we haven’t found a good distributor. JZ: After Pingyao, we’re showing the film at Tokyo International Film Festival and it’s also been nominated for best cinematography at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. I think at least for this year and maybe next year as well, it’s going to be difficult.ĭL: Where is A Song Sung Blue travelling next and do you expect to have a theatrical release in China? JZ: Yes, but they were all made two or three years ago. When times are good, you find that companies may support new talent and not expect a return on their investment, but now everyone is looking to make their money back on more commercial films.ĭL: But there are many interesting films from first-time directors here in Pingyao. JZ: It’s never easy, but it’s more difficult now after the pandemic because a lot of companies have run out of money and don’t want to take a risk on new directors. It’s an age of exploration and confused emotions and we thought the ambiguity was much more interesting than spelling out to the audience what the characters feel.ĭL: What’s the current situation in China for emerging filmmakers? GZ: It’s not easy to tell LGBT stories in China but we were more interested in that fact that Liu Xian is at a stage in her life when she doesn’t understand or have any way of defining her feelings. Was that a decision taken due to censorship? Since 2016, we’ve made about one short film a year together so we really understand how to communicate with each other on what we’re trying to achieve.ĭL: There are hints that Liu Xian is sexually attracted to Mingmei but it’s never made explicit. I also had a great collaboration with the cinematographer, Hao Jiayue, who studied at Beijing Film Academy and has worked with me on all my short films. But we had this concept from the early stages that Liu Xian’s colour is blue and Mingmei’s is red. GZ: We worked with a really great colourist, Yov Mor, who helped us work through many things in post-production. Can you explain your thinking behind the colour palette and how it was achieved? But also it’s a coming-of-age story where the main character moves from a very secure environment into a world that seems quite wild, and Harbin offers that variety and wildness because it has a frontier feel with lots of different cultures and minority groups.ĭL: Colour seems to play a very important role in this film. Yining is from Harbin which is why we set the story there. GZ: Liu Xian is more like the writer, Yining, and I’m more like Mingmei, but I think most people will probably see a bit of themselves in both characters. As one of the winners at CFDG, the project also received a prize of RMB1M ($136,000). When I presented the project to our executive producer Liang Jing, she really liked it. Then when we met off stage and she showed me the concept film, which featured the same actress, I could see that she had a real flair for telling stories in a visual way. It’s a story about young girls and she’s still a young girl but she was even younger then. I was impressed by her sincerity when she got on the stage to pitch the project. JANE ZHENG: I was representing Seventh Art Pictures at the CFDG pitching forum. That’s where we met Jane.ĭL: Jane, what made you decide to take on this project? We submitted the project to CFDG Young Director Support Program and it won one of the top five prizes. We wanted to tell a story about that period in your life which is sometimes crazy, often painful, but when you look back on that time, it’s also somehow beautiful. GENG ZIHAN: A Song Sung Blue is my graduation film from Beijing’s Central Academy of Drama and was written by my classmate, Yining. Matthieu Laclau ( Only The River Flows) and Tsai Yann-Shan ( The Last Queen) edited the film.ĭEADLINE: What were the origins of this project and how did you two meet? Zhou Meijun ( Angels Wear White), who is fast becoming China’s new indie queen, stars with Huang Ziqi playing Mingmei, Liang Jing and Liang Long. 2023-24 Awards Season Calendar - Dates For Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, Tonys, Guilds & More
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