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

GIRL$ opens September 2 in Hong Kong.

Check out the videos here.

http://www.alivenotdead.com/kennethbi/GIRL-TRAILER-SHORT-MAKING-OFs-profile-1062175.html

In anticipation of the release of my new film, GIRL$, on September 2, the distributor had a Gala premiere on 27th Aug in the heart of Hong Kong — Mongkok Broadway cinema. It was packed with people. Two of the leads in the film, Bonnie Xian and Michelle Wai handed out condoms to the public as a gimmick.


Bonnite Xian and Michelle            Oriental daily photo

 

Condoms sponsored by Sagami xtreme

 

Funny photo: Me, Karson Lok, Bonnie Xian, Michelle and Deep Ng    Photo by Sing Pao Daily

 

Afterwards, Bonnie, Michelle and the producer, Ng Kin Hung went to get some desert with J.J. Jia (star of Gallants)

My first fictional short I FELT LIFE WITH BOTH MY HANDS has gone live on Interpretationsfilm.com (See previous blog on details). Other filmmakers of these shorts with the same script include David Chan (visual effects artist, Fast & Furious), Evan Jackson Leong (Short form, music video and documentary director), Spencer Nakasako (Emmy Award winning director, Refugee), Danny Pudi (star of NBC’s Community) with his filmmaking team of Timothy Kendall and Chris Marrs, Wong Fu Productions (indie production company w/15 million views of their shorts online), Mora Stephens (Independent Spirits Awards’ John Cassavettes Award-winning director, Conventioneers), Iris Yamashita (Oscar nominated writer, Letters From Iwo Jima)

They have also kept a blog of the event that showcased these films... http://youoffendmeyouoffendmyfamily.com/interpretations-filmmaking-panel-live-blogging-2-4pm-pst/

I just finished my first fictional short film, a 3 minute film called I FELT MY LIFE WITH BOTH MY HANDS. It’s part of a program spearheaded by filmmaker Justin Lin, whose credits range from independent film BETTER LUCK TOMORROW to major studio films like THE FAST & THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT and 2009's FAST & FURIOUS. He's working alongside Elaine Chin and Anderson Le from the Hawaii International Film Festival to encourage new filmmakers to present their unique point of views.

Their website youoffendmeyouoffendmyfamily.com commissioned a group of filmmakers to make these 2-3 minute shorts and all of us directors were given the same script to explore its endless possibilities. The short film has to feature four specific lines of dialogue in any form we choose. This initiative is called Interpretations, and these shorts will be used as inspirations for a competition later to help new filmmakers find and develop their own voice.

These films will be presented on May 2nd, 2pm  at the Director's Guild of America on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. Check them out if you're in L.A.

The website for Interpretations will go live on May 2, 2010. All the commissioned shorts will be on the website http://www.interpretationsfilm.com/

Seth Henderson helping out cinematographer Sam Koa

I worked with Sam Koa again on this short, the cinematographer for my last two films The Drummer and GIRL$. After having shot GIRL$ on RED One, we decided to use an even more mobile camera, Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a set of superb lenses.

My students from my scriptwriting courses filled out my crew. In two days, we ran about 12 locations. I couldn’t have done it without their help.

Students — Jianhong Huang, Tiger Song, Yuanchang Li, Cinematographer Sam Koa, Diogo Cordes Aniceto Martins, Kenneth Bi and Seth Henderson

Same group plus art director Jung Li in the white shirt and Candy Wong, production manager/assistant director

A friend’s friend full of tattoos came in to act.

Trailer for the new film I directed — GIRL$. It will make its Wrold Premiere at the Hong Kong International Film Festival on April 5th, 2010.

THE DRUMMER, now available on DVD! Add it to your Netflix Que (http://tinyurl.com/Netflix-DRUMMER), Blockbuster Que (below) or buy it on Amazon (http://tinyurl.com/Amazon-DRUMMER)!

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International Cinema Sunday

The Drummer will be screening in Pittsburgh, Sun Jan 3 2pm

Location:
Center for Museum Education - Classroom A
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Sunday, January 3, 2010 
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Contact:
Bonnie
(412) 622-3114
newandfeatured@carnegielibrary.org

http://www.carnegielibrary.org/events/details.cfm?event_id=48583

Attended Daniel Wu’s architectural design at the West Kowloon Cultural District on 19^th Dec. His design blended perfectly into the surrounding area. The structure was made out of bamboo poles. It’s a very impressive structure with a sense of grandeur as well as a sense of whimsy. Well done.

Dan enjoying a hamburger with director Derek Yee

It was an informal party and great to catch up with some friends like Derek Yee, Vincent Kuk, Tony Chan (director of Hot Summer Days) and Sion Michel (cinematographer of Hot Summer Days) as well as alivenotdead.com CEO Patrick Lee.

Lit up in blue in the middle Dan's creation really stands out.

We attended the Closing Ceremony of the Hong Kong Asia Independent Film Festival on Sunday, Nov 29th at the Grand Cinema in Elements, a new shopping mall in Kowloon, and saw Quentin Lee’s romantic comedy, The People I’ve Slept With. We arrived a bit late and had to sit in the second row with our heads tilted up the whole time. Good thing the movie was very enjoyable!
 
lead actor Archie Kao, Glen Chin, director Quentin Lee, lead actress Karin Anna Cheung were all in attendance
 
 
festival organizer Vincent Chui of Ying E Chi (back to us) chatting with Quentin Lee
 
 
The movie poster
 
On the way to the cinema we saw a diamond-studded (rhinestones, actually) Mercedez-Benz on display. It’s the grand prize of a giveaway for Mainland Chinese tourists only. Would anyone drive that thing in China?
 
 
 
Afterwards everyone went to the Closing Party at Stormies which was a lot of fun. Saw many friends we hadn't seen in a while. Even Teddy Chen was there. His new film, Bodyguards and Assassins is coming out in two weeks and he had just finished the sound mix the night before!

As I blogged before, there is something for everything in Japan. From low tech, spoons for your coffee...

to scissors for clipping your newspaper...

to the high-tech, iZoom for the iPhone!

I had the great pleasure of being one of the three judges at the 48 Hour Film Project on November 6th, 2009. The other judges were Li Cheuk To, Artistic Director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival and Liz Kerr, film reviewer from The Hollywood Reporter.

Li Cheuk To and I before the screenings


Kenneth Bi, Li Cheuk To and Ivy Lam (Hong Kong’s 48 Hr Film Project producer)

There were 14 films but only 10 were eligible because the other 4 handed in their films late. They have strict rules regarding when the project begins and ends. Although the four late films were not eligible for the juried prizes such as Best Film, Best Director, etc., they were still eligible for the Audience Award.

I was impressed by some of the film’s production value and quality of writing. One film had locations such as an apartment, street scene, a bar, a hair salon and a pirate ship complete with Pirates of the Caribbean costumes. They had to come up with a concept, a scrīpt, locations, then shoot it and finally edit and add music and effects all in 48 hours. That’s very impressive.

In the end, the film that won Best Film utilized only a couple of simple locations and one principal actor. It was called Breathe, produced by Fly Eye Media and directed by Zac Murphy. Best Director went to Thomas Lo for the film Cocktail Definition, produced by Spontaneous Combustion. And the Audience Award winner was Found and Lost, by A-Team.


Breathe producer Lorien Kranen and actor Diederik van Gorp

The filmmakers who put themselves on the line and produced such thought-provoking and entertaining films were the real stars of the evening. They should all be very proud of their accomplishment. It was a great inspiration to many. Congratulations to all.



(seated, from L to R) Cocktail Definition director Thomas Lo, lead actor from Underdog Joe Fiorello, lead actress from Savage Love Maggie Chan, director of The Art of Flying Katarina Ivarsson, and director from Responsible People Arne Venema

The world's largest 48 Hour Film Project is coming to Hong Kong on October 30 - November 1, 2009!

Get your team ready to make a short film - write, shoot, edit and score - in one weekend...just 48 hours.

See your work up on the big screen right away. Your completed film will be screened at the Agnes b theatre at the Hong Kong Arts Centre the very next week, on November 6 from 8:30pm. Winning films will also be screened at Clockenflap.

Registration starts now! Sign up here: http://www.48hourfilm.com/registration/?id=308

You can also look for team members on the site and sign up for the newsletter at http://www.48hourfilm.com/hongkong

Check out "48HFP's" official page on AliveNotDead: www.alivenotdead.com/48hourfilm

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142750872760&ref=ts

Twitter: www.twitter.com/hk48hfp

The Drummer premiered in Ukraine on October 9th, 2009. Jaycee was unable to make it to the premiere, so he recorded a video message for the Ukrainian audience. Jaycee Chan for Ukraine's release of The Drummer

The Drummer will be released in Mexico on 25 September. The Spanish title there is El Latido del Tambor. Click on the pic below or details.
 

The Drummer is also playing in the Edmonton International Film Festival. Click on pic below for details

 

26 Sep, Saturday — 12:15pm Empire City Centre 9
28 Sep, Saturday — 13:30pm Empire City Centre 9