Produced by O Som e a Fúria (Portugal), in co-production with Inner Harbour Films (Macau), Macau-based Portuguese director Ivo M. Ferreira’s new feature film Empire Hotel will start shooting this coming February, starring Portuguese actress Margarida Vila-Nova and Taiwanese-British actor Rhydian Vaughan in the leading roles among a cast from Portugal, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong.
The new film is set in Macau, and will be shot on the iconic Macau Floating Casino, which was once a landmark of the city for years. At a press conference held on the last day of 1st International Film Festival & Awards ·Macao, the production team explained that the story itself is about protecting one’s family, a core universal value.
The Chinese believe that people always need to have their roots somewhere, therefore the destiny of the Macanese female lead Maria, who took on the burdens to pay off her father’s gambling debts and to keep the hotel standing formed a big metaphor. In that case, how the leading roles try to maintain their family on a floating hotel, how they untangle all the problems in their lives, those kinds of doubts will challenge the audiences until they finish watching the film.
The character of Maria will be played by acclaimed Portuguese actress Margarida Vila Nova, who is married to the director and was also the female lead of his last film, Letters From War, which had its premiere at Berlinale 2016 competing for the Golden Bear. Margarida herself was nominated for Best Actress.
In the new film, one of the challenges for her is to use Cantonese, as well as to sing three newly composed Fado songs by famous musician Sergio Godinho, written specifically for this film.
“I’m still working on my Cantonese,” Margarida says, “I’m taking classes one hour everyday, though still I miss lots of tones. Also my character sings Fado in the club, however I’m not familiar with singing Fado either. But it’s a challenge; it’s good to work in a new area where you don’t feel confortable.”
“But I think the biggest challenge in this movie is living with the director, who’s also my husband,” Margarida jokes. “I have to make him believe in his project, and support him in this new film. I’m not only the actress, I live with all these production matters, the director, the cast, the crew, so its like I’m always side by side everyday with the director, so sometimes, it’s quite hard to separate my personal life and work. But it’s like a marathon. When you start, you know you have to run.”
Regarding the success of her last film, Margarida notes that she is a little worried about it because it seems everybody is waiting for the new one, however, she also considers it as a good opportunity that has brought more opportunities for this new project.
“I have a big expectation about the shooting day, but I’m not waiting for a prize. Maybe when I was 12, I dreamed of winning an Oscar, but very soon this idea passed away. Because we don’t do movies for prizes, I just want to be recognized as a good actress,” says Margarida.
The male lead actor in the film, Taiwanese-British actor Rhydian Vaughan shares the same idea, and says he just plans “to act in his role as well as he can.”
Vaughan is best known for his performances in Chinese films MONGA, Winds of September and Girlfriend, Boyfriend, which earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 7th Asian Film Awards. After performing in the Mainland Chinese romantic drama Tiny Times, which grossed around US$79.7 million at the Chinese box office, he is now considered one of the most promising young actors in Chinese-language films.
He tells CLOSER that one of the main reasons that he decided to join this film was because of the story.
“Though it’s set in Macau and talks about the relationship of Portugal and Macau, it seems to be much more than just Macau or Portugal. The story goes touches on the past and the future, and the present at this moment, with so much conflict. The script is not a commercial one,” he explains, “And also, another attraction is that this is my first time cooperating with a European director. ”
The character he plays in the film, Chu, left Macau for over twenty years, but returns to the town looking for revenge and to reclaim his mother’s inheritance. This character is completely different from those roles he has performed before.
“I don’t really set up myself to shoot only a certain kind of film. I’m still young, and am willing to learn. And such a learning period is the most fascinating part. I always look forward to reaching something I don’t know, no matter outside or inside, it’s like looking for a unpolished diamond, I’m on the way, and I’ll make it shine.”
Empire Hotel will start shooting right after Chinese New Year. Renowned Hong Kong actress Elaine Jin, who just won the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress 2016 will also be involved in the new film.