Twenty-six-year-old Harriet Wong is the first student from Macau to study at the Beijing Film Academy’s Directing Department.
“In the beginning I was a bit concerned because Beijing is so different from Macau, but now I feel very lucky because there is so much to learn here. There are many professionals and people who love cinema”, she told Macau CLOSER recently over the phone from the capital.
Having lived in Beijing for eight years, the young filmmaker is in the process of completing her first feature film, which will be the final project of her Master’s in Directing. Despite following in the footsteps of “So Young” actress, and now director, Vicki Zhao, Harriet is very aware of the differences, and of what is of interest to her.
“I have the same teachers and mentors as Vicki Zhao, but I don’t see my film becoming a big box office success. The film essentially takes place in Beijing and Macau. I will start filming in October and it should be ready in March 2014”, she reveals.
The film, which does not yet have a title, takes place over the last two decades in Macau and is “a story about words and about love”. It will be shot with funding from the Beijing Film Academy, but eventually with other necessary funding.
“The conditions we are offered here are perfectly adequate for making a short film. Those who decide to make a feature film, like me, have to find alternative funding, just as Vicki Zhao (who is at the same academy) did by getting a producer. Naturally, there is less funding needed for a short film”.
Harriet took a year off between completing her bachelor's and beginning her Master’s in Directing.
“I spent a year working in film production, but there is still a lot to learn”, she admits.
Now studying at the Academy, learning is just one part of it. Competition is another constant factor.
“There is a lot of funding for students, but only for the best. Sony offers a very generous grant, and Kodak offers 35mm film for productions by the best students. Not everyone can film in the graduation project. You have to compete and get in”, the student relates, having succeeded in securing a place amongst those who will film.
When looking at the territory where she was born, she thinks it “very possible that the cinema of Macau can gain greater visibility in continental China”.
“Macau is not the same as Hong Kong and Taiwan because it has a European element to it. So we need to look for alternative routes, not commercial films, but rather independent ones, and also film festivals.”
Only later, when the local structures are “sufficiently strong”, will it be possible to try commercial cinema. “Honestly, I don’t think now is the time for that.”
The filmmaker knows that she too has to be patient and work hard.
“I’m in my twenties and I don’t expect to achieve great feats now. I dream of making good films for Macau, to represent the cinema of Macau, but it is a long road. I have already been in Beijing for eight years” she reflects.
The idea of returning to the city where she grew up appeals to her, but is one that will have to wait for now.
“Given the limitations that exist there and the people I have here…the people here can help me make better films. Macau may become better for future generations, but at present it is hard to make films there.”
The director knows of many young people leaving Macau to study filmmaking outside and looks at this phenomenon with great enthusiasm.
“It is good, because a good education is very important for a filmmaker. As for me, I still have more to learn from the people in Beijing, in order to make the ‘Macau Studio Dream come true’”, she laughs.
