The Taiwanese director speaks about her latest film and reflects on Hong Kong’s local film industry
When it comes to the world of entertainment, Sylvia Chang has left no stone unturned. Born in Chiayi City, Taiwan, the actor-singer-screenwriter-producer-director is one of the region’s most dynamic creative talents. Chang starred in her first film, The Flying Tiger (1972), as a teenager, and since then has acted in just shy of 100 films, twice winning Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
Chang made her directorial debut in 1981 with Once Upon A Time, and has since gone on to direct dozens of successful films, including the acclaimed 20 30 40 (2004), which she wrote, directed, and starred in.
Later this month, Chang’s name will once again be up in lights as the ‘filmmaker in focus’ at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, where 13 of her films will be screened, including her latest work as a director, Murmur of the Hearts.
Hong Kong Tatler: What was the inspiration behind your new film Murmur of the Hearts?
Sylvia Chang: It was an incomplete storyline written by a young Japanese boy who lived in Taiwan for a long time, and was based on how he felt about his relationship with his parents. Even though it was not a complete script, I found it to be very touching; it was not so much a story, but about soul-searching. I liked it very much even though I knew it would be a bit difficult to produce.
HKT: Did the writer finish the film? How did you get it complete?
SC: I met up with the boy and he was very happy that I was going to make it into a film. We started talking, and I got to know more about him. I felt this project could not be completed in the traditional way—by finishing the script. It would have to start with filming. We found the right people and the right setting, and we started searching.
HKT: Do you think that Hong Kong does enough to nurture its local film industry?
SC: We used to have a very good market and nurture a lot of filmmakers, so there shouldn’t be any question about this, but throughout the years, we just started to lose a lot of Hong Kong films. I think this may just be because there is a bigger pie, and some have taken their interest away from our local market and aim for the bigger pie.
HKT: Do you think Hollywood still has the pulling power it used to have? Or has China very singularly stolen the focus for burgeoning filmmakers?
SC: Hollywood will never lose its pull. The entertainment industry and the movie business actually came from the West, so it’s part of their culture and we’re just imitating.
HKT: Visual art gets so much attention in Hong Kong, but film seems to get far less attention. Why do you think there’s that discrepancy in the art forms?
SC: Hong Kong is a very international market, drawing people from all over the world who come here for the fairs. But if you look at the local people, how many go to art fairs? How many local people go to galleries, or have money to buy a painting, or know who the local artists are? Only a small amount. When you go to the fairs, you see people from China, US, and all over the world. That’s what makes it exciting – it’s international. But it’s not local. When it comes to film, it’s a local market; it’s a local audience, so that’s a big difference.
HKT: The Chief Executive recently promised to build more cinemas to encourage Hongkongers to see more local films. What do you think of that move?
SC: I would say we need to have enough local films. If you have no local films, what will you see? You need to have both. Of course, if you do have more venues for local films, then it is a great help. Sometimes I think the audience also needs to be more educated; if they always see the big American films or big budget films, then they lose interest and neglect all the local productions, which are mostly low-budget productions, but that doesn’t mean they’re not good.
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