China News Service, Toronto, December 24 (Xinhua) -- How to see the "Oscar complex" of Chinese filmmakers?
Interview with well-known Chinese director Ning Hao.
Author: Yu Ruidong, Li Zijuan.
At the end of the year, it is close to the film Oscar nomination selection cycle. Ning Hao, a well-known Chinese film director, was recently interviewed by China News Service in Toronto, Canada, talking about the "Oscar complex" between Chinese filmmakers and Chinese audiences, his film creation philosophy and expectations for young Chinese directors.
*: [Ask] Ning Hao: How to see the "Oscar complex" of Chinese filmmakers**China News Network.
The transcript of the interview is summarized below
China News Service: The style of your film works seems to many viewers to be comedy, and you yourself once called it absurdist expression. How did your shooting style or "routine" come about?Will you always stick to the style of absurd comedy in the future?
Ning Hao: I think it's all from everyone's perspective. It's a natural outpouring that doesn't depend on conscious training or anything like that. I'm usually a person who doesn't quite "comedy". Actually, I'm just looking at one thing. Probably, I will only observe it from a certain angle, and it will take on an absurd style.
In 2006, the premiere of the film "Crazy Stone" was held in Beijing. The director of the film, Ning Hao, led the starring group to make a collective appearance. Photo by Xu Xiyi.
Absurdity is a sense of detachment, jumping out of the matter to see the matter. It's a serious angle, but sometimes it can make you feel like it's a little different than when you're in it. But that's just instinct. In fact, everyone who makes a movie is following their instincts.
Is that (shooting style) a must?Not necessarily. Perhaps with the passage of time and the change in the structure of knowledge, or with the progress and change of the world environment as a whole, (the style) will also change. Then follow the change, because the real part is what matters.
People who engage in art actually use their bodies to experience the world, and then communicate with the world through perception. Essentially, you should respect your own feelings, what you feel, and how you change yourself, and then you should adapt to that change and create, as long as it is real.
Actually, I follow the feeling, if I feel that something doesn't seem to fit such an angle, then I can talk about it from another angle. In fact, it is difficult for everyone to do a complete self-understanding, so we need to follow our inner feelings.
China News Service: How to balance the expression of comedy and reality, between commercial and artistic expression?How to deal with the pressure of the box office or management?
Ning Hao: I think it's still up to body feeling, it's intuition. What is a market?What is Art?In fact, there is not so much analysis. This is a question that has been debated since I was not in the industry, but there is no answer, and it is developing and changing very dynamically. Because the audience is constantly changing;The reviews are constantly changing;The world is moving forward, and standards are changing. So it's actually worthless for you to think so much. You just have to ask yourself if this feeling is right, if it's real. Just do this one thing well every time.
In 2009, the movie "No Man's Land" was filmed in Hami, Xinjiang. Photo by Pilates.
In my experience, in fact, the more you think about it, the less likely you don't, so it's better not to think about it. When you don't want to, you have no problem with all aspects such as your technical movements. It's like an athlete goes on the field, the starting gun goes off, and you're still wondering if I'm going to get the gold medal, yes.
One, second, or third?You're definitely running from the bottom to the bottom. You just focus on speed and your body. Only by doing it with concentration will it bear fruit.
China News Service: In the process of exploring your own style and self-growth, have you been greatly influenced and inspired by some international filmmakers or books?
Ning Hao: Everyone is influenced and inspired by all kinds of things, not only from movies, but more importantly from your life and the observation of other things.
I actually watch fewer and fewer movies. And I now find that when I watch movies, I often look back at what I've seen before, and if I think which movies are good, I might watch them again. For example, some old movies or works of old directors, such as the works of (Yugoslav director) Emil Kusturica, (Japanese director) Akira Kurosawa, (American director) Quentin Tarantino, I like to re-watch them. It's like reconnecting with some old friends.
In 2019, Ning Hao, director of the movie "Crazy Alien", and Liu Cixin, screenwriter, held a post-screening meeting to communicate and interact with fans and share their film creation experience. Photo by Zhang Yun.
If you are only influenced by a book or a person, life is too simple. Human growth, like plant growth, has very complex variables. If you ask a tree, "Which watering time do you think is the most important thing to grow", the question is not valid. In fact, it is an extremely comprehensive combination of factors that lead to your current perception.
We must maintain a sensitive and receptive ability to accept and think critically about the outside world (information), and think about the things, works and people we encounter, so as to become a nourishment for growth.
But indiscriminate absorption is also problematic. As the saying goes, "it is better to believe in a book than to have no book".
China News Service: What do you think of the "Oscar complex" between Chinese filmmakers and Chinese audiences?
Ning Hao: Oscar has accumulated a brand over the past few years. Of course, it has been able to accumulate its brand because there are indeed some high-quality movies that have been rated by it and formed a standard. The brand has really been established, and it has an impact not only in China, but also in the world. The Oscars are based on the American film industry. In fact, the United States has always been a strong region in the world film industry, and it is a fact that its voice and influence certainly exist.
In 2013, the movie poster of "No Man's Land". Photo by Liu Junfeng.
Just like athletes want to participate in the Olympics, we want our work to be able to participate in some big competitions, and we feel that this is a recognition of our culture and work. This sentiment is understandable.
But in fact, our (film) market and (film) industry are also growing, growing at the fastest rate in the world, and gradually maturing. When it matures, it establishes its own standards. This standard must be slowly adapted to the requirements of the entire culture, the economy, and the moviegoers.
Give time to cultivate (the market). One of the key issues here is that when we make our own films, we must have an understanding and persistence of our own local culture.
China News Service: You are now also committed to supporting young Chinese directors. What do you value most about the younger generation of filmmakers?
Ning Hao: When I talk to all young directors, I put forward a few words: contemporary, local, and personal. The more you respect these parts, the more authentic and confident you will be, and the more likely you are to sort out something valuable. It takes generations to build. I think it's hard to put together a set of (systems) with just one generation of filmmakers. It requires a lot of people to work together - including young directors, including ** and other art fields, to slowly sort out their own systems and evaluation standards to match the growth of our market. This is a particularly important quality for our young directors.
I think that young directors still have this kind of conscious awareness. This is very precious. If they have parts that are easily disturbed, it is actually the box office. I think the box office thing happened naturally, and there was no need to think about it. Young directors sometimes wonder if there is no box office, there is no chance to make a film?This has sometimes become a problem that particularly restricts the creative work of young directors. Maybe the market isn't what he thinks.
I still have the same advice, insist on being yourself, over time, don't be in a hurry, there will definitely be a more suitable opportunity. (ENDS).
Interviewee Profile:
The picture shows that in September 2023, Ning Hao appeared with his new film "Mr. Red Carpet" and was interviewed by China News Service during the 48th Toronto International Film Festival. Photo by China News Service reporter Yu Ruidong.
Ning Hao is a film director and screenwriter in Chinese mainland. Born in Taiyuan, Shanxi, he graduated from the Art Department of Beijing Normal University and the Photography Department of Beijing Film Academy. He has won many awards such as the Best Director Award at the Beijing University Student Film Festival, the Best Original Screenplay Award at the Taiwan Film Golden Horse Awards, and the Outstanding Director Award at the China Film Huabiao Awards. Representative works include "Incense", "Crazy Stone", "Crazy Racing", "No Man's Land" and so on.