[PIFF: Interview With Fruit Chan] Chan Moves to Mainstream
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By Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporter
Fruit Chan, once a symbol of the independent cinema scene in Hong Kong after starting with his much acclaimed film "Made in Hong Kong", is back at PIFF for the seventh time. This year, however, he has come more as a member of the jury for "New Currents", PIFF's only competitive section, rather than a director presenting a film.
"For me it's tiring to see so many movies made by others at one time", Chan, who did the job at the Moscow film festival two years ago for the first time, said in an interview yesterday, laughing. "But as a director myself, sometimes it's also refreshing to find new creative movies".
Chan possibly belongs to a group of directors who have been growing up with PIFF. "Three, Monster", an omnibus film by three directors from three Asian countries (Chan, Park Chan-wook of South Korea and Miike Takashi of Japan) and currently being screened in the Korean Panorama section, is the result of support from the Pusan Promotion Plan two years ago.
"Now I feel that making films in cooperation with Korea or Japan is much easier (than China)", Chan, who also directed "Public Toilet" in 2002 with Korea and Japan, said. Although the film market in Hong Kong was almost on the point of collapse even before its return to Mainland China, now it is even harder due to the government's many rules that disturb creative energy, according to Chan.
"You have to consider the government when you choose your subject matter for a film, otherwise it will be hard to gain access to the market in China, " the 44-year-old said. Another problem is that young audiences in Hong Kong do not like to see Chinese films, or even films with subjects related to China, he added.
"I think the Korean film industry is very enviable in that it successfully provides a market for both independent and mainstream films. It looks very energetic and strong in both parts", Chan said. He mentioned Park Chan-wook's "Oldboy" as his favorite for this year along with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "21 Grams", but he remained closed-lipped about his impression of films in the New Currents section.
Staff Reporter
Fruit Chan, once a symbol of the independent cinema scene in Hong Kong after starting with his much acclaimed film "Made in Hong Kong", is back at PIFF for the seventh time. This year, however, he has come more as a member of the jury for "New Currents", PIFF's only competitive section, rather than a director presenting a film.
"For me it's tiring to see so many movies made by others at one time", Chan, who did the job at the Moscow film festival two years ago for the first time, said in an interview yesterday, laughing. "But as a director myself, sometimes it's also refreshing to find new creative movies".
Chan possibly belongs to a group of directors who have been growing up with PIFF. "Three, Monster", an omnibus film by three directors from three Asian countries (Chan, Park Chan-wook of South Korea and Miike Takashi of Japan) and currently being screened in the Korean Panorama section, is the result of support from the Pusan Promotion Plan two years ago.
"Now I feel that making films in cooperation with Korea or Japan is much easier (than China)", Chan, who also directed "Public Toilet" in 2002 with Korea and Japan, said. Although the film market in Hong Kong was almost on the point of collapse even before its return to Mainland China, now it is even harder due to the government's many rules that disturb creative energy, according to Chan.
"You have to consider the government when you choose your subject matter for a film, otherwise it will be hard to gain access to the market in China, " the 44-year-old said. Another problem is that young audiences in Hong Kong do not like to see Chinese films, or even films with subjects related to China, he added.
"I think the Korean film industry is very enviable in that it successfully provides a market for both independent and mainstream films. It looks very energetic and strong in both parts", Chan said. He mentioned Park Chan-wook's "Oldboy" as his favorite for this year along with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "21 Grams", but he remained closed-lipped about his impression of films in the New Currents section.
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