▍Pave the road for young filmmakers

Li Yuhe is one of the young directors supported by Derek Yee. At the 19th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) in 2016, Li Yuhe was nominated for the Asian New Talent Award with his first feature film Absurd Accident. Derek Yee was the Jury President, and he was very surprised after watching the film, “The performance pace of the cast is really amazing”. So he worked with Li Yuhe as one of the producers of the film, and offered much help in editing and music. The film was sold at RMB 13 million at a production cost of RMB 2 million. It strengthened Li Yuhe’s resolve to continue filmmaking. 

From then on, Li Yuhe was working on his second film. He participated in the SIFF Project in 2019， and kept seeking investment. He explained his difficulties, “It’s an ensemble comedy without absolute leading roles. However, in current environment, investors pay more attention to big-shot cast. It’s one of the major problems at present.” 

　　

　　Li Yuhe

Zhao Ye, director of Jalainur, also mentioned Derek Yee’s assistance in his screenplay. When it comes to problems, he’s worried about his filmmaking style, “It’s kind of offbeat, not the style of big companies.” Nevertheless, his new project is on right track, and the financing is under negotiation. 

　　

　　Zhao Ye

Young director Wang Xuebo shared his experiences. Derek Yee worked as a producer for his directorial work Knife in the Clear Water in 2016, and the film won the New Currents Award at the 21st Busan International Film Festival in the same year. From then on, he’s been working on commercial films. His new film Flayer has a budget of tens of millions yuan. Derek Yee spoke highly of the screenwriter, “That screenwriter writes very well. It’s like a short story.”

　　

　　Wang Xuebo

As for screenplay, Derek Yee put forward a requirement that young creators must follow—no typo is allowed. In his view, it’s strict self-discipline, and the level of screenplay shows the level of the creator. He also made a joke, “You’ll have to be as famous as I am to present terrible screenplay.” Big companies are particularly demanding on new directors. Only truly good screenplays can appeal to producers, and attract investment, “Big companies won’t hire new directors because they are risky, and tiresome to manage. But they are indispensable for the industry. So, you have to meet the conditions: First, you’ve made good short films. Second, your screenplay is too good to be denied. Will I trust you? As long as it occurs to me ‘Wow! That’s a good idea’ after I read your screenplay, it works. It doesn’t need to be perfect. If I spot your potential, I’ll give you an opportunity. It’s all about screenplay.”

　　

　　Derek Yee

　　▍Excel at acting and start directing

Many young directors cast friends in their first film. After gaining recognition, they might have more resources for their second film, and are able to cast professional actors or even stars. While they try to maintain the aesthetic level, it becomes challenging to cast. Once an actor, Derek Yee cast many new actors. As a director, he’s quite experienced in directing actors. He shared all his secrets of success combined with his personal experiences.

“I was an actor when I was young. And I apply different approaches to different actors. If you don’t have such experience, I may give you advice. The simplest and most common thing is that some actors feel afraid of audience’s presence on the scene, like Sean Lau Ching-wan and Tony Leung Chiu-wai. For them, we would draw the curtain when shooting. But Andy Lau enjoys audience’s presence. So it varies from actors.”

“There are new actors feeling nervous when camera gets close to them. Sometimes, you have to give up and put camera farther. If such depth of field is not needed, I’ll shoot other scenes first. Many actors feel sorry if they act poorly. If so, when we start shooting next day and there is recording, I would stop recording, and shoot the concerned scene again during change of scene. Directing methods vary.”

“When I was shooting I Am Somebody, all my methods didn’t work because the casts were from different backgrounds with varied personalities. There was a scene where two siblings were dancing. The elder sister was very stubborn. The younger one came up with an idea: the elder one acted in front of monitoring, and let her know the younger one and I are chatting. Because the elder sister cries when thinking of her father, I asked the younger one, ‘how’s your dad going? Is he tired from work?’ She knew I was shooting her. I told her to look away. That was the frame I wanted. She was moved to tears.”

　　

　　Derek Yee

Three young directors shared their first directing experience, too. As Wang Xuebo directed quite many works during his university years, he was very calm in his first directing. Zhao Ye practiced a lot while in school, but he was still nervous, and “tried to look calm”. Li Yuhe elaborated on his first directing experience, “In the first shot, the car was steady, and I was a little nervous as investors were standing behind me. In the second shot, the car sped up a bit, and made the scene dusty. That was exactly what I wanted. I felt like back on track, and it all went well.”

　　▍Rise up to challenges and demonstrate true capabilities

At the end of the Workshop & Masterclass, Derek Yee and three young directors shared their insights into the current film industry.

As Derek Yee said, “It’s essential to encounter difficulties in life because we grow stronger through them. Of course, we’d feel upset, but they’ll be bygones. Difficulties generate momentum. They are frustrating. But it depends on yourself to pull through. It applies to every walk of life, and conducting oneself. Our industry isn’t the worst. It’s not that challenging if you take a closer look. Stop complaining, and you can pull yourself through. To young people, I can’t help you because it’s your life and you have to face it. Films would flop. A lot of my films flopped. But I still hang in there. Keep confident, and avert any negativity. Those who give you hard times will only make you stronger. It’s cliché but it works.”

　　

　　On the Site of Workshop & Masterclass

Wang Xuebo hoped we could hold on to our resolution, “If you truly wish to shoot a work, there is always a way out, even with your phone. Films might cost a few thousands yuan or tens of thousands yuan. I spent RMB 150 on a work. If you have difficulties in financing but with firm resolution, you will make it somehow.”

Zhao Ye appealed, “I think the only one that can beat you is yourself. If you give up, that’s a real defeat. So don’t give up.”

　　

　　Yang Yang, Li Yuhe, Derek Yee, Wang Xuebo, Zhao Ye (From Left to Right)