Category Archives: Chinese Filmmaker

Chinese Filmmaker, Film, Producer, Reviews, Interviews & Features!

Jinming Zhao Stands Up as extraordinary producer

October 24, 2016 pressva Leave a comment

When Jinming Zhao began making the film Stand Up, she knew she would be making a film that inspired audiences. What she didn’t know was that making the film would inspire herself and her confidence in her abilities as a producer as well.

Stand Up is the story of a quiet teenage girl who has trouble processing her emotions at her beloved grandfather’s funeral, until her evil father comes for the heritage. The idea for the film came from Zhao, who was convinced to make it perfect.

“It was really good experience,” she said. “It’s nice to get the chance to collaborate with so many talented people.”

The film has been making waves across film festivals. It won Best Film of the Month at the Director Short Online Film Festival. It is an official selection in the Short Stop International Film Festival, Access Code Short Film Festival, and Love International Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Film of the Inspired Faith Film Festival where it won the Excellence Award. In the Top Shorts Film Festival, it received Audience Awards, and it won the Award of Recognition at the Hollywood International Moving Picture Film Festival.

“It’s amazing,” said Zhao when describing what it was like to when the first Audience Award. “When I got a trophy for the first time, I sent my mom a picture, and she said she was proud of me. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.”

The awards were well deserved. Zhao had to work harder than most to achieve what she did, and overcame the challenge of being stereotyped against while producing the film.

“I found a perfect house with reasonable price but when I talked with the owner for the first time, she didn’t want to talk about it at all, and she thought I didn’t look like a producer at all, because I’m an Asian small girl. She didn’t treat me seriously. I was hurt by that experience, but I didn’t give up because I wanted the house,” she said.

Zhao was relentless, and went back to the house a second time, with more confidence and a prepared statement. The visit secured the location with no issues.

“I told myself that I’m an independent, talented, smart, and strong woman, and there’s nothing I need to be afraid of,” she said.

This sentiment resonates with whoever she works with, as Zhao is recognized as a truly talented producer amongst collegues. Guannan Li, who worked with Zhao on Stand Up, attributes the quality of the film to Zhao.

“I am certain that without Jinming’s irreplaceable talents as a producer, the film would not have maintained such a high quality. She is a creative and talented producer, and we were entirely fortunate to have included her on the film,” said Li.

The two had prior success while working on the horror film Emily back in 2014. The film won Best Horror at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, Best Horror Short Film at the Hollywood Horror Festival, and Best Short Film at Mad Town Horror 2015. It was an official selection at the London Digital Film Festival 2015, the Fill Bloom Film Festival 2015, the Hollywood Horror Fest of Shorts 2015, the BigHouse Invitational Year One 2015, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 2015, the International New York Film Festival 2015, the Horror Short Video Contest 2015, the Los Angeles Short Film Festival 2016, and finally the HollyShorts Film Festival 2016.

Zhao also worked with director Jun Xia on Emily, who approached her about working on the film.

“She is a creative powerhouse that we were very fortunate to include on our film, and I wholly attribute much of our success to her leading contributions,” said Xia.

Zhao had never worked on a horror film prior to Emily, and when she first read the script she was hesitant to accept the role of producer. However, the opportunity to work with Xia changed her mind.

“We worked on the script together and came up with a great story,” she said.

The success that Emily received prepared Zhao for a future full of success, but working on Stand Up gave her something even more valuable for her producing career.

“I learned that if I want other people to respect me, I have to respect myself first. I understand that to be as a foreigner would face more problems than local people do, but I have confidence and capability to overcome them,” she concluded.

China Film Industry, Chinese Filmmaker, Chinese Films, Film, Reviews, Interviews & Features!

Sound Editor Xiao Hou Collaborates With Renowned Supervising Sound Editor Martin Hernandez On The Action Packed “Compadres”

May 25, 2016 pressva Leave a comment

Universal talent advances in sound

Xiao Hou at Studio — Sound Editor Xiao Hou

Xiao Hou is an international sound editor who has been working among various platforms of the audio industry perfecting his craft for eight years. His credits include commercials starring famed celebs like the Los Angeles Clippers and Paris Hilton, and a series of short films such as “Once,” “God Save the Queen” and “Until the Dust Settles.”

Most recently, Hou has acted as the sound editor of the Lionsgate produced feature film “Compadres,” directed by Enrique Begne (“Dos Abrazos” and “Busco novio para mi mujer”) and starring Omar Chaparro (“Pulling Strings” and “Superfast!”), Joey Morgan (“Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse” and “Camp Manna”), Eric Roberts (“The Dark Knight” and “The Expendables”), Kevin Pollack (“Special Correspondents” and “Mom”), and Erick Elías (“Qué Culpa Tiene el Niño” and “The Color of Passion”).

“Compadres” is an action comedy film that follows a former cop named Garza, who seeks revenge on a crime lord named Santos, who framed him.

Martin Hernandez, known for the his work in sound on the renowned films “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Birdman” and the Oscar award winning “The Revenant,” contributed as the supervising sound editor of the film.

“I was absolutely thrilled when Martin came to me with the news that he wanted to bring me on board,” Hou said. “Throughout the entire process, he was my mentor. I followed his lead and directions and learned first hand how a high scale film like “Compadres” is put together.”

Hou and Hernandez first met at the screening of “The Revenant,” where the latter later informed Hou of upcoming projects. “Compadres” was the project Hernandez pitched to Hou, who relished the idea of becoming involved.

“Working on “Compadres” was an absolutely amazing and unforgettable experience. Not only was I presented with the opportunity to work with the legendary Martin Hernandez, it was also the first time I worked on a film of such magnitude that required such detailed sound work,” Hou commented.

In post production, Hou was required to implement his creative abilities in order to cut sound effects from different sound libraries and mesh them together in new and unique ways, ultimately producing a desired sound. “For example, I applied a jet engine sound underneath the sound of a cop car to make the effect beefier and more vivid,” Hou offered, elaborating on his responsibilities.

The job of a sound editor is one that requires much patience and detailed work. In fact, Hou recalled spending hours, and sometimes even days, looking for and designing a specific sound that would perfectly match a particular scene. Regarding this rigorous process, Hou explained, “It gave me the chance to utilize all of my resources and prior experiences in order to tailor the sounds to meet the director and supervising sound editor’s requirements.”

“Throughout the entire post production, I followed Martin’s directions and learned how a film like “Compadres” is successfully put together. It was all such an enjoyable experience and was definitely one of the peak moments of my young, professional career,” said Hou.

The final version of the film “Compadres” was released in theaters on March 31, 2016 in Mexico, and on April 22, 2016 in the United States.

Xiao Hou with Martin Hernandez — Xiao Hou with “Compadres” Supervising Sound Editor Martin Hernandez

For more information on “Compadres,” please visit: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3367294/

For more information on Xiao Hou, please visit:
http://www.xdecibel.com/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5670635/

China Film Industry, Chinese Filmmaker, Chinese Films, Director

Amazing Chinese Director Jing Wen!

August 29, 2015 lgreenbaulm Leave a comment

Film Poster for Jing Wen's film — Film Poster for Jing Wen’s film “A, B, C or D?”

Chinese director Jing Wen is one filmmaker international audiences will definitely want to keep their eyes out for. Jing first began her career as director for television in China where she was one of the directors of the series Yulapai on Chong Qing Television Station.

As the director of a series for Jing Li US, Jing had a chance to meet and direct an interview with one of America’s most-beloved film stars, Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (Thelma and Louise, Cloud Atlas, Robot & Frank, Stepmom, The Banger Sisters). Jing also directed a show for the NGO organization Voices of Africa Mothers, which delivered in depth interviews with eight African first ladies to viewers around the world.

In 2012 she made her mark on the world as a film director and ever since she has been making huge waves in the industries of China, the U.S. and others. Her film A, B, C or D?, which was released in 2014, follows Gary, a 45-year-old underling in a corporation who is forced to choose between what is right and wrong when a conflict arises putting Gary in the line of fire as the easy scapegoat.

Does he stand up for himself and tell the truth, or let sleeping dogs lie? Well, you’ll just have to watch the film to find out.

The film stars David M. Edelstein from the films I Killed Last Night, The Broom Wedding, I of the Beholder, No Way Out and others.

Jing’s film A, B, C or D? won Best Short Film, as well as Best Cinematographer for Xiaolong Liu’s work, at the Golden Pomegranate International Film Festival in China. The film was also chosen as an Official Selection of the prestigious 2015 Cannes Short Film Corner, the NYC Independent Film Festival, the California Independent Film Festival and others.

In a Q & A session with the NYFA about her work as a director earlier this year, Jing said, “I like to observe people’s facial expression, voice, and body language in order to understand them. That’s one of the most important skills a director needs to learn and practice because film ideas are inspired by observations from life and they are a reflection of reality.”

Jing’s unique ability to find the hidden stories that exist around her and dissect them into something worth bringing to audiences in the form of captivating films is what separates her from most other directors.

After the success of her film A, B, C or D?, Jing was awarded a grant to begin directing the feature film The Disappeared Fish. The Disappeared Fish finished filming in China in July and is slated to have its national debut in theatres across China next year.

The film follows a migrant worker named Guo Jia Ming who was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance in the film My Own Private Deutschland.

The film follows Gao as he is faced with a moral question of whether to save his boss’s son who was kidnapped by a group of ruthless gangsters, or let his boss deal with his own karma, considering that he treats Gao and the other workers terribly and keeps all of their pay checks for himself.

Jing is currently in pre-production with another exciting upcoming film entitled Let’s Get Married, a feature love story that will be produced by Bai Ge Zhuang Film Production Company.

You can check out some of the photos of director Jing Wen being interviewed by China’s largest media organizations including CCTV, CQTV station, Phoenix Satellite Television, Guang Sian Media, and Aidiyi Media.

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