Interview the director in sanyuanli

Guangzhou, a bookstore and a coffee shop.

This is a routine activity of the film festival and the premiere of Sanyuanli.

This is a neat observation room. Ou Ning and Cao Fei are debugging the machine ahead. Everyone waited, and someone whispered, but there was no sound. As part of the "emergency zone" of the 50th Venice Biennale, Sanyuanli has just returned from Venice.

After watching it, a dozen creative people sat in front of the stage and began to communicate with the audience. As always, Ou Ning is calm and sober. Cao Fei is wearing a black T-shirt and bright yellow flat shoes. Their advantage lies in the combination of creativity and mobility.

An hour and a half of communication has reached a quite in-depth level. The key words are "documentary" and "globalization". In fact, it also refers to the existence significance of the film in both internal and external directions: on the one hand, what kind of presentation has been realized, on the other hand, what kind of communication has been realized.

Q: Why does this documentary use black and white images?

A: On the one hand, this is caused by objective conditions. We use several machines, which are not uniform and not very good. When they are combined in the later stage, there is a big gap between color and tone, so they are all black and white-the texture is better after the color is removed. On the other hand, we admire the works of early documentary masters, such as Wiltoff and Yin Siwen. During the urban growth in the 1930s, their sincere records with cameras were very touching. Our film is also a prose-like urban documentary filmed in this way. This black-and-white "Sanyuanli" is also a return to the recording tradition.

Q: This film has no dialogue and few subtitles. what do you think?

A: We are opposed to demonstration documentaries, and we will use publications to complete the demonstration work. Moreover, this film is an exhibit of Venice Biennale, which should be related to the theme of "Visual Art Exhibition". The film is impressionist and poetic, and it can't be said that there are too many innovations in genre, but it is suitable for the form of art exhibition.

Q: Sanyuanli has just returned from Venice. What do Europeans think of this film? Personally, I don't think it's "folk".

A: In the Venice exhibition hall, many people said that they liked the film and thought it was "good", but they didn't make it clear. This is one of the reasons why we attach great importance to its local response. As for the "folk" color, I prefer to use the word "independent", that is, several people walk together for free, out of interest, not to cater to the imagination of curators, western audiences or China audiences, but just to tell the conclusion brought by our own observation. "Folk" does not necessarily mean radical.

Q: At international film festivals, China films are usually regarded as "catering" to western cultural imagination. What do you think of this?

A: The idea of dividing East and West into two parts and embedding specific works in the mode of "catering to imagination" is actually out of date. What we are practicing is dialogue under the background of globalization. The western concept of looking for the legendary "other" is being subverted. We hope to think rationally, express truly, and find the possibility of understanding and communication on the international stage.

Q: In this movie, the music is perfect. How did you do that?

A: Li Jinsong, who makes music, is also creating while shooting. What he used to do was very conceptual and quite avant-garde music. Through continuous communication, we have determined the tone and style of music, and revised it repeatedly to integrate it with the image. A large number of fast and slow mirrors are used in the film to show the speed and density of urbanization from the rhythm. The last folk song "Sanyuanli" sung by acoustic guitar is an old poem by Ou Ning. This video work was shot recently, but the feelings and thoughts of the creator have accumulated for quite a long time.

Q: Does the photographer have any experience in DV shooting?

Answer: Try to use the machine in your hand to understand its full performance. The camera is steady and steady, clear the content and move forward. Technology is very important, and different machines will bring different spaces and forms. Technology is not the most important, thought guides technology. Finally, use your camera with your mouth like a pen.

Q: What do you think of this documentary?

A: Just now, some viewers questioned that this film is a "documentary". In fact, the broad definition of documentary should be "non-fiction", and the material comes directly from reality. It has many forms, and the connotation and extension of the definition are still expanding. The smiling faces and photos in the film express our feelings and attitudes. All we have for this theme is recognition and praise.