thThe 13 ifva Youth Category Jury Meeting Transcript

Jurors in Attendance: Poon Tat-pui (POON), Chat Lam (LAM), Patrick Kong(KONG), Chan
Pikyu (CHAN)
Absent Juror: Karena Lam (LAM)
Organizer Representatives: Connie Lam (CONNIE), Mickey Choi (CHOI)CONNIE: We‘d like to encourage more people to develop [on making film and video], andhope that the ifva will become a platform for encouraging cross-fertilization ofcreativity, knowledge and experience on media creation among different regions in
Asia. Hope we all consider the following aspects in your judgments: content,
creativity, form, structure, techniques, and whether it has made good use of themedium of video, and the overall completeness of the work… Please elaborate
about your selections.

POON:

My choice is Family, I think it is simple and clear, it has got the mood, and can
express the kind of emptiness in the father-and-son relationship.

LAM:

I have chosen Voice in the Darkness, based on its plot, and the overall feeling it
gave me, because I‘m not a technical person. It is very real, the filmmakers used
what they know instead of trying to create some void, emptiness or love stories thatthey have never experienced before. The genuineness is touching, the way theybring out the world of the blind in different angles and situations, such as Christmas.
How do you let a blind man feels the atmosphere of Christmas? And they haveused various documentary methods such as street interview, it makes the film richin perspective. The final scene of the road sign is like Mida‘s touch, I am touched
and I think it is successful.

KONG:

Actually I like this one too, because it is the most down-to-earth and authentic. Eightout of ten of the films attained high technical level, but for Youth Category, shouldn‘t
we hear the voice and see from the perspective of young people instead? This is
the most important, I think the works should be young, should show how young
people see the world and things around them, but most of the works lack this. Toomuch somniloquy too self-obsessed. If the filmmakers are here I‘d like to ask them
why they made the films like this. Such as Deliverance, why are the dialogues inEnglish? Cinematography, editing and composition are very good, but I havedoubts about their creative style and I don‘t know what they are talking about. And I
don‘t know if it is because today‘s young people are very anxious, many films also

show sadness and doubts about life. Such as ―Dreams‖, why it has to be so sick? Is
it what they are looking for, or are they actually like this? Isn‘t it too pretentious? So
Voice in the Darkness is the most down-to-earth.

Actually art doesn‘t always

mean you have to do the most challenging things, even in a competition we are notlooking for the one which is the most difficult to make, rather we want the one which
can express the most in a given format. Voice in the Darkness is very clear, as Yat
Fung has said, the road sign at the end, and the numbers at the beginning are welldesigned, simple and effective, and then the fake interviews follows.

My comment as written earlier is: The subject matter comes from everyday life. It
can bring forth discussion, though is too close to news documentary, it is the most
realistic work among all.

This work impresses me most among the ten finalists.

CHAN:

Family moved me as I watched. I think this student is very wonderful. He doesn‘toveract, but is so immersed in his role, maybe that is himself in real life. The whole
work is concise and direct, no need to ponder about it for long, it sounds very real tome. This teenager used a variety of ways to express his emotion. This one andVoice in the Darkness impress me most. And Lost View too, it is very special interms of creative methods, though it misses the point in a number of places.

POON:

There‘s one point I want to add about Voice in the Darkness. Since I‘m a
documentary filmmaker, its only failure is, they should have found a real blind
person instead of faking it, which makes it looks like they are playing a trick,although I know this is not what they intended to do.

They are actually trying toshow us what a blind man‘s world is like, what kind of things he will encounter. Thenthe conflict appears, and this conflict will destroy the whole thing. This is a pity, if theblind man is real, I‘d have given them much higher marks. I agree that this is a very
thoughtful piece, but it is a pity that the core element is faked, maybe the [fake blindman] is the director himself? If they could find a real blind person – I believe it ispossible—then the whole thing would be very complete, and will arouse people‘scompassion, to really think about how the blind man faces reality.

KONG:

The other work I like is Lost View because the artist has a deeply felt awareness ofthe environment around him. The other theme is the concern about society and life,
not just confined to the personal. Other works mostly focus on the self, like about
their own future, or just about their own happiness or sadness. It is not the mosttechnically accomplished work, but it feels good after seeing it. For example the
dream about running up the hill, he Dreamsthat this place becomes a metropolis,
then when he wakes up he sees construction work has already begun near thevillage. It is the common scenery of our rural land being turned into container
dumps. It is very real and he creates the dreamy scene in a realistic background.
The imageries are touching and observations about the transformation of thecommunity and the environment are made with sensitivity and are tinted with subtle
sadness. I like the understated ending, it‘s not making a definite statement, but israther melancholy. I like this way better.

Connie： Now three works stand out. Poon Tat-pui please make your selection before you go.

POON:Family comes first, second comes GameLive. My view actually cannot escape theadult‘s perspective, but I can see this film carries the message about kids‘ love of
the video games and we can see that the director loves to play too. On the whole itis good, but I don‘t know if it is required by the school or not, the ending had tomake a critical statement about the games. While Family is very genuine, you canfeel it. I don‘t have a third piece to recommend. Some pieces maybe worth
mentioning, such as My Own World, it is too self-obsessed, while Deliverance is
too ambitious, its scale makes it looks as if it is going to win, technically. But as it is
too ambitious, the messages become too wild, though interesting, it loses focus.
What he needs to learn is how to convey his many messages in a focused manner,
so as to effectively deliver the themes. For me I recommend this, because heworked hard on it. Another recommendation is Lost View, but unfortunately the
picture quality is not good, as if shot on a cell phone, unless that is what is intended.

CHAN:

I think so. Actually there are different picture qualities in the film. So I think it ismore experimental in the way they try to speak to the audience by means ofimages.

KONG:

Ko Chiu II is my biggest doubt. It is about the life of a teacher and is his memoirs, it
tells how a kung-fu fighting kid becomes a teacher. This is a very strange film, kindof interesting, and is worth discussion.

POON:

The filmmaking technique is OK.

KONG:

I don‘t mind the technical side of Lost View, as today‘s equipment is very
developed, and the new generation is very precocious technically. If you ask me, Istill think that Voice in the Darkness is the best, as it is the only one which actually
goes out to the streets to do a project. Even though they couldn‘t find a blind man,but it is willing to face people and to get in touch with society. Other films were justmade in the school or at home, even the most ambitious work is not having any
communication with the world outside. But what is challenging about making a film
is whether you dare to go out in the street and face real challenges. You may beunable to finish the shooting, you maybe scolded or given a lot of pressure. I
appreciate this work as a young people‘s project.

POON:I‘m open about Lost View. At last I want to mention Detective Clumsy – A
Campus Homicide. Making a film can be fun, and it‘s got it, and they have done agood job. A film with a message is good, but as kids, they want to enjoy themselves,
and this one is fun. I think such freedom is necessary, and in comparison with My
Own World, you can see the sharp contrast. The latter is totally obsessed withwhatever mood of adolescence.

CHAN:

Actually I‘m considering whether it should be Family or Voice in the Darkness, but
I agree with your point about communication, among all the films I appreciatethat … it is more outstanding, so I‘ll give it my vote for Gold Award. While Family I‘dvote for it for the Silver. I‘d choose Lost View and Deliverance as Special Mention.
I don‘t like My Own World.

KONG:

I pick Voice in the Darkness for Gold Award. I can‘t comment on Family because
my version of the DVD is faulty. The second film I like is Lost View, because these
two are closer to everyday life. I recommend Timelessfor Special Mention, I am theonly one who votes for it, but I like it. Though this one is also self-indulgent, but wehave not yet considered acting. The girl gave a superb performance here. I am afilm director so I am more sensitive about actors.

The whole film only shows hertalking to herself and to a doll, it is very natural, not pretentious. I don‘t know she is
the director herself or she is acting under the director‘s orders, her solos… I like thestory, it is about escaping from reality, in the end she knows she has to face it, andthat the watch will tick again. The idea is not new, that time stops, then that you canthink and do whatever you want during the void but then in the end the watch ticks
again and you have to face reality. This story is told a million times, but in thisframework, it is kind of positive, the protagonist won‘t sink further into indulgence. In
the end it cited a quotation by Picasso, which means something like an old personwith a young mind is like being imprisoned. It is pretty complete.

And I

recommend this actress. When young people make films, they only care aboutfancy shots, editing, music, being stylish and trendy, on the other hand they don‘tcare much about acting, content and whether that has already been done before.
They reproduce without caring what the original is. I don‘t like GameLive, becausesuch images we have seen many times already, though the theme about the bad
influence of video games is controversial. But gun shooting scenes we have seen
too many times already, there‘s no meaning for you to make what has been madebefore. What we expect of young folks are things fresh to our eyes, they have to bedaring. They have to know that filmmaking is not just about shooting something, butactors are very important too. Dreams intended to be a drama film, but the actors
just failed to deliver.

LAM:

I would like to talk about Deliverance. The director has cited a quotation from Fight
Club. It gives me the feeling that he just bases his work on something else, without
his own creation, and then they start to masturbate. After watching ten films I thinkover half of them have the same problem, they are so self-obsessed, just likemasturbating. If I continue on the metaphor of sex, love-making between two
people will be much fulfilling than doing it yourself!

So why does he have to film it

and show us? What does he want to talk about? If you feel something about thequotation written by the author of Fight Club, why don‘t you develop something
yourself? But here we can‘t see his owns things. And his English is a very big
problem. As a performance art, this is a good masturbation, it doesn‘t matter if
nobody understands what he said, but in a short film I expect to get something. The
most important thing about short filmmaking is to deliver your point within a very
short period of time. Another is My Own World. She said ―the feeling of reality
torments them‖, but what exactly is tormenting them? Aren‘t you sentimentalizing
over nothing? Why do these teenagers feel so much emptiness? Then comes
Timelessand its quote from Picasso, about a young soul trapped in an old body,their message is so helpless and discontent, and then they put forward a question:
how do you choose? But actually Picasso‘s question doesn‘t leave you with achoice at all, You can only die if you want to avoid it. Isn‘t it because they are guilty
after masturbation so they need to make up some kind of message? But these justcome out of nowhere and make people feel uncomfortable.

KONG:

For example, these works quoted Fight Club and Picasso. The problem withtoday‘s young people is that they like to show off what they know. My doubt iswhether they are influenced by those quotes to make the film, or because they feelthat the films lack something, so they just add some quotes to play safe? If there‘s aquotation, it isn‘t totally original, it needs footnotes, but if the audience has to readthe footnotes before understanding your work, then there‘s a problem.

LAM:

Whether they have thoroughly understood the message is a big problem. I like
Family, it is simple and direct, the symbols are good. The only problem with Lost
View is that it is too long, and they should not fail in basic technical thing, such as
spitting into the microphone. I like Voice in the Darkness too, I‘ll vote it for Gold
Award. I like GameLive too, I don‘t know whether the director has thought about it,
today‘s images are product designed to stimulate our senses, such as very fastmusic, synchronizing frames, and high speed jumping frames, but there‘s nothingleft afterwards. If the director could catch this point, this will be very successful. A lotof editing techniques are employed and messages are effectively conveyed. Ko
Chiu IIis as Patrick has said, why do they have to choose Mr Ko?

KONG:

And why is it called Ko Chiu II? Does it mean that they have made Ko Chiu I
before ? Or they start directly with a sequel?

LAM:

If we are making a portrait of a well-known political figure, you can film it like this,but as an audience we don‘t know who Mr. KO is. So the way it makes him look likea celebrity doesn‘t convince us. If it doesn‘t portray him as being so handsome, itwill be more realistic.

KONG:

But Mr. KO acted with style and confidence.

CHAN:

But it‘s too much.

LAM:

Dreams is a very beautiful film of 18 minutes, it is artistic and worth credit. But the
final scene shows the girl squeezing tears from her eyes for a whole minute, then I
start to withdraw and think, the film is masturbating again!

I don‘t know how it

could be better. It is about the vicious cycle of hurting and be hurt, the pace could
be faster. ―Detective Clumsy – A Campus Homicide as the last one in thescreening serves as a delighting dessert. I like it, it‘s a happy film. As Poon Tat-pui
said, you‘ve got to enjoy yourself in filmmaking, and they‘ve got it in this film.

KONG:

I have to add that Ko Chiu II even includes NG footages, it‘s interesting why they
have to show us. This is a really strange film.

LAM:

My second choice is Family, it‘s clear and concise. I recommend GameLive and―Detective Clumsy – A Campus Homicide for Special Mention.

CONNIE: According to our votes and discussion, Voice in the Darkness will get the Gold
while Family gets the Silver coz it has 2 votes. Now we need to see whether Patrick
will disagree.

KONG:

I need to see Family again.

[Watching Family ]LAM:

The lyrics of Coldplay have something to do with it.

CHAN:

I don‘t feel good about the use of songs, actually it‘s not necessary, just ends likethis is OK.

KONG:

They lack confidence, thinking that more is better.

CHAN:

Isn‘t it boring?

KONG:

If the youngsters could make their own songs it will be much more creative and I
would appreciate that.

CHAN:

But they didn‘t give credit to the songs at all, they should have listed that in therollers.

CONNIE: We have instructed them about this.

KONG:

I have no objection against Family getting an award.

CONNIE: There are several nominations for Special Mention, they are Deliverance 2 votes;
Timeless 1 vote; Lost View 2 votes; GameLive 2 votes, and Detective
Clumsy—A Campus Homicide 1 vote. Based on the number of votes, theawardees should be Deliverance, Lost View and GameLive. Does anybody haveany objection?

CHAN:

No, in general.

KONG:

As it is called Special Mention, there should be something we can mention about
the works? Can we ask the filmmakers to explain why their English is like that [atthe award ceremony]? We can Special Mention your technical achievement, butisn‘t there something we need to bring out, to ask them why they choose to use
English, and tell them their grammar is problematic? I‘d agree if we can ask.

CHAN:

This is good, because this can help them.

CONNIE: Do you think that even though Detective Clumsy doesn‘t get the Special Mention,from our discussion, probably we can mention the point about the joy of movie
making? You can think about it.

CHAN:

I think each of the works can be mentioned.

KONG:

Yes, each can be discussed. Detective Clumsyis representative too, fun is themost important thing.

CHAN:

And they need to know why they are given or not given an award.

CHOI:

So Voice in the Darkness is the winner of Gold Award, while Family gets the Silver.
Special Mention goes to Deliverance, Lost View and GameLive.

[ifva: Karena Lam‘s comments are as follows:]

First Choice﹕Lost View
The P.O.V‘s of the directors were nicely done. Presented a kind of helplessness between
people, city, & inevitable changes in our modern society.

Second Choice﹕My Own World
The humming of the O.S was nice. The storyline is simple and simply shot.

Third Choice﹕GameLive
Liked the imagination of the boy & his ‗game‘ world. Short created suspense and humor relief
in the end.

Comment to other works﹕Deliverance
The content of this short was not delivered clearly.

Youth Category
Gold Award
Voice in the Darkness

Ka-wai LEE, Chiu-ting LAI

Silver Award
FamilyChun-wai HONG, Chi-Kin LAM, Fu-lim CHAN, Ho-man TANG

Special Mention
Deliverance
Alan Tsz-wai KWAN

Special Mention
GameLive
Ching-kui FONG

Special Mention
Lost View
Kai-lun CHAN, Shun-wa CHAN