Breakfast with Piled Cloud
An interview with Cheuk Man Wong, director of Piled Cloud
How did you get the inspiration for Piled cloud ?
I was inspired by an experience of a friend. My friend who was from Mainland China came to Hong Kong to study film. Due to distorted property market and rocket high rental price in Hong Kong, many local people cannot afford to rent an entire flat, and have to live in subdivided flat. My friend rented a room from an old man and shared the flat with him. One day, the owner claimed my friend stole his money, he called the police and prohibited my friend to enter the flat. I went to the apartment to help solving the incident. In the end, I entered the flat and saw the living space of the old man. The flat was so messy, it was apparent that no one visits him, I could sense how lonely the old man was. The picture of him sitting alone in his flat keeps on popping into my head. The incident was the starting point. Piled Cloud was gradually formed by a mixture of the sentiments and incidents I have then encountered.
What is your personal relationship to Hong Kong ?
I am like Zheng Yang in the film; staying in Hong Kong feels like you can’t hold on to anything, even dreams feel unreal.
Why were you interested in the age difference between the two characters ?
What I would like to emphasise in the film is that despite all the differences between individuals (i.e. age, cultural, gender, race and etc), there are often emotions that are universal to all, like loneliness and the desire to be cared by others. These common feelings serve as a linkage to connect us all.
How did you cast the actors ? Any of your fellow inhabitants ?
Zheng Yang- the student from China is played by Zheng Yang (Yes, they share the same name). He and I studied in the same academy, he majored in Music. I noticed him in campus when I was writing the script, his aura caught my attention. He seemed to be a passionate person, but there was a sense of melancholy shined through his eyes. I then approached and invited him to be the actor in our film, he agreed. And this is his first appearance in film. Lam Dong-the flat owner is played by an amateur actor Li Ying To, he started acting after he retired. On the surface, he seems to be a quiet, serious man, who is difficult to talk to. However, once he starts talking, he looks like a curious child, he is interested in everything he sees. This contrast is extremely humane and lively to me. Therefore I tend to work with amateur actor and first-timers, I am always surprised by their performances.
Why were you interested in portraying the owner as a man of few words ?
It seems to me that people in Hong Kong seldom express emotions verbally, we tend to avoid talking about ourselves and to hide our emotions and what we truly think. Lam Dong used to be a sailor. Isolated by the sea for too long, he was disconnected to people and the community. He had become an outsider to others. To have another outsider, Zheng Yang, came to Hong Kong and live in his apartment is because I am intrigued by the idea of two outsider living closely together.
Are you interested in the question of loneliness and will you make further films on this theme ?
Other than loneliness, I am fascinated by subject matters of failure and marginalised beings. These motifs are often quite essential in my works.
How much do you like Russian films ?
I quite like Russian films, and Russian literature and classical music as well.
Would you say that the short film format has given you any particular freedom?
I am still exploring short film as an art form, as I don’t have much experience in film making. I agree that the length of short film enables the production to be flexible to accommodate creative ideas. However, I believe true freedom in film making lies in our answers to the question of what is film to you, how does one perceive and imagine film and film making. In my opinion, the length and genre of a film should not be a limitation, but an useful instrument to enhance the work.
If you’ve already been to Clermont-Ferrand, could you share with us an anecdote or story from the festival? If not, what are your expectations for this year?
This is my first time to take part in the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. After exchanging a few conversations via email with festival officers, I strongly feel that the festival is passionate, sincere and respectful to every film and filmmaker. The positive attitude must be one of the successful factors of the festival, hence audiences from all over the world gather every year to participate the festival. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to experience this unique short film culture in the festival.
Where to watch your film after the festival?
We are mainly organising screenings in Hong Kong. We definitely would love to reach out to world audiences, if we are lucky enough!
Piled Cloud is being shown in International Competition I13.
