To Preserve a Disappearing Art: Interview with Hao Jie

I recently had the opportunity to interview Hao Jie, widely regarded as one of the most exciting new independent filmmakers in China.  Hao’s debut feature, Single Man (2010), gained considerable buzz on the global festival circuit for its refreshingly unvarnished study of the impossibilities of romance amidst China’s current gender imbalance.  Similarly, his current feature, 2012’s The Love Songs of Tiedan, strikes an equally fine balance of optimistic longing and hard-hitting social realism.  The film tracks the romantic trials of a dedicated singer of er ren tai, a time-honored tradition of folk music once common in China’s rugged rural northwest region near Mongolia, from where director Hao hails.  With er ren tai superstar Feng Si in the lead role, The Love Songs of Tiedan is Hao Jie’s love song to his home province and culture.  Indeed, by using film to share and preserve landscape and traditions vulnerable to modernization and extinction, Hao also reminds us that certain kinds of filmmaking are themselves under threat.  Our short interview touched on these themes.

KF:  Tell me about filming in your home region.  What are some of the things you hope to show cinematically about your home province?

HJ: Because I was born there, that is the subject of my movies.  There are a lot of movies that show that part of the country, but for me the real reason is because I was born there, I am familiar with there.  I can only shoot movies and express my feelings about where I was rooted, where I come from and know.

KF: The film covers a lot of history, including the Cultural Revolution.  Where did you go to for the history?  Was it personal—something you learned about through your family—or is the story more fictional?

HJ: It is about my father, actually.  My father was the connection to this history.   During the Cultural Revolution, my father was about five years old, so he witnessed the whole time.  Tiedan, the main character in the film, is the age of my father at that time…. Although my father has passed away, I think he would be really touched by the film.  He didn’t get a chance to see it, but I am sure he would really, really love this movie.

KF:  Did the content in either of your films raise any problems with the censors?  The frank representation of sexuality, for example?

HJ:  Single Man has never been shown in China because of the censors.  “Mei Jie” (Love Songs) had no problem and is already screening in China.

KF:  What is your next project?

HJ:  My next movie is about how the young generation—especially those born after the 1980s—mature into adulthood and fall into romantic relationships and career paths.  I’m already working with the title, “My Romantic Dream” (Wo De Chun Meng).

KF: One last question, also about production issues surrounding film in China. Nowadays there is so much global interest in Chinese film, with everyone talking about how much money there is to be made in China, both in terms of China’s vast audiences as well as in big films specifically developed for the China market, such as in Chinese co-productions like Kung Fu Panda 3 or the extra footage in Ironman 3.  But where is the space for Chinese independent film in this new global environment?  As an independent filmmaker, where and how do you get movies made?

HJ:  Today, literally, there is no market for Chinese independent film or art films.  If we want to do something about it, it’s basically out of our pocket or through internal funding sources.  People who tend to be interested in investing in Chinese independent film may be those who already have their own companies and have their own vision and want to create their own cultural influence in China.  They will have to have a dream about the film industry and the role that film and filmmakers play in culture.

Thanks to Ning Wu in providing translation.