President Lecture: Make Simple Films

The SIFF President Lecture was held in the morning,  June 17th. Jury President of 12th SIFF, Danny Boyle, Director Jiang Wen and Director Stephen Daldry were present, sharing their views on how to best “Make Simple Films”. After two-hour discussion, the three directors arrived at one conclusion: it is not an easy job to make films. When asked what the best way was to stay on schedule, the directors agreed that the timing everything out was actually very difficult, and that they were unhappy with inflexible schedules.

Film making is a complicated endeavor, particularly in modern society where film production tends to get involved in more and more territories and channels of financing and marketing. After all these, film content itself seems to have been ignored to some extent. However, Danny Boyle, the jury president of this edition, has been renowned for his concern for reality and solicitude for life. He has set up a new sample for the world industry with his formula of low budget and high quality.

Danny Boyle was the first to speak. “About 200 professionals were in Thailand working on the film The Beach. We thought we had done a good job. But actually we were like a European military brigade, invading Thailand and sweeping away everything that we touched. So that film ended up not having any Thai flavor. The next time I filmed abroad, I only took 10 people with me to India for Slumdog Millionaire. Everyone else on set was local, and it worked much better. I think we did a great job. Some years ago our filming style was like invading a country, which I believe was wrong, but we’re now getting better at keeping things local. Now we are doing it the right way.”

Wen Jiang did not realize that the film In the Heat of the Sun would come to define his style when he was working on it. He said: “In the Heat of the Sun was my first works, and I did not know what different styles I could pull off. Later people came to tell me that this film was really made in my own style.”

Stephen Daldry, director of The Reader, shared his film-making experience with all. “Usually I think about one question: Will the audience like my film? I’m trying to attract the audience. Playwrights are crucial for plays, so when I make films, I like to be in close contact with the screenwriters.”