LA ShortsFest - Finding Buddha
An American 'average Joe' leaves his life behind before his 45th birthday to head to China to 'find Buddha.' When he encounters a young tour guide who seems just as lost as he is, they set off on another kind of adventure...
Interview with Writer/Producer Xinyue Chen
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
This film is my thesis film. Three years ago, I came to America to learn filmmaking and experience American culture. As my thesis film, I hope to add some elements of my own Chinese culture to my film. Or I’d say I try to use a Chinese way to tell an American story. That’s why we made this film.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think the target audience of this film is everyone around the world. Even as we speak different languages, have different cultures, we still have the same problems and the same love. I hope everyone can taste the different flavor of this story.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
We use the lead character Eric’s Chinese Buddhist trip to share a story about loneliness and love. We use Eric and his Chinese tour guide girl Vivian - and the interesting connection between them to show the themes.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
I’m a pessimistic person, and I believe that even if you have family and friends, life is still a lonely trip. So in the first version of the film, I wrote the story with much more sadness. After I talked to the real master, who lent us the temple for shooting, I learned and felt more about life, and I rewrote this story in a much more optimistic way. And my director and I were on the same page from the beginning, so the film's delivery was amazing and he matched the script perfectly.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We are very lucky. So far we got a lot of positive feedback. Some of my audiences have told me they hope to see this film in a feature version someday.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Yeah, it’s a surprise. I never expected that people would love our film so much. Thanks for everyone who supported and believed us.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
As a filmmaker, I hope more people know about our film, watch our film, even just feel interested in it. www.wearemovingstories.com definitely will help us out on that.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Maybe film festival directors? Because the film festivals are our goal now. We hope our film will be able to get into more film festivals and have more people see it.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like people to have the courage to face their own problems in their lives after they see the film.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Do you think travelling can be a way to escape from your life?
Would you like to add anything else?
This film is a co-production. We shot it in Beijing, China, and did postproduction in LA. It was a challenge for us to make this film under a very limited time and budget, but it was definitely worth it.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m working in afilm development department in a film company. And I’m also developing my own story for sure. I hope we can turn this short film to a feature some day.
Interview: September 2016
_______________________________________________________________________________
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
_______________________________________________________________________________
Finding Buddha
An American 'average Joe' leaves his life behind before his 45th birthday to head to China to 'find Buddha.' When he encounters a young tour guide who seems just as lost as he is, they set off on another kind of adventure...
Length:
30 mins
Director:
Zilong Liu
Producer:
Xinyue Chen
Writer:
Xinyue Chen
About the writer, director and producer:
Writer/Producer Xinyue Chen:
Xinyue is a creative and enthusiastic film producer with over seven years studying and working experience in film and video production management from Story Conception through Post Production, and strong interests in management and marketing of International Film and Television Co-production. She has produced one feature film shot in Greece and several awarded short films.
Director Zilong Liu:
Zilong graduated from Renmin University in China in 2012 with a degree in New Media Arts. Then he went to University of Miami for his MFA degree in Motion pictures, and focused on directing and cinematography. He shot a feature film and several awarded short films. He study in AFI in Cinematography major for his second MFA now.
Key cast:
Meinhard St. John
Daisy Shen
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
We are looking for distributors, film festival directors, and journalistsMade in association with:University of Miami (My graduate school)
Release date:
May 1st
Where can I watch it in the next month?
Sorry, we are still film festivals cruise, so we can’t release the film public online now. We just screened it on LA Shorts Fest. Maybe we will get chance to go other festivals later.
But you can see the trailer online.