Fantasporto (Best Film) 2019 – Last Sunrise
A future reliant on solar energy falls into chaos after the sun disappears, forcing a reclusive astronomer and his bubbly neighbor out of the city in search of light in the perpetual darkness.
Interview with Writer/Director Wen Ren and Writer Elly Li
Watch Last Sunrise here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
In 2012-2015, I directed documentaries capturing real natural disasters. Surprisingly, I found that survivors were eventually thankful to the disasters for coercing them to grow up and tighten relationships. Across countries and borders, these stories reflected the light of the human spirit in the darkest of times, and inspired me to write Last Sunrise.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
2019 is coined in the middle kingdom as the 'Era of Chinese Sci-Fi.' The Wandering Earth is China's first hard sci-fi blockbuster, breaking all the records. Our indie sci-fi film, Last Sunrise, used the same production team, but 150x poorer, less politically correct, and made by a passionate international creatives. Wouldn't you be curious to see one of the first Chinese sci-fi films?
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Ultimately, the story is about "hope." From my experience of shooting disaster documentaries, I saw this counterintuitive notion that disaster could become a force of good. In fact, such a belief got me through the disaster of making this film. Thematically, this worked with China. Science fiction in the West is mainly designed as elaborate allegories for what can go wrong. These visions are largely pessimistic in nature. However, even though Last Sunrise is set in an end of the world road trip, the tone and themes are strangely optimistic. Science fiction in China works congruently with the "Chinese Dream," mentioned by sci-fi author, Xia Jia. Such dreams need less fear, rather more hope in that things will get better. This is most obviously stated in the fireplace scene where Sun Yang and Wang Yun compare stories between the Western Icarus myth with the Eastern Houyi myth. This is what makes our film uniquely universal, or perhaps universally unique.
Of course there is also an environmental message. Scientists believe climate change, specifically human behavior, is the most plausible cause for a 6th extinction. We need to gain awareness and quickly transition to a diversified portfolio of renewable resources.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I first wrote an English version of the script. There was more suspense, bigger set pieces, and much darker in tone. However, when we translated the script into Chinese, we localized the film to have a more hopeful tone and turned it into a more grounded story that focused on the two protagonists’ inner journey.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
This is the strange part. I went to China four years ago to make Chinese sci-fi that could travel internationally. However, this has proven to be more difficult than expected. Some of the feedback between the West and the East have been completely split.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Once we started marketing the film, we've received overwhelming response pertaining to this one question: "If the sun disappears, why can you still see stars in the sky?"
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope that the genre and the universal themes of Last Sunrise, can somehow find footing in the west. Platforms like www.wearemovingstories.com can help create buzz and awareness of our film, so filmmakers like me can continue to attempt to tailor films that cross boundaries.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Buyers, distributors, film festival directors and journalists.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope that this can be one of the first Chinese sci-fi films that can be understood and enjoyed by both western and eastern audiences. Sci-fi is one of those genres that can do this, and it's about time we tell stories from all perspectives.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
For the western readers, I'm curious if you're interested in watching a Chinese sci-fi, and what type of stories would interest you.
Would you like to add anything else?
As an Asian-American, I was bothered by how Hollywood always imagined futures with Asian influences, but exclusively concealed these elements into the background, production design, costume, etc. I believe by introducing eastern characters within a western genre, we can find a middle ground and tap into unexplored narrative stories and themes.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm continuing my mission to connect the East and West through unique perspectives revolving around the sci-fi genre. Everyone else have been working non-stop, so I can't keep up with them!
Interview: March 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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
Last Sunrise
A future reliant on solar energy falls into chaos after the sun disappears, forcing a reclusive astronomer and his bubbly neighbor out of the city in search of light in the perpetual darkness.
Length: 1:44:19
Director: Wen Ren
Producer: Li Xinran
Writer: Wen Ren, Kirt Mei, Yu Min, Elly Li
About the writer, director and producer:
WEN REN is an Asian American director and writer. He started making films at 13, and graduated from LAFS in 2009. REN has worked on 50+ narrative films, MVs and commercials. His short film CAFÉ GLASS premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2015, and his first feature LAST SUNRISE won the coveted Best Film award at Fantasporto in 2019. REN is repped by CAA.
LI XINRAN is the Vice President of Lian Ray Pictures, a company that is involved with three of the top 10 highest-grossing Chinese films. Her credits include LOVE O2O (2016), THE CHILDREN OF HUANG SHI (2008), etc.
Key cast: Zhang Jue (Sun Yang), Zhang Yue (Chen Mu)
Looking for: distributors, film festival directors, journalists, buyers
Facebook: Last Sunrise
Other: IMDB
Funders: Youku Pictures, Lian Ray Pictures
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon - 3/15-17; Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival - 3/22-24; Phoenix Film Festival - 4/4-13; WorldFest Houston - 4/5-14; Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival - 3/22-24; CAAMFest: Competing in “Best Narrative Film” - 5/9-23