Provinziale Filmfest Eberswalde / Croatia Student International Film Festival 2019 – New Year's Eve
On Chinese New Year’s Eve, a 19-year-old boy tries to reconnect with his mother after going to kung fu school against her will.
Interview with Producer Mil Alcain and Director Yuhaojie Zheng
Watch New Year's Eve here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
MA: Thank you! Personally, I made the decision to change careers and follow this film dream later in life than most people do. My family and friends were supportive but I could tell that they questioned my sanity and were worried for me, which is why I could totally understand how our main character feels. The film is about dealing with the consequences of taking the road less traveled. As much as we’d like for our decisions not to greatly impact those we love, they do and it’s important to realize that and to make those decisions while being able to live with the consequences.
YZ: I was born in a rural village in the Gobi Desert of China where everyone believes that only fields such as business and engineering can bring a bright future. Luckily I moved out of the area with my parents when I was a child. Last summer, I went back to my hometown and had a talk with my cousin who I haven’t met for years. All I could remember about him was that he had an artist dream for years. That’s why I was surprised to hear from him that he’s about to give up his dream to study in a popular major that can later guarantee him a job. “Why not go to an art school?” I asked. My cousin stared blankly ahead, responded half-jokingly, “Why bother to think about something that will never become true.” Looking at him, I couldn’t help but asked myself, if I stayed here when I was a child, would I be like him? That’s why I decided to tell a story about what someone like my cousin may experience. I wonder if following my dream is in the cost of disappointing my family, will I still have the courage to continue chasing after it?
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
MA: It’s an honest look at family dynamics where no one is vilified. It will make you smile. It will make you sad. It will make you cringe. It will make you laugh. All in a span of 21 minutes.
YZ: Because the story not only gives most of the US audience a glance at a completely foreign world, a family in the rural Gobi Desert, but also touches you with nuanced performances, reserved yet authentic emotions and a universal theme: we all want to get validation from our closest family.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
MA: The beauty of film and television is that filmmakers create something that draws on themes personal to them and once shared with the world realize that those themes are personal to so many people too. It’s amazing and beautiful. I’m from a busy city in the Philippines and I’ve gone through a similar experience as this boy from a rural village in China. I think that the personal is ultimately universal because though the circumstances may be different, the feelings are the same.
YZ: Coming to the US by myself when I was 15 and spending the past 10 years trying to pursue my “unusual” dream in directing, I’ve found me always trying to prove myself to my family. But as I was making the film with my team, I quickly realized that I’m not the only one. We all want our mother or father to pat on our shoulder and tell us they are proud of us.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
MA: The script changed a lot. Initially, we were going to tell his story from the beginning with him battling whether to go or not but by the time we got to production, we ended up with him having already made the decision. We also had a clear-cut ending prior to the edit. I think everyone’s happy with all the changes.
YZ: The script and film changed a lot in both development and postproduction. We tested many different options and I think we’ve found the best one.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
MA: We’re so happy that people of different cultures, ages and genders have given us really positive feedback. It makes me especially happy that we’ve made something universal.
YZ: While we’ve received messages from all over the world telling us how this film has touched them, it was especially special to me when I showed it to my mother, who was moved into tears when she watched it.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
MA: We really want as many people to know about the film, see it and love it.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
MA: Distributors and buyers, film festival directors, journalists.
YZ: We know we are not telling just our own story, this is a story that belongs to many people from different parts of the world and that’s why we want it to be more visible.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
MA: We’re all dreamers and hopefully, someone who has a dream and feels alone because of it realizes that they aren’t.
YZ: It is our hope that to tell everyone who watches our film: it’s not always easy, but please be yourself and fight for your dream.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
MA: When is it the right time to follow your dream?
YZ: How important it is for you to make your family proud?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
MA: Our editor has just finished his first feature. Our production designer is coming from being on the art team on the last season of Jane the Virgin and is on to her next show. Our writer has been signed by a top agency. Our cinematographer has been shooting commercials and music videos as well as narrative films. He finished shooting a short film for the AFI Directing Workshop for Women program. Our director, who's coming off of his win in the Student Academy Awards, is developing features both in the US and China.
YZ: I was just selected to participate in the Directing Lab or First International Film Festival (“Sundance in China”). I’m currently developing two feature films, one in China and one in the US.
Interview: October 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
New Year's Eve
On Chinese New Year’s Eve, a 19-year-old boy tries to reconnect with his mother after going to kung fu school against her will.
Length: 21:31
Director: Yuhaojie Zheng
Producer: Mil Alcain
Writer: Vanessa Leqi Kong
About the writer, director and producer:
YUHAOJIE ZHENG earned his BFA in Film Production from Emerson College and his MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute. He has worked extensively as an actor in popular Chinese films and television series and has directed films with international recognition including Short Shorts Tokyo, Interfilm Berlin, AT&T Film Award, Student Oscar Finalist among others.
VANESSA LEQI KONG worked in Beijing Axios Translation Co. since 2012 as a film translator. Later she took on roles as general manager/ partner of the company, during which she had a close collaboration with high-profile clients such as China Central Television and Beijing Television as well as various Chinese production and distribution companies. Vanessa recently graduated from the Screenwriting program at American Film Institute Conservatory. During her two years at AFI, she wrote three narrative feature films: Willow and Wang, Newton in China, and Please Don’t End Up Like Me.
MIL ALCAIN worked in the finance industry for six years before attending the American Film Institute Conservatory where she got her Masters degree in producing. Her credits include the short films New Year’s Eve and When the Music Stops Playing, which have played in the Sardinia International Film Festival, Pentedattilo Film Festival, Provinziale Filmfest and Soho International Film Festival, among others. She has also worked as unit production manager and production coordinator on short films that have played in South By Southwest, Outfest, Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Asian American International film festival, among others.
Key cast: Qi Sun (XIAOYU), Grace Chang (JUAN), Leann Lei (YANLING), Jizhong Zhang (DAYONG), Zita Bai (QINGMEI), Shuang Cheng Sun (FENG), Huanzhang Zhang (YANG)
Looking for: distributors, film festival directors, journalists, buyers
Facebook: New Year's Eve
Hashtags used: #newyearseveafi
Website: www.zhengfilm.com/newyearseve
Other: IMDb
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Polish International Film Festival/Warsaw, Poland - October 2019; Lublin Film Festival/Lublin, Poland - November 2019; Chinese American Film Festival/Los Angeles, CA - November 2019