IM · Interview | Wu Qi: Can't devote all the pressure to the creator

IM: In college, you have heard a documentary course Professor Wu Qi. Teacher Wu Qi said that you are one of the few students in the classroom. Did you have a great interest in the documentary before?

Wu Qi: When we were in my freshman year, we had a documentary course, but at that time, I didn't know what professional documentaries were, but I had a simple interest in the documentary. Of course, there is another important reason for choosing a course. Teacher Wu Qi has been filming a documentary. His way of telling is very fresh, and I am attracted to the course and teacher.

IM: I found that the documentary can actually be written freely like the author's pen. Some of the film and television works that have received attention in recent years are also based on realistic stories.

Wu Qi: Everyone's concern and writing records and writing of the real society itself. In this sense, I don't think they are so fresh and trendy in this sense, or this trend is in a great sense. Created. Because the underlying logic is that we still need to look for stories from our surroundings, we have to pay attention to what changes in society, and what kind of practical elements we are — some of these very basic issues like this are the entire literary creation. Whether it is good, film and television creation, a very basic logic shared by the entire cultural community. I understand the relationship between these different creative themes from this perspective.

(Ten years ago at Peking University, in a class called "Special Films and Documentary Production", documentary director Wu Qi named the later editor Wu Qi as a representative of this course. For the first time, Qi tried to sort out the context and framework of the art door category of documentaries, and tested his shooting practice through teaching. It was also the first time student Wu Qi systematically understood the documentary and began to develop his own image concept. For "Wu Qi", interested readers can listen to the first program of the editor -in -chief Wu Qi's podcast show "Screws Tightened": "Vol.1 Wu Qi × Wu Qi: Is there still space for the documentary today")

I also think that in our context, we will return to the common foundation again. It is better than us to distinguish between different categories or separate analysis. The similarities and similarities between them are more meaningful, and I am more interested in their original common foundation.

IM: There are some more interesting examples, such as Southwest United University. In 2021, there was a non -fictional work, which was Yang Xiao's "Reunion: Looking for Southwest Union on Highway, River and Post Road"; and a record movie, "After the 1990s" directed by Xu Bei. Both are around the theme of the Southwest Union, but one is through text and the other is via images. What do you think of these two forms?

Wu Qi: The first thing to say is that the reason why "After the 1990s" can win some social impacts at a certain level through documentary and non -fiction. Great history. At the same time, she was also helped by resources in the industry. The same is true for Yang Xiao. After leaving the media industry, he did not give up. He spent a long time walking from Changsha to Kunming.

What I think is that if the creators in each field can work normally and get the support given by the industry itself, we can discuss whether a work has a suitable social discussion space. For example, we often recommend movies on Weibo. As a result, many people say that we can't see this movie in this place, there are no paddles, and there are no independent imaging institutions to play such movies. This appeal is actually the air tower. normal phenomenon.

Stills of "Post -1990s" work

As for the advantages and disadvantages, Director Xu Bei used some animated elements to restore some historical scenes in the image. In addition, she also made some advanced sound effects. After watching the documentary, everyone can get very sufficient emotional energy. Yang Xiao wrote this history through words. In contrast, he placed personal emotions or even more subtle places, giving readers a longer reading experience. In this way, readers need to spend more energy to enter the text and establish imagination about history, rather than telling you the results directly like images.

IM: There are many intersections in our "circle of friends". For example, the recently released "Hidden Dust Smoke", I think this film is great, it is a plot, but the director actually spent the year and four seasons to shoot people all year round to shoot people. The relationship with the land.

Wu Qi: We have a lot of discussions around "Hidden Dust and Smoke", but at the social level, both the box office or the degree of discussion is very limited. In the past, from this perspective, I would feel a little sad, good works, but never responded. But now my feelings are that, first of all, we must let the professional in the professional be assured to do their affairs, so that we can discuss the so -called social influence.

Stills of "Hidden Dust and Smoke"

I did the preliminary trial at the IM Youth Film Festival on Cross -Strait Cross -Strait in 2021. After seeing a lot of student works, I had a clear feeling. We have a lot of very powerful creators, but they lack a normal creative soil. Their works have no way to meet with the audience even very limited, and can only be discussed within a particularly narrow range. This is a very big problem today. You find that the environment does not encourage non -fiction writing. As a platform that wants to publish non -fiction, you will suffer to find good authors, because this industry is constantly losing people, but at the same time, you find that literature seems to be on the side of literature. It is still very prosperous. Writing short stories and writing poetry. Many people are writing in front of them. They seem to be writing regardless of costs. This was a basic feeling for the entire industry at that time. So at that time, if "Single Reading" wanted to continue to develop, and to find new authors, I might have to come from the side of literature, so many literary colors were added in the middle, whether it is poetry, novels, literature reviews, or even some arts Photography and so on. But this kind of work has been recently, especially the epidemic has been a very big reminder and reminder in recent years. In a sense, we must "disorderly chaos anyway". Encouraged and carried forward. At the same time, we also want to find and support creators like Yang Xiao, such as the "Poverty texture" written by Wang Yan recently. Although she lives in the UK, she uses a non -fictional way to go Write the observation of local and society, we hope to discover as much as possible in this field as much as possible, and to continue to publish their works, or publish their books, form a more effective industry in the industry normal Support, so from the perspective of "Single Reading", we hope that at least from the end of writing to reintegrate the weight and proportion of non -fictional creations in the entire "Single Reading" system, this is a new change in recent years.

In comparison, literature may be a more natural option. It takes more energy to spend on this end, but now I think that this part of work will appear more important and urgent.

IM: We are also this view. For example, a non -fictional work or a record movie attracted attention. It must be that this matter has developed to a high degree of concern. For example, the audience thinks that the documentary is true and cannot mix a little director's intention. How do you face such doubts about non -fiction?

Wu Qi: This problem is actually a relatively classic dilemma. The nearest trend between the documentary and the plot is to learn from each other. The interventional shooting methods, even some relatively trendy processing methods such as video papers, bring personal subjective perspectives and emotional perspectives into the creation of documentaries.

I think it is very valuable to discuss such a discussion at the artistic level or in the professional field, because it is a phenomenon that it must happen when it is different. The door class is used to obtain scriptures and collisions, and even some reverse use. I think this is a sign that the art door category is moving forward. When a art door class starts to think about a new way to break through itself, break the framework and rules of the previous narrative, this shows that this category has not yet died. It is still growing. It is still growing. To find new expression space and narrative methods, there is a higher pursuit of art.

This is my first basic attitude towards this discussion. I will not push it to a documentary ethics. We can retain a certain room for discussion in the field of art. This may help different creators Especially the creators with cutting -edge, future, and ambitious, this part of the discussion is very meaningful. But at another level, such as the audience, or back to the ethical level, this discussion looks very luxurious.

Back to today's central thought, our expression of reality today is not rich, not yet developed, and advanced to that kind of great discussion of art. We have too many basic problems that have not been solved, and there are too many realistic subjects that have not entered our shots. There are still too many blind spots in our thinking direction. In this sense, it is not enough to talk about art. When we do work or have the opportunity to participate in some film and television work, I will refer to the comments in the back. First of all, we must realize that we are too scarce today, especially the attention of realistic themes, so when we encounter such subjects, we must cherish and pay attention to the expression of this part.

Do we see someone we should see? These issues, especially when we measure documentary creation and non -fictional creation and realistic themes, must be valued. For example, in the work of the youth film festival on both sides of the IM, on the one hand, I realize that we have many outstanding creators. They have been in front of art and cannot stop light. But at least from my personal perspective, I will pay special attention to those works that use clumsy and even primitive ways in the back, and want to grab the local reality tightly. I think they are the most solid soil, the foundation of the entire industry, and they are the most lacking support, the most lack of channels, and the most uninvited part at this moment. I think at least some people in our entire industry have observed this phenomenon and give some support. If you give me a dilemma now, one is a very successful work in art, and the other is a very solid work for Chinese reality. After several years of observation and reflection, I will choose the latter without hesitation. Essence I don't have any intention of degrading the former. Only by facing and answering this question can we evaluate all the creations about reality today. If we avoid the basic reality, we are not eligible to discuss any work about reality.

Stills "Born in Will and Smash"

IM: When you are a judge at the youth film festival on both sides of the IM, what impression of the documentary and sharing with you?

Wu Qi: I also wrote a short period of observation at that time. First of all, for their emotions or youth, the changes in these emotions and their own changes are important creative problems. The exploration of self is very cutting -edge, such as private images and desktop movies, they will quickly use such a very cutting -edge operation method to tell their stories about themselves. I think this is a particularly obvious phenomenon, very smooth and talented.

Another feature is that almost half of the works are very social and consciously pay attention to disadvantaged groups such as the elderly, the disabled, and women. The extent gap in execution is quite large. In the student stage, they want to touch the hard social problems. They have more enthusiasm and responsibility, but they lack professional support, lack smooth audiovisual language, lack more rigorous investigation methods, and lack a deeper understanding of the entire issue.

When I was watching the film at that time, I was in dilemma. One was that it was very smooth to express the changes in self -emotion; the other was to be unusually awkwardly doing the creation of social reality. I realize that the support that may be given today's teaching and industry systems is relatively limited. At this time, how to weigh these two creative methods is very difficult, but I was faintly inclined to the latter at the time. I give the kind of work that may be slightly rough, but it is also regrettable. With the next few rounds of reviews, the finalists are also very limited. A large number of such rough texture, wild temperament, or relatively sharp work. Finally, in the end Many have no chance to enter the vision of more people.

IM: I have an impression. For example, in the 2021 IM Cross -Strait Youth Film Festival, there is a good work "Park Hotel" about social issues. It is a children's hospital next to the park. The hotel, later found that the child had to treat the treatment for a long time. They set up a tent in this park and lived there. A microcosm of China in a children's hospital. A young Chinese student studying in the United States was inexplicably killed by an American hooligan. In order to pursue the truth, a lawyer came to a story about the girl's righteousness. That film also took the film of last year's student Oscar Oscar to tell that film. Can you start telling?

Wu Qi: I think that film, first of all, it has a relatively mature technical foundation. The understanding of the basic structure of the documentary, the director has studied audiovisual language in a special film school. Because social issues will be complicated, it involves different cases and different perspectives. You have to choose the director's position in this. This is a better example.

I can also understand why her work stands out in the end, because she has average performance in form and content. But the category I mentioned earlier may be the kind of work that is not average enough.

My own habits are not just watching those movies that have won or shortlisted in the end, especially when I have the opportunity to see a large number of works that have not been shortlisted as judges, I am for those standards that have not been selected or selected. More interested, want to learn more, because any choice is based on their standards, and I think this needs to be explained more.

Exquisite is not the only standard. If some films have a natural roughness, or even a deliberate provocation, I will be excited for this work. Maybe today, when movies become artistic ways, most people make movies through the previous way, but when we watch more things, you will find that they are not directly. Often because of the grammar's attachment, the technical requirements, the industry standards of the so -called dogma, or the framework and structure, have lost a lot of more important attention and unrestrained imagination of the problem itself. It is more valuable later.

"Park Hotel" stills "Unpreparted Life" still

IM: From your perspective, do you have some suggestions for young creators?

Wu Qi: I don't think I have any qualifications and the ability to mention it, so I still return to the front. I think there is actually a very good creator today. They may be studying or just graduated, or they have been rolling in the industry for a while, and even director of Director Jia Zhangke is already the top creators. We have had a good education and environment, and we also have a large number of international first -class creators. No matter what level, I don't think they need to hear any suggestions, or they have heard too much suggestion. Creation itself is to listen to your own suggestions to go further.

If there is a "suggestion", it is recommended that our audience, suggesting that any of the so -called saying rights in our industry should do what you should do, and we cannot devote all pressures to the creators. The creator can only complete one of them, and the rest is that the environment should match. In particular, today's environment is not worthy of today's creators, which is the biggest problem.

However, although we have been talking about the poor environment, after all, we have not had the work that everyone must stop, and there is still a little work in our hands to go forward, so we do this to be more beautiful. Do you want to say how difficult it is? In fact, it is also very simple, doing things in your hands.

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