Two Macao Polytechnic University (MPU) students, Lao Io Kun and Pun Ka Kit who filmed “Imprisoned”, talked to The Macau Post Daily about the film-production process – and the reason they chose drug abuse as the theme.
“Imprisoned” was entered into the “On The Road’ Macao Youth Film Festival” on September 9 and was shortlisted after competing with over 20 entries from young locals.
The film festival was held at Cinematheque • Passion located on Travessa da Paixão (“Passion Lane”) near the Ruins of St Paul’s and supported by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC).
Inspiration for the film
Lao, the director, editor and scriptwriter, said that their film was produced as the final year project for their degree, but when the other teams were already submitting the final editions of their productions, they were still frustrated over the selection of their film’s theme. “I had already scrapped several script ideas and finally, with the help of our teacher Hugo, we settled on drug abuse.
“The theme was inspired by the experience of one of my family members, who had acquired a ‘bad habit’ in the past. After [my family member] beat the addiction, he [or she] became a social worker who helped other addicts in return for over a decade,” Lao said. However, he was upset by the fact that nobody appreciated the hardship his family member had experienced and his or her willpower and dedication.
“People just labelled him [or her] as a bad junkie, that’s it. I think people ought to be more empathetic to the reason someone takes drugs in the first place”, Lao said, and thus he chose to present the dangerous side of drug addiction in his film “Imprisoned”.
Drug, the ‘devil’
When asked whether “Imprisoned” would be suitable as an anti-drug message, Pun, the film’s cinematographer and post-production person, said that it would not be appropriate, because the drug taking scenes were too real and it could even serve as an instruction on how to take drugs. “The drug-taking paraphernalia we used in the film were ‘professionally certified’ by ex-addicts, you would be shocked that something as simple as a water bottle could be turned into something to use to take drugs,” Lao said, adding that sometimes convenience makes the risk of getting involved in drugs that much higher.
“We also put a lot of effort into creating a forlorn and despair environment that fitted the reality. Meanwhile, we also had some fictional sides. For example, we use Hak Bak Mo Seong (“Black and White Impermanence”), a Daoist deity which escorts the dead to another realm, to symbolise drug usage. Every time the protagonist takes drugs, Hak Bak Mo Seong appears as well – ready to ‘take him to the other world’ at any time,” said Lao.
During a scene, the protagonist was shown to be in a persistent vegetative state, lying in bed in a hospital. “But in the perspective of the protagonist, the hospital is like a mourning ceremony and he was alive in a casket – he still had consciousness, and desperately wanted to respond to those who mourned for him: more painful than death itself,” Lao said.
Filming process and beyond
The most memorable scene for Pun was to film the protagonist levitating after he took the drug. “This shot is very tricky. We needed a machine to lift him up, with the camera following him. To be honest, it took a lot of experimentation to make one while ensuring the safety of the actors, fortunately it worked in the end” Pun said.
Lao also recalled the scene and added that it is also one of his most memorable. “During a filming session, the machine suddenly fell and everyone just rushed and held it up together. At that moment, I was so grateful for having such wonderful people working with me,” Lao said.
Pun and Lao, who talked to The Macau Post Daily at Cinematheque • Passion on September 9, noted that they created their own filming company two years ago, but both stressed that they’re still in the learning process. “The experience of making ‘Imprisoned’ was unparalleled; but this is only the first step, we wanted to improve and contribute to the local film industry in the future,” Lao said.
These undated photos provided by Lao Io Kun show the filming of scenes of “Imprisoned”.
Director and scriptwriter Lao Io Kun (centre) and cinematographer Pun Ka Kit (left) pose with their award earlier this month at Cinematheque•Passion. – Photo: William Chan
