One of Hong Kong’s most talented and esteemed cinematographers (Christoper Doyle) paired up with his trusted producer (Jenny Suen), as a team they wrote and directed The White Girl, one of the finer films to have come out of Hong Kong in years. Hong Kong isn’t really overflowing with female indie directors, so I couldn’t pass on the chance to ask director Jenny Suen some questions about her first feature film directly. If you’re still on the fence about watching The White Girl, do read on and let yourself be convinced.
Niels Matthijs: The White Girl is a film that works on multiple levels. There’s the plot and the characters on the one hand, the Hong Kong allegory on the other. Was it conceived that way from the start, or did it grow into that during production? Also, are both layers equally important to you, or was one written in function of the other?
Jenny Suen: To an audience a film is only what they see on the screen. To a filmmaker a film is a life. The choices are a reflection of how we live: location, language, budget… and most importantly, the people you choose to share that with. I started to work on it back in 2013 after I moved back to Hong Kong. So the film is a result of me trying to understand this place and what this “home” means to me after years of living abroad. Hong Kong is disappearing. Our way of life is under threat. What is the point of giving a story as grand of a stage as a silver screen if we don’t have the courage to tell the grandest story of our times?
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To read the full interview, please visit https://www.onderhond.com/blog/white-girl-interview-jenny-suen
Hong Kong Women Filmmakers 