for the Asian Newcomer category of the Golden Goblet Award at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, completed its premiere at Shanghai Cinema SHO on the evening of June 16. The film is directed by Zeng Zhi, written by Zhou Xing, and stars Yingze, Kong Xiangyu, Laiman and Liu Jingyu.
"This Friday's Playground" poster
The movie tells the story of Song Qian, a nurse played by Yingze, who has been living a routine life for many years as she faces her husband's departure without saying goodbye, her daughter Yuanyuan's upcoming surgery, and her mother Lao Zhang's fading memory. No longer so calm... Middle-aged women survive in the cracks, and the tight strings seem to be on the verge of collapse at any time, and the tenacity deep in the women's hearts brings the characters back to the path of continuing life again and again. superior.
In 2019, director Zeng Zhi was hospitalized due to a fractured collarbone. During the week of waiting for the surgery, Zeng was unable to sleep because of the pain, so observing the people around him became Zeng Zhi's "antidote" to pass the time. During that time in the hospital, he made many unexpected discoveries. For example, women, whether they are medical staff or patients' family members, are always the busier ones in the hospital. As a result, a story about a female nurse slowly brewed and grew in director Zeng Zhi's mind.
This is director Zeng Zhi's first feature film. While nominated for the best film in Asia and New Zealand this year, he also received a nomination for best director. As a person born in the 1970s, Zeng Zhi calls himself a "newcomer". With many years of experience in advertising creative work, his impressive resume as art director and creative director of top advertising companies in the industry is full of gold, and he can be called a "top player." But when he was in his forties, he still decided to switch careers from advertising to pursue his youthful movie dream.
It is worth mentioning that "This Friday's Amusement Park" is also a project from the Shanghai International Film Festival venture capital platform. Last year at the presentation site of the wip unit, Zeng Zhi became the focus for a time. The first 15 minutes of the show were shown to the judges. The judges suggested that he should "bury more plot points" at the beginning of the film to make the film "more marketable," but Zeng Zhi insisted, "If some viewers are dissuaded by the pace of the film in the early stages, I will not regret it. They can watch it." That’s my loyal audience.” This stubbornness of "not listening to advice" includes the director's own persistence and choices. Compared with when he was young, Zeng Zhi now knows what he wants more firmly. During the
Film Festival, director Zeng Zhi accepted an exclusive interview with reporters from The Paper and talked about the pursuit of film dreams by an "old and new director" and the life experiences that his life experience has brought to him.
Director Zeng Zhi
[Dialogue]
Get closer to see real life
The Paper: What was the original intention and source of inspiration for this movie?
Zeng Zhi: In 2019, I was admitted to the hospital due to a fractured clavicle. While waiting for the operation, the pain from the fracture kept me awake all night. It was during this time of sitting and waiting for dawn that I began to observe those on the third shift. Medical staff collapsed. Later, during my contact with them, I found that they had many stories to tell. Later, after communicating with several medical staff, I further felt that there were areas of special concern among women. So, I wrote a story about a female nurse.
The Paper: How did design such a three-generation female family? How representative do you think they are?
Stills from "This Friday's Playground"
Zeng Zhi: In the creation of , I think the three generations are a good comparative perspective to tell the role and plight of women in society.
Grandma's generation is relatively traditional and conservative, and she attaches great importance to the concept of family. The existence of men is an "obsession" for her, so her father ran away from home and was paralyzed in bed for 10 years after his return. Her mother still persisted. They believe that "where men are, this home is here." I found that in traditional concepts, there is a lot of this kind of understanding, which believes that the "integrity" of the family is more important, and this also affects the generation like the protagonist.
When Song Qian faced her husband's departure, her first reaction was to get him back. Of course, when she faces choices and opportunities, it also becomes pressure, but in the end, she can accept that even without this man, this is home.On the contrary, little girls will be more willing to take the initiative to solve problems and take the initiative to occupy the position they want to occupy in this kind of social relationship.
Of course, these are just some typical manifestations that I have observed in my own experience. They are combined into such a family. I will not judge what is good and what is bad. Everyone has his own present nature. You need to take your own coping measures and adaptation methods according to the environment and situation you are in.
The Paper: There is a line in the movie that says "You can't look close to people", but I noticed that the shots in this movie are almost all close-ups, very close to the characters. What is the reason for this choice of language?
Zeng Zhi: First of all, I have always wanted to explore the issue of human subjectivity in my creations. That is, everyone has a strong subjectivity in contacting and viewing things.
The people and things we perceive in life are all fragmented and independent, and the intersections between people are dots or just overlaps. People often talk to each other and look at things and problems from their own perspective. Just like two people with different languages could never build the Tower of Babel.
Secondly, I think that in this movie, the lens language must serve the narrative. The heroine herself is highly myopic, so what she is used to seeing or perceiving is obtained from a very close posture. The daughter has a very close relationship with her mother. We all had that feeling when we were young, that is, we always looked very close to our mothers. So I emphasized this feeling.
As for that line, my subtext is actually that it only becomes real if you look closer. It’s just whether you want this kind of reality or not.
The Paper: Almost all male characters in films are absent. How was this considered?
Zeng Zhi: This is my native problem. In my childhood, male roles were basically missing. From my observation, in reality, for many women, the men around them are also missing in their lives. This is a situation they often face.
The Paper: How does a male director examine such a female family and enter the heart of a woman?
Zeng Zhi: Because I grew up in an environment surrounded by women. My mother, my sister, and even my relatives are mostly women. Of course, I am following In the process of getting along with them, they will feel more about their feelings.
But I think whether it is a male director or a female director, we must have the creative ability that a mature director should have, that is, we must be able to transform ourselves into the themes we want to express and the people we pay attention to. Whether it's women or children, or some specific group of people. Especially creators like me who already have certain social and work experience. Of course, every creator has his or her own preferences.
Stills from "This Friday's Playground"
The Paper: In the movie, what kind of observation did Song Qian, a character with extreme forbearance, come from?
Zeng Zhi: There are many people around me who are so forbearing to the extreme. This character comes from a number of women I have observed acting like this.
In life, they all have their own philosophy of survival and their own set of coping mechanisms for this society. They can handle various situations and daily chores well. Daily and tedious things can be solved one by one every day. But compared with men, they seem to be flipping through a thick book in their hearts. Life is just turning over page by page. But suddenly one day, all the pages that have been turned over are suddenly turned back, and everything will come together. The ground hit his hand. But they will not mess up their lives. They will always continue their lives after a breakdown.
The Paper: In addition to the many negative emotions that individuals themselves have to face in their hearts, the situation at this life stage of "there are old people at the top and young at the bottom", and the relationship with the people around you, come from your own feelings about this life stage?
Zeng Zhi: This is actually the state that everyone who bids farewell to youth and enters middle age must face.My observation? I think every middle-aged person is at the end of his tether. The state of middle-aged people is that they will be held back by various things in reality. I was entangled in a criss-crossing web and couldn't move. But everything depends on human effort, and people can always live their own way.
"This Friday's Playground" Yaxin Premiere Meeting
The transformation path of "old and new directors"
The Paper News: You are already a successful director in the advertising field, why did you switch to the film industry?
Zeng Zhi: I am not a director in the advertising field, I am just an advertising person. I used to be a creative in an international advertising company, and then I worked in the field of advertising production for a long time. I accumulated a lot of experience by watching various directors shoot. .
In addition, I feel that I am not a managerial person after all. I am still a creative person and love to write stories and ideas. I have a high passion for creation and a strong desire for expression. Movies are the outlet and way I think I can best express and share with everyone.
The Paper: As an "elderly newcomer", will be anxious about his status or will he be more confident?
Zeng Zhi: I think should be more mature. It is not considered anxiety. It should have an element of anxiety, similar to a sense of urgency of "I'm late". I wouldn't interpret it as anxiety, but more of excitement, which means I will be nervous and excited at the same time. , because after all, as an old and new director, there are too many things to learn and grow. You have to learn and grow quickly to make the story you want to express more satisfying. Since I have so many stories I want to tell, and when I see the opportunity to share them with more people, I am very excited and determined to keep filming.
Stills from "This Friday's Playground"
The Paper: The movie was filmed during the epidemic. As a relatively experienced newcomer, what adjustments did you make to adapt to the changing circumstances?
Zeng Zhi: The entire movie was shot between June and August 2022. We have been adjusting the shooting cycle in accordance with the epidemic prevention and control policies. Including that the crew has been insisting on conducting nucleic acid tests every day and reporting the number of people filming, location, and protection status to the competent authorities. During this period, in order to adapt to the actual situation, the announcement for the next day had to be adjusted every day. During the most serious period, 26 of our 32 scenes were in the closed area. Our coordinators were extremely busy and were adjusting the next shooting almost at any time. The plan includes suspending filming and keeping everyone in the hotel room until the announcement is released. Anyway, at that time, either people were blocked or scenes were blocked, and it was very depressing.
Therefore, the shooting time and budget were greatly exceeded. My producer almost issued a "critical illness notice" for the film with me twice. I once said a famous saying on the set: I can't solve anything that can be solved with money. Of course, money has to be spent in the end. Discuss borrowing money from your own production company with your partners.
The Paper: How did the venture capital platform of last year’s Shanghai International Film Festival help a new director start and grow?
Zeng Zhi: At that time, the first cut of the film had just been completed, and the post-production was in progress. The sound and color grading had just begun. The Shanghai Film Festival’s venture capital investment may be the most direct in facing market feedback in China. This allows us to get direct guidance and advice from industry veterans as soon as possible. At the same time, you will have a clearer idea for the subsequent editing adjustments and post-production. And this platform is the first platform to be restored after the epidemic shutdown. The first short film I made in 2019 was shortlisted for several film festivals. Then the epidemic hit, and my creative rhythm was disrupted. Therefore, the venture capital investment of the Shanghai International Film Festival was a good opportunity to get back in touch with the film industry, and this film also came into contact with an olive branch with the intention of distribution at that time, which was of great help to me.
The Paper: What impact did the suggestions from the reviewers at that time have on you? Have you thought about issues like balancing self-expression and market acceptance before they ask these questions?
Zeng Zhi: reminded me how we should present our movies in the first 15 minutes and how to catch the eyes of the audience you want to catch at the beginning of the film. This is a real problem. Maybe it’s because I’m an “old and new director” and my ability to “resist” is quite strong, so for such comments, I can understand that as someone with experience, they definitely hope that I can complete the so-called transition from independent film to industrialization as soon as possible. movie, or a shift in genre.
This kind of balance was actually deeply thought about in the early stages of creation. Especially since I come from an advertising creative background. I am fully trained in marketing and communications. It’s just that I initially decided to focus on the pursuit of authorial expression and artistic practice in the early days of my entry into the film industry. Regarding genre and business considerations, I think it is a more complex and demanding team work, which requires me to accumulate more and higher industrial production capabilities to control it. Take it easy. I think we can find a perfect balance between artistic expression and market recognition, but currently, with my ability, I can only work hard to do one of them first.
The Paper: How has your past experience of studying art, making music, shooting commercials, and shooting short films influenced you in shaping who you are today?
Zeng Zhi: is not only specific art forms such as art, music, and advertising, but also because of my experience in every period of life and work as a mature middle-aged person, including my feelings and experiences from childhood to adulthood. These will shape my current state. I understand myself better and know which parts to express. Everyone is a unique person. Be grateful for your life.
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