Chiu Sin Hang graduated from the Directing Department of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Chiu is a well-known YouTuber, musician of the band ToNick, actor and director. In 2017 he co-directed with Pak-Wing Yan the successful “Vampire Cleanup Department”. “One Second Champion” is his solo debut.
On the occasion of his “One Second Champion” being streamed for the Asian Pop-Up Cinema, we talked with him about the training process for the film, the “Vampire Cleanup Department” legacy, being on both sides of the camera and more.
“Ready O/R Knot” is Screening as Part of Asian Pop-up Cinema Season 12
First of all, I want to say that I really enjoyed “One Second Champion”. For me it had a nostalgic feeling of the Hong Kong movies from the 80's and 90's. Did you approach the project wanting to give that specific flavour to your film?
Since Tin Yan is raised in the 80s, we had to create an atmosphere that could remind our Hong Kong audience of life in the 80s.
Can you tell us how the story and the idea of the “one-second superpower” materialized?
After finishing my directorial debut “Vampire Cleanup Department”, I realised that each second is very important, each decision we make will also affect our future; I discussed with our scriptwriter about this issue and found that it is actually a long existing philosophical question, when one second become that influential to our future. I started thinking that what if a person has a power of foreseeing one second ahead? Would it be a curse or a gift for him/her? And that's the initial idea of the story of “One Second Champion”.
Little boy Hung Cheuk-lok was a joy to watch. Can you tell us about the casting and how was your experience directing him?
We found Cheuk Lok through casting, he is a very cute kid, but at the same time he has agrownup soul inside, which is very close to the role of Chi Leung. I kept asking him how he would feel if he got a father like Tin Yan, and based on what he told me, we kept amending the script to get close to the character. He is very popular among the crew members, I am glad to have him on our film.
Can you talk about the athletic preparation for the film? Were you and Endy Chow Kwok-yin familiar with boxing? The footage of your training during the rolling end credits is a really nice touch. It looks like you had lots of fun.
The training process was very harsh and tough. At the very beginning of developing the script, I went to learn boxing for research purpose, and then Endy joined me for daily boxing training. Two months before the shooting started, all of the actors, including Justin, Chanon, Yat Ho, joined our training for 6-8 hours every day. As the boxing trainer said, it's actually a very intensive training for real boxers. We held on and trained together to support each other. The process was very harsh, but it was also very memorable indeed.
Min Chen Lin is an ex “Vampire Cleanup Department” member and I also spotted few cameos connected to that film, including co-director Pak-Wing Yan. Is Vampire a strong legacy for you? What did that film mean to you and your professional career?
I co-directed “Vampire Cleanup Department” with Anthony Yan, and we had been developing the story for a very long period of time; it was kinda like a dream come true, we finally could have our directorial debut. When we were participating in one of the film festivals in Europe, we promised each other that we had to create our own directorial work afterwards, and for me “Vampire Cleanup Department” is a very special and memorable work for my lifetime, that's why I found myself “automatically” adding elements or small details of “Vampire Cleanup Department” on my new film.
In “Vampire Cleanup Department” you also had the double role of director and actor but in “One Second Champion” you play a major character with lots of screen time and you were alone on the director chair this time. How did it feel being on both sides of the camera in this case? Was it the original plan or a late decision?
I really enjoy acting. As well as doing some directing jobs of music videos and short films, I also appear as an actor sometimes. I find it very enjoyable, and it's actually related to my role as a director as well, I hope I could do much better in both roles. Regarding why I would also join the film as an actor, during the process of developing the story, I found myself quite alike the character of “Yip Chi Shun”, and then I decided to play the role.
Musician, actor, writer, director. What is the role you feel most comfortable in?
I do enjoy each of these roles, they are all about creativity and I can keep learning from all these aspects. Hopefully, I can do much better and bring more great work to the audience.
