Please introduce yourself .
My Chinese name is Lei Yan, English name is Oliver Yan
I come from Shanghai, China.
When did you start your career?
In the winter of 2007, I made my first short film R (7mins), which has dialogue.
Can you describe us the reasoning behind “The help”?
The concept of this short film is coming from the Shanghai local article that
reported the story of an old man who fell down the street, but no no one dared to help him.
I just felt confused. That ‘s the reason why I want to make this short film.
How long did the development of your film take?
I spent one day to write script, one month for pre-production,
Two days shooting, and one month for postproduction.
Can you describe what was most challenging about shooting your film?
Time. The schedule was very tight, I had to finish almost 40 – 50 shots per day.
According to your artistic point of view, who or what is the main inspiration for
representing the concept of your story? Why did you decide to make a
film out of this story?
I always think film is about thinking. If I could make a film to let people think our
present and past, that would have meant something.
How do you see the role of an independent artist nowadays?
It’s very important role.
We need different and independent voices to depict this world.
What’s next? Are there any other projects that youare currently working
at?
I am working on my second feature film “LOVE IS NOTHING”, I started this
project in 2006 . Right now I am looking for remain shooting fund.
Screening films online – what are your thoughts about that? What do you
think is the future of web and films?
It’s good for web and films combination, but I still like to watch movies in the
theatre.
And finally, what do you think about EuroIFC?
Fantastic! It’s a great platform for much more independent filmmaker all the
world to show their talented job here. And it’s my honour to be selected this year!!
Rememeber to check out Oliver Yan’s short film ”THE HELP” in our channel
