The Gate

In the middle of the barren Utah desert is the Dugway Proving Grounds, a top-secret military testing facility. Bound to this place are the lives of a soldier, a military chaplain, a father searching for his missing son, and a survivor of the atomic bomb. Their fates and fortunes reveal a country scarred by war.

A Provincial Hospital

Dr. Popov and his team are pushed to their limits as their sleepy Bulgarian provincial town of Kyustendil is hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. In an endless stream, family members, neighbors and classmates find themselves side by side in respiratory unit beds, or standing at the bedsides. When patients are discharged, transferred to intensive care, or die, a new patient immediately takes their place.

The humane and resolute nurses and doctors manage to keep their spirits up with black humor, because death is a constant presence in this medical microcosm and it’s impossible to add up the overtime. In cinema verité style, the filmmakers follow the medical staff through corridors echoing with both moans and laughter.

Ilian Metev—who previously examined the Bulgarian healthcare system in Sofia’s Last Ambulance (2012)—and his co-directors Ivan Chertov and Zlatina Teneva carefully steer clear of sensationalism. Provincial Hospital, awarded at the Karlovy Vary film festival, focuses on the medical staff and their experiences of the crisis.

Eat Your Catfish

Cheongsam: Lost & Found

Directed by Adrian Lo

Cinematography by Man Ho; Edited by Adrian Lo; Music & Sound by Adrian Lo

Produced by Hong Kong Arts Centre

Released in August 2017 ; 29 minutes 58 seconds

Full HD; Cantonese with English & Chinese subtitles

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Qipao, literally "Manchu robe", is generally referred to as cheongsam in Hong Kong, meaning long dress. Cheongsam was once everyday fashion for Hong Kong women, whether they were celebrities, housewives or working women. As large numbers of tailors from Shanghai resettled in Hong Kong in the late 1940s, the cheongsam also grew in popularity throughout the 1950s and 1960s. To this day, cheongsam is still a popular choice of formal attire and a source of inspiration for fashion designers, comics artists, cultural researchers and filmmakers alike.

Featuring: Lee Wai-Chun (Hong Kong comics artist), Kan Hon Wing (Owner of Mee Wah Fashion), Helius Yuen (Cheongsam collector), Anita Tsang (Founder of Cheongsam Connect), Donna Wong (Founder of Cheongsam Connect), Cammie Chan (Member of Cheongsam Connect), Janko Lam (Founder of Classics Anew), Elphonso Lam (Hong Kong comics artist), Ranee Kok (Founder of Ranee K)

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Full Version

Watch the full film here:

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Stills

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Original soundtrack

Listen to Cheongsam: Lost & Found (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on Spotify. Adrian Lo · Album · 2019 · 8 songs.

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Bonus Material

We’d just finished interviewing Theresa Lee at the Hong Kong Arts Centre and she followed us to Sheung Wan to see our next interview with Mr. Kan at his store. In the end, I thought perhaps she also had questions for Mr. Kan, probably more insightful ones even, and what followed was this delightful exchange. I guess she enjoyed the conversation because afterwards, she asked me to send it to her so that she could watch it again! Hence, for Theresa. What a legend. Rest in peace.

Prayer for Peace

Produced, directed & edited by Adrian Lo

Cinematography by Man Ho; music by Adrian Lo;

Short documentary; 14 minutes 57 seconds

Complete archive footage; 21 hours 9 minutes

completed April 2017; unreleased

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Once every 10 years,  these villagers from the outskirts of metropolitan Hong Kong gather for five days of traditional Taoist rituals called Prayer for Peace. Operas, martial arts, bonfire offerings - why do they insist on keeping these traditions?

Set in the rocky coastal village Shek O at the edge of densely populated Hong Kong island, this film is centred on its 19th decennial festival of "Prayer for Peace" (Cantonese: Tai Ping Ching Chiu) - a traditional Taoist ritual of peace and thanksgiving held over five days.

Not only is this film a vibrant and energetic celebration of the rich cultural heritage in Hong Kong, it is also a window into hearing the voices of these villagers who have a thing or two to teach the urban dwellers about how common identity and community spirit are fostered.

Heritage, in their own words, is not about preserving from the by-gone, it is about sharing a living legacy.

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Music

Creating the score for this was more about 'filling in the gaps' than about really leading with any melodic theme or motif. This is mainly because there's already so much to see and hear both in terms of all that colour in the picture and all those really diegetic sounds like fire crackers and drumming. So, I started pursuing down the route of expanding from all the original drumming sound we captured in Shek O and tried instead to explore a bit further with creating interesting textures with that drumming more than anything else. I was quite pleased with finding this piano-based tinkering texture in the end because I think it sat high in register and actually balanced quite well with the drumming 'heart-beat' so to speak. There's a certain feeling of flowing movement with these tracks and I think it also ties in quite well with one of the key essences of this film - which is the idea of continuity.

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Archive footage

Totalling over 21 hours, this was a lot of material and an insane amount of editing because this is everything that happened in the five-day festival, from Wednesday 4am to Sunday 6pm. It was incredible to work with such a dedicated DOP who had an equally dedicated team and who were all mad enough to run around all three villages non-stop and just kept shooting. I remember there were times during the editing process when I did wonder if the idea of actually making a complete record of the festival was maybe slightly pointless but I think, at least, I can take refuge in the fact that we did manage to make the best moving image record of a Tai Ping Ching Chiu festival in its entire history. It's a precious part of Hong Kong culture and I'm glad it's there for you to see it.

農曆⼗月初十日 （11月9日）星期三 Wednesday 11 November 2016

#1 發奏上三表 Commencement Ritual (26 mins)

#2 取⽔水淨壇 Water Well (31 mins)

#3 揚 幡 Setting the Masts (15 mins)

#4 醒獅迎神至醮壇 Welcome the Gods (1 hour)

#5 開幕典禮及醒獅開光儀式 Opening Ceremony (35 mins)

#6 迎神登壇 Altar (1 hour 50 mins)

農曆⼗月十一日 （11月10日）星期四 Thursday 12 November 2016

#7 早朝幡、禮懺 Rituals at Masts (1 hour 17 mins)

#8 天后古廟 Tin Hau Temple (8 mins)

#9 打武禁壇、分燈、晉燭 Martial Arts Rituals (1 hour 14 mins)

#10 頒贈紀念品 Awards Ceremony (40 mins)

農曆十⽉⼗二日 （11月11日）星期五 Friday 11 November 2016

#11 跑⽂書 Paper Horse (42 mins)

#12 啟人緣榜 The List of Names (2 hours 13 mins)

#13 迎聖、小市、祭小幽 Small Bonfire (1 hour 26 mins)

#14 太平清醮聖物競投 Auction (2 hours 5 mins)

農曆⼗月⼗三日 （11月12日）星期六 Saturday 12 November 2016

#15 行香、飄⾊、醒獅巡遊 Grand Parade (2 hours 37 mins)

#16 ⼤士出巡 Parade of the ‘Ghost King’ (45 mins)

#17 超幽散醮 Great Bonfire (1 hour 38 mins)

農曆⼗月⼗四日 （11⽉13日）星期⽇ Sunday 13 November 2016

#18 酬神、 化榜、行符 Final Offerings (1 hour 9 mins)

#19 醒獅送壇神回宮 Returning the Gods (38 mins)

總共片長 Duration: 21 hours 9 minutes

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A Portrait of Linva

directed by Tian Macleod Ji & Adrian Lo

cinematography by Tian Macleod Ji; original music by Adrian Lo

short documentary; 6 minutes 21 seconds

released on 3rd June 2016

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Opened in 1965, Linva has been in central Hong Kong for over half a century offering bespoke tailoring. The cheongsam's popularity has since waxed and waned, but Mr. and Mrs. Leung have persisted with their traditional handcraft in spite of cultural changes and urban gentrification. This short film is a continuation of our first offering A Portrait of Sun Wah Kee, in which essentially we consider the question: what of our urban fabric?

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A Way of Life

directed by Adrian Lo & Tian Macleod Ji

cinematography by Tian Macleod Ji; original music by Adrian Lo

produced by Waka Artisans

november 2015; short documentary; 9 minutes 21 seconds

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A Way of Life is winner 'Best Documentary' at the London Lift-Off Film Festival 2015 and will be shown at major cities across the world as part of the Global Lift-Off Network.

Kasama & Mashiko are two regions in Japan that produce some of the most unique and sought-after handmade pottery in the world. The potters who create these magnificent works spend decades refining their craft - throwing, moulding, glazing and firing - in the rural countryside.

A Way of Life is a short documentary about the skill and passion of eleven such potters, revealing not only their sources of inspiration and determination, but also discovering what exactly pottery means to them.

This project is composed of a collaborative effort between two filmmakers – Adrian Lo and Tian Macleod Ji, together with Waka Artisans – an independent gallery in Hong Kong specialising in Japanese pottery.

Although we were a small production team, we benefited immensely from drawing together a diverse wealth of technical skills, and were joined together by a deep-rooted yearning to understand the essence of this craft.

Throughout the production process, we were lucky enough to witness some true masters working in their element. We were also graced with the rare opportunity to hear from the potters themselves, about their inspiration and philosophy, and also how they manage to strive ahead despite the difficulties that life has thrown at them, such as the earthquake in 2011.

This film is not just about what pottery is and how it is made, but far more pertinently, it is a film that gets into the heart of what gives life to pottery. Indeed, pottery is special in that it can be understood as a craft, as an art of expression, or even as a philosophy, but what really defines it lies with an appreciation of the potter’s unwavering devotion to pottery as a way of life. 

Produced by WAKA ARTISANS

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Original Soundtrack

This was a fun one to do. I knew I wanted it to feature strings and I ended up recording myself playing the violin, also adding Japanese instruments like the koto and the shamisen. Unlike A Portrait of Sun Wah Kee, this time there was a greater emphasis on the natural ambience of the locations, for example the humming of the potter's wheel or the choir of cecadas in the forests. I learnt to play to the strengths of these beautiful natural sounds and tried to blend the music subtly to strengthen the narrative.

A Portrait of Sun Wah Kee

directed by Tian Macleod Ji & Adrian Lo

original music by Adrian Lo

may 2015; short documentary: 4 minutes 21 seconds

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This short film about a local restaurant in North Point, Hong Kong, won the First Prize International Diagloue of Cultures Award at 'Switch On Your Creativity', a short film competition held at the Milan Expo 2015.

This film explores ideas surrounding aspects of food and sustainable development in the context of urban Hong Kong and our beloved Cantonese cuisine. Whether we can feed ourselves sustainably depends not only on the future of sustainable farming, but it is also every bit about the sustainability of our urban space, our talent, and our culture.

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Original Soundtrack

A Portrait of Sun Wah Kee afforded me the opportunity to compose two ambient tracks capturing the tranquility of nightime North Point, Hong Kong: