Title
Dogme 95 Shanghai 19
Synopsis
Five vignettes portray characters struggling to resolve the conflict between Chinese and Western cultures in contemporary Shanghai. Filmed according to the Dogme 95 manifesto.
Writer’s Statement
Coming from a fiction background, I always loved how certain short story collections captured the feel and people of a city. Joyce’s Dubliners or Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, for example. I fell in love with Shanghai when I moved here five years ago, and I’ve always wanted to create a short film collection that captured the unique essence of the city. My filmmaking partner and I decided to focus our collection on Shanghai’s incredible blend of international cultures. Walk down any street in the city and you’ll hear French, English, Russian, Japanese, and over a dozen Chinese dialects. But this blend of cultures also causes conflict. How to woo a Chinese business partner? How to teach Western culture to a roomful of homogeneous Chinese students? How to tell jokes at a multicultural comedy club? These are just some of the challenges that make living in Shanghai a frustrating, yet exhilarating experience.
Between 2013 and 2016, my filmmaking partner and I created one short film per year. At the beginning of 2017, we sat down and tried to figure out how we could make more films in less time. We’d need to reduce our crew, we’d need to work with actors and locations already available, and we’d need to give ourselves limitations so the projects didn’t spiral out of control (like they have a habit doing). Already familiar with Dogme films such as The Idiots and Julien Donkey-Boy, we decided to shoot our collection according to the Dogme 95 manifesto. It was difficult being stripped of normal filmmaking tools such as lights, art direction, music, etc., but the limitations helped create a leaner, more natural aesthetic. The end result is a film collection we hope is more grounded, more intimate, and, ultimately, more authentic.
Filmmaker Bios
Nicholas Z. Scott, Writer, Producer
Nicholas Z. Scott teaches screenwriting at the Shanghai Vancouver Film School. He previously taught film, screenwriting, and television writing at the University of Michigan – Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute. His short films have won awards in local competitions such as the Shanghai 48 Hour Film Project and the Shanghai International Short Film Competition.
Jud Willmont, Director of Photography, Producer
Fluent in Mandarin with a strong working knowledge of Chinese culture, Jud Willmont has over 20 years of experience in the Chinese film industry. Initially working as a producer/director for international production companies, he later founded Willmountain Films to be the umbrella company for both his commercial and independent work. Willmont has produced and directed numerous TVCs, two feature-length documentaries, a 20-episode TV drama for CCTV, a variety show for Star TV, as well as numerous independent short films.
Technical Details
FILM CATEGORY: Narrative Fiction, Short
PRODUCTION LOCATION: China
FILMING LOCATION: China
MAIN DIALOGUE LANGUAGE: English, Mandarin Chinese
PICTURE FORMAT: Color
RUNTIME: 29:50
ASPECT RATION: 1.78 (16×9)
Cast and Credits
Starring
Arran Hawkins
in The Closer
Starring
Erin McGinley
in Teaching America
Starring
Victoria Gao
Grant Zhong
in Zuji
Starring
Gene-George
Trista Gorringe
Rui Miao
Will Potter
in After Hours
Starring
Yumi Chu
Phillipe Witana
in Staying
Produced by
Nicholas Z. Scott
Jud Willmont
Written By
Nicholas Z. Scott
Cinematography By
Jud Willmont
Associate Producer
Erin McGinley
Additional Cinematography By
Gianpaulo Lupori
Editing By
Nicholas Z. Scott
Dylan Skye
Jud Willmont
Sound Recording By
Michael Hough
Sound Design BY
Ronald Qiu
GUM Shanghai
Color by
Robin Liu
Lorna Yan
Boom Operator
Delmwin Baeka
Ray Kenderdine
Dylan Skye
Technical Advisor
Richard Kendall
Production Assistant
Venus Wu
Special Thanks to
ADM
Black + Cameron
Cages Bar and Sports
Co. Cheese Melt Bar
Early Data
GUM Shanghai
Shanghai Comedy Club
Thomas Faucheur
Benjamin Fox
Paul Gray
Greg Jurksztowicz
Glenn McCarthy
Peter Ye