Director's Statement
The Inspiration
From growing up in England, like many in the UK I was long a believer that love is the most important thing in life. Upon traveling to live in Asia in 2000, first to Japan for several years and then to Hong Kong. the discovery that other societies approach love and life differently came as a major shock to me. How could something I considered so fundamental and universal, in actuality appear to be greatly influenced by a society's history and culture? In a search for answers, I began a period of self-reflection in an attempt to make a conscious effort to re-examine my many beliefs and assumptions that I had brought from the West, and to carefully check their validities against this apparent new-found awareness. It is this shift from initial conviction in one's beliefs to gradual appreciation of differing perspectives that I wish to share with others, and that forms the essence of this movie KONG HONG: LOST IN LOVE.
The Story
Whilst at heart an innocent love story, throughout the movie "Kong Hong: Lost In Love" I have attempted to weave an underlying and unifying theme of love, life and one's attempt to discover the true meaning of both. For my directorial debut, I have drawn heavily on his own experiences to make this highly autobiographical feature which profiles how both Eastern and Western cultures and the sexes differ in their attitudes and approach to such profound questions on life and love including the intertwining roles of society and religion, to leave the international audience to form its own conclusions on what the answers should be.
Just as the protagonist's own world is turned, as suggested by the movie title, upside-down and back-to-front as he travels halfway across the globe to find his love, the tagline of the movie reveals the ultimate question being asked within "Kong Hong: Lost In Love": how far would you go for love?
How would you answer?
GUY ORLEBAR
31st January 2008
From growing up in England, like many in the UK I was long a believer that love is the most important thing in life. Upon traveling to live in Asia in 2000, first to Japan for several years and then to Hong Kong. the discovery that other societies approach love and life differently came as a major shock to me. How could something I considered so fundamental and universal, in actuality appear to be greatly influenced by a society's history and culture? In a search for answers, I began a period of self-reflection in an attempt to make a conscious effort to re-examine my many beliefs and assumptions that I had brought from the West, and to carefully check their validities against this apparent new-found awareness. It is this shift from initial conviction in one's beliefs to gradual appreciation of differing perspectives that I wish to share with others, and that forms the essence of this movie KONG HONG: LOST IN LOVE.
The Story
Whilst at heart an innocent love story, throughout the movie "Kong Hong: Lost In Love" I have attempted to weave an underlying and unifying theme of love, life and one's attempt to discover the true meaning of both. For my directorial debut, I have drawn heavily on his own experiences to make this highly autobiographical feature which profiles how both Eastern and Western cultures and the sexes differ in their attitudes and approach to such profound questions on life and love including the intertwining roles of society and religion, to leave the international audience to form its own conclusions on what the answers should be.
Just as the protagonist's own world is turned, as suggested by the movie title, upside-down and back-to-front as he travels halfway across the globe to find his love, the tagline of the movie reveals the ultimate question being asked within "Kong Hong: Lost In Love": how far would you go for love?
How would you answer?
GUY ORLEBAR
31st January 2008
