Qi Yuwu makes directorial debut, casts Sharon Au and Darren Lim as leads in short film

Qi Yuwu is making his directorial debut with a Chinese short film tentatively titled Where The Heart Is.

The actor uploaded behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot on Instagram yesterday (Aug 28), writing: "It was the first time I saw my name appear on the board on the monitor. Although it passed immediately, it felt unreal.

"These two new identities of director and screenwriter gave me a new experience."

The 47-year-old added that the filming took three-and-a-half days, during which he "went back and forth between rationality and sensibility", and that he would show the audience the film soon.

What was more surprising than Qiwu's new role was his choice in female lead - Sharon Au.

The former actress, who moved to Paris in 2018, was in town and back in front of the camera, while Darren Lim played the lead actor.

Sharon, 49, can be seen in a long white dress on set, with Yuwu directing her.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao published yesterday, Yuwu said that the short film of 20 to 25 minutes centres around a middle-aged woman in her 40s and her feelings about her past and future, exploring the relationship between life and the world.

He added that he didn't cast his wife, actress Joanne Peh, as she was a bit too young for the role at 41, but she did give advice on the script.

Instead, he specifically cast Sharon, 49, and invited her back from France to shoot Where The Heart Is.

"Her character in the film is unmarried, has reached her 40s and has a certain amount of life experience accumulated," Yuwu said. "She isn't so old that she has accepted her fate and is looking forward to the future."

"She is a very full-bodied, helpless, contradictory and complex character. Sharon's background, experience and life stage are very compatible with the character in the film."

Yuwu also said that he had been asked in the past if he wanted to go behind-the-scenes, but wasn't confident in his ability to do a drama series or a feature-length film. So Where The Heart Is serves as a "warm-up and training" for him.

Yuwu explained: "I have been filming for so many years, and I know that actors can only express part of the director's ideas. I also understand that directing is actually a completely different position and perspective, and it is necessary to combine many things together, including music, lighting, cinematography and emotions.

"Everything is an opportunity and fate... I can only say that I really enjoyed being a director this time! After filming, I really feel proud!"

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Sharon also made an Instagram post, albeit with photos of herself in Mallorca, Spain.

"This August has been surreal. I had an invaluable opportunity to work on a project with an extraordinary person and his passionate and brilliant team," she wrote.

"In a short span of three days, under his soulful eyes, I learned what it is to repurpose trauma. I was stripped down to my rawest, sans facade, sans pretence, confronting what is hidden deep within my subconscious."

She added that, though it may sound dramatic, the experience was truly "life-changing" for her.

drimac@asiaone.com

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