PURITY OF GAZE
             Director/Screenwriter Julia Kwan Interviewed
By Abraham Ferrer

Without a doubt one of the most-loved feature-length films to be showcased at VC FILMFEST is a film that could rightly be described as one of the most hotly anticipated: in 2004 I sat in a cramped editing room in downtown Vancouver to view the rough-cut of a feature-length period piece set in the 1970s, told from a child's perspective, and tackled issues of religion and faith. Though in need of further editing in order to clarify its narrative structure, the film so moved me and my colleague, Chi-hui Yang of the then National Asian American Telecommunications Association that we both tendered invitations to the director to participate in the film festivals we helped organize in Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively. It took nearly two years, but in 2006, with the film finally completed and already collecting accolades at select mainstream festivals, director Julia Kwan finally collected on our standing invitation for her debut feature, EVE & THE FIRE HORSE, to be presented as the Centerpiece Film of VC FILMFEST. Director Kwan is certainly no stranger to longtime patrons of the Festival: her short experimental film INFLAMED was screened in 1994, and one of her more recent short films, THREE SISTERS ON MOON LAKE, screened at over 40 film festivals throughout the world. After its world premiere screening at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, EVE & THE FIRE HORSE went on to capture a Special Jury Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival; screened at dozens of film festivals the world over; and enjoyed extended theatrical runs in its native Canada. With the film finally ready for its long-anticipated DVD release later this month, director Kwan graciously chatted with us about the film and its successes on the film festival circuit as well as the ongoing challenges of insuring distribution for her work.   VC: I thought I'd start off by asking you about your experiences with traveling EVE & THE FIRE HORSE throughout the international film festival circuit the past year-and-a-half. What was that experience like? It must have been draining, but rewarding at the same time... JK: It has definitely been a remarkable experience. When I was sitting alone in a room and writing the story, I never envisioned how far-reaching this film could be. It seems to have struck an emotional chord with people. One of the perks of making films is that you get to travel and introduce your film, your labour of love, to the world. I've had so many people come up to me and share their stories from childhood and their spiritual/cultural journey. The film seems to transcend cultural boundaries as well. I've had Italian American women coming up to me and telling me that the film reflected their experiences growing up. Making that personal connection with people has been deeply moving for me. VC: Were there any differences from the last time you travelled to support a film [the award-winning short film THREE SISTERS ON MOON LAKE -- ed]? I know that last film also traveled extensively -- any distinctions between sending off a short film to a worldwide audience as opposed to a feature-length film? JK: Well, the big difference for me is that I got to see a lot more films when I had a short at the festivals! The stakes are much lower with a short film, but with a feature, a major component of the experience is promotion and trying to secure distribution. Creatively, it's the same rush and adrenaline you get when you're presenting a film for the first time. You just hope that everyone is engaged in the story, no matter what the length is. VC: While it must have been gratifying to world-premiere the film at home [at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival], EVE & THE FIRE HORSE really seemed to pick up steam at its North American premiere at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. How valuable was that whole trip to you and your producers and actors? JK: The Sundance experience was the best in terms of critical and audience response. I think our film got somewhat lost in the shuffle at TIFF, so when we got to Sundance, we never anticipated the reaction. It was a valuable festival because it brought the film to the world stage. A few days into the festival, there was an informal poll of the top five audience favourites and here was our little Canadian film alongside these bigger, Hollywood films like THANK YOU FOR SMOKING and LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE! We really felt like the little engine that could. VC: I've observed that in your festival travels in support of both THREE SISTERS and EVE, you and your work have become more and more enmeshed into the Asian Pacific filmmaking community. Can you comment on the impact of having your films showcased in festivals alongside titles such as BETTER LUCK TOMORROW, CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES, ROBOT STORIES, and -- more recently -- JOURNEY FROM THE FALL, COLMA: THE MUSICAL, PUNCHING AT THE SUN, and other films of recent vintage? JK: One of my greatest pleasures was getting to attend all the Asian American Film Festivals last year and meeting the other filmmakers. I truly felt an affinity with a lot of the filmmakers last year - we affectionately refer to ourselves as Class of '06. A lot of us had debut feature films and achieved some kind of success in the more mainstream festivals. That experience brought us together. It's great that the Asian festivals don't really foster a competitive environment and I certainly felt a lot of camaraderie and support from my fellow Asian North American filmmakers -- some of whom have watched the film three times in the theatres! VC: It's been nearly three years since you showed me a rough-cut of the film back in Vancouver, and ever since, I find myself relating to it in very personal ways, mostly because of my own upbringing as a Catholic and my own ambivalence towards issues of faith and fate that's amplified throughout the film. In writing the screenplay, did you yourself find yourself negotiating past experiences growing up with conflicting belief systems as Eve did in the film? JK: I wouldn't say that writing the screenplay was therapeutic but I was certainly able to look back at that childhood experience filtered through the eyes of an adult. It's funny because the questions I had as a five-year old about life and God are still questions that I ask myself to this day. It's hard to put a period on that chapter of my life because I'm still in the mode of searching. VC: Looking back, I find that the character of the Goddess (Jennifer Cheon) functions as the voice of perspective in the film, particularly later when she observes for Eve the central conflict between Buddhism and Christianity. It was a nice touch to have imaginary characters such as the Goddess and Eve's goldfish serve as extensions of Eve's imagination -- is that your perception of Fire Horse people? JK: I don't know if that's my perception of Fire Horse people, but I do know that Fire Horses are independent thinkers. Eve is a curious child who is constantly questioning and looking for answers whereas her sister, Karena, is more of a follower and a slave to rules. VC: I hate asking about your cinematic influences that you brought with you while composing the scenario of the film, but EVE & THE FIRE HORSE does contain scenes that are distinctly Fellini-esque. Was that a necessary consideration in developing the story as well as Eve's character? JK: What I concentrated most on was trying to remember a child's purity of gaze. In order to revert back to that emotional/psychic stage, I listened to a lot of music from my children, ie: Supertramp, America, ELO, Anne Murray, Crystal Gayle, Blondie; and I watched a lot of films about children: MY LIFE AS A DOG, PONETTE, THE TIN DRUM, LEOLO, EMPORTE MOI, THE 400 BLOWS, and SMALL CHANGE, among others. VC: Before I forget: congratulations on receiving the Genie Award earlier this year. That must be the "icing on the cake" as far as EVE's reception back home in Canada. Can you talk a bit about the film's theatrical success? JK: I attribute a lot of that to the hard work of my producers. A week before the film opened in Vancouver, they had people postering every corner of the city. They even paid a couple of interns to hold a giant banner near the highway! They strategically opened the film a few days before the Chinese New Year so they marched in the New Year's parade and handed out fortune cookies that promoted the film. Also, the film was just coming off the win at Sundance, so we did very well, especially in Vancouver. We lasted seven weeks in the theatres. VC: Do you think the film's success on the North American film festival circuit make up for the difficulties in finding U.S. distribution? This may be my singular opinion, but U.S. distributors have seemingly overlooked your film in favor of distinctly inferior and unworthy works... JK: Of course it would have completed the experience had we secured U.S. distribution and in fact, there were offers made but at the end, my producers decided to release it on their own. I think that "can-do" attitude is very much a reflection of the spirit of the fire horse -- stubborn, strong-willed and fiercely independent! We do wish we had more offers, but I think it was hard to convince the powers-that-be of the commercial viability of this film. VC: So talk a bit about this new tour to support the impending DVD release of the film. How important is it for you to get the word out once again about EVE & THE FIRE HORSE to audiences both new and familiar with the film? JK: It is important to get the word out because our film doesn't have the promotional budget of a Hollywood film. We can only rely on grassroots and word of mouth promotions. VC: And finally: I know we talked a bit last year about your next possible project; are you moving ahead with that, or are you thinking about another project altogether? JK: I am writing a couple of scripts at the moment - one a small, personal story about two Chinese-Canadian female cousins brought together by a tragedy in Beijing and the other, a Chinese ghost story with lots of special effects. I'm also considering director-for-hire projects. EVE & THE FIRE HORSE will be released in a special DVD edition beginning July 24, 2007. To find out more about the film and to order the DVD online, point your browser to: www.eveandthefirehorse.com. For a detailed review of the film, click here.