[2014.05.30] JAMES HUNG RELIES ON RONALD CHENG FOR WORD OF MOUTH

Due to financial restricts, James Hung has to use his mind to control his budget

THE SEVENTH LIE stars Ronald Cheng and Carl Ng

James Hung converses with French company Pentafilms president Jorge Reyes at a foreign film festival
courtesy of on.cc

New Hong Kong director James Hung (Kung Ling Ching)'s directing debut THE SEVENTH LIE was a suspense film with the usually comedic Ronald Cheng Chung Kei. James earlier took the film to Los Angeles for a screening and to Cannes for sales. He received a lot of good reviews. In the future months he will continue to attend film festivals.

Kung Ling Ching in 2009 returned to Hong Kong after finishing his film study in the U.S. Because the Hong Kong film industry was not advantageous for unknown new director to break out, James spent four years to be able to fulfill his directing dream. With his first film THE SEVENTH LIE he received assistance from elders, he was able to invite Cheng Chung Kei, Carl Ng Ka Lung and Philip Keung Ho Man to star. In the end the overseas promotion received a lot of good reviews.

James said, "I took the script to look for experienced filmmakers, I looked for producers, executive producers myself until I found Tin Kai Man. He said that he really liked the script and gave me a lot of opinions. He also helped me look for the cast and the crew. Luckily I had help with elders who were willing to give new directors a try, this film was finally made."

In the end although he received the Hong Kong Film Development Fund, the amount was limited. James said, "Every amount was very limited. I forced myself to use my brain to control the cost, it was hard! The film even had busy city and night scenes, thus I gave up on the film production cameras and used a lighter camera instead. At first I questioned the machine's capabilities, but with all the people in Causeway Bay, the camera performed very well."

As for the pressure that a new director faced, James said, "Pressure kept flooding in. Under a limited environment I had to think of ways to adjust. I am very appreciative that the crew was willing to give me the chance to try. (Did the fund aside from giving money provide any other assistance?) They were responsible for the financing, contact wise I had other departments' assistance. (Did you run into distribution difficulty?) It has been scheduled for an October release. In June, July, and August I will keep participating in film festivals. The environment that new comers face is difficult, but I can't wait for people to recognize me. I believe in the concept so I must adhere to it!"