Actual People

10.14 ㊅ 19：00〡花蓮鐵道電影院

索票詳情請參閱花蓮鐵道電影院官網：

免費推廣場索票方式：https://film.hccc.gov.tw/?page_id=5303

I made this film quite a while ago, Pre-pandemic. I was in a relationship that did not survive the pandemic. Living in my parent’s place in Philly with my best friend because I was really broke. In some ways, making this film helped me grow up into something more resembling a “woman,” a “filmmaker,” a “whole person,” whatever those words mean to you, and I think you could see that reflected in this film.

It’s a small slice of life. I just didn't have the funds for some huge production, but I wanted to make something substantial. I was very tired of making shorts. So I took a small budget and figured out a way to stretch it. What I had was friends (some of whom I begged to act, drive, both simultaneously). This one shitty week at NYU which I was drawing far too much inspiration from, and a free camera.

I was watching a lot of mumblecore, a genre I have a love/hate relationship with, and thought I could add to that canon. I genuinely love those films; I find them both comforting and inspiring. But I was always like, “Why is everyone white?” That just was not a world I related to or in my day-to-day life was really interested in. I had a strong desire to showcase the minutiae, the banality of the life of someone who is not often the focus of mumblecore/indie films: a young woman of color.

This film was a growing experience for me. I don’t think I’m going to return to making films that are based on real-life experiences because I don’t think what’s happened to me is the most interesting thing to explore. I want to think more deeply about characters that I have not met but that I’ve really birthed from my imagination, perhaps only subtly inspired by people who have entered or left my life. But I am extremely proud of what my friends and I created.

The film, in total, cost about $10K from start to finish due to a generous equipment donation from Rooster Films. It features a diverse ensemble cast of mostly non-actors that capture an authenticity and nuance I don’t often see in films. I believe that, if anything, ACTUAL PEOPLE is a testimony to how far compositions, performances, and narratives can be pushed through uninhibited and joyous filmmaking.

李安在《比利·林恩的中場戰事》透過3D拍攝、每秒120影格、4K解析度的規格，帶領觀眾感受他嘗試創造的真實。但真實到底是什麼？真實是否也是主觀的？身為觀眾進入電影院走進創作者的電影世界，什麼時刻會讓我覺得真實？而電影又是什麼？

在欣賞《紐約真人類》時，大腦不斷浮出這些問題？導演用Rooster Films公司所提供的免費攝影機，拍攝她的劇情長片。看電影的過程當中，常常跟自己說，不可能是劇情片吧？看起來就像是用家庭錄影機錄下來剪接成的紀錄片，怎麼會是劇情長片？這當然是我的偏見，我有限的觀賞經驗裡，扁平的覺得紀錄片畫質就該是沒有很好。想說的事情是，《紐約真人類》，它真實到讓我意識不到有演員、有一雙導演之手、有一個結構式的編劇操作其中；只有攝影機分鏡的時刻，才讓我意識到這是有編排的戲。

我享受這樣的真實，雖然沒有高規格的畫質，但有細膩的表演、有趣的對於生命情感的思索，角色輕鬆流動的日常感，與朋友打屁跑趴、和朋友情人吵架和家人決裂的時刻，還有把詩意和走在情緒邊緣的崩潰時刻化作日常。沒有中文字幕翻譯、只看得懂五成劇情這樣的狀態下仍滿足的把電影看完。電影是什麼？真實又是什麼？《紐約真人類》推薦給喜歡思考的觀眾。

余佩真JenJen

11.06 ㊐ 12：40〡台南新光影城 4 廳〡★ Q&A session with the Director
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