Eye Catcher Incubation Programme 2023/24
Date: 16 December, 2023 (Sat)
Guests:
Lo Lam | Screenwriter & Director
Rachel Leung | Lead Actress
Eric Tsang | Producer
For the 2nd Session on Case Study, we had the creative team behind the shortlisted project Al Niente from the 1st Eye Catcher Incubation Programme, Lo Lam (Screenwriter & Director), Rachel Leung (Lead Actress) and Eric Tsang (Producer) to share their thoughts on the journey from the starting point of it, script refining and finally to the shooting, where Al Niente was shortlisted at the Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival and the Golden Horse Film Festival.
Both the Chinese and English title of Al Niente, (Chinese title: 《裊裊》), carried the main theme of the plot: on one hand, we have a reference to the Chinese expression “the remaining sound of music swirling around” – which describes the feeling of music lingering in one’s mind; its English counterpart, Al Niente, is a musical term printed at the end of sheet music to signify the gradual weakening of a musical note to trail off into silence. Both expressions represent the paradoxical nature of memory for people diagnosed with dementia, whose memories seem to linger in the mind and disappear gradually.
When Lo Lam participated in the Mentorship Programme during Eye Catcher Incubation Programme 2022, her mentor was director Ray Yeung. Lam recalled that after the 3 meetings from the Mentorship Programme, it felt like the story and characters for Al Niente were finally clear, and the script was edited to the point where it was basically rewritten. Al Niente was inspired from the director’s personal experience upon her return to Hong Kong – drawing inspiration from her difficult feelings from finding out about her grandfather’s dementia, to her guilt and avoidance toward her siblings, her observation of her grandfather’s primary caregiver and the possible efficacy of music therapy… all of these experiences led her to face herself, to write her characters with unlovable and contradictory characteristics, to finish the story, which has slowly progressed into what the audience is seeing now.
About the casting process and collaborating with the actors, Lo Lam and lead actress Rachel Leung demonstrated the mutual understanding and trust between director and actress. Lam talked about discovering lead actress Rachel Leung from other Hong Kong films, observing her ability and talent to fully embody the unrestrained and somewhat temperamental character of Yun Ling in Al Niente. Leung also shared her own attitude towards her career as an actress: to keep an open mind when facing different scripts and directors – to be able to see from different perspectives and to think outside the box to be able to embody the character and their speech.
Al Niente was submitted to a number of film platforms and festivals along the way. Lam said that the entire process has led her to grow through experience, and only when she exited her comfort zone can she introduce the work to a wider audience.
奪目影像孵化計劃2023/24
日期：2023年12月16日（六）
嘉賓：
林璐｜編劇及導演
梁雍婷｜主演
曾慶宏｜監製
第二場以案例剖析作為切入討論的工作坊，由首屆入圍項目《裊裊》的編導林璐，與主演梁雍婷及監製曾慶宏，一同回到當初這個項目孵化的原點，和大家分享從劇本修改、拍攝，入圍鮮浪潮及金馬獎最佳劇情短片的這一趟旅程。
《裊裊 Al Niente》的中英文名，本已帶著導演對故事主軸的想法：一邊是中文的「餘音裊裊」那種音樂一直縈繞著人的感覺；一邊是英文的「Al Niente」——通常寫在琴譜最後，代表漸弱至到無聲的意思。兩者都代表著對於認知障礙症患者來說，記憶這回事就是如此矛盾地，好像一直縈繞在腦海，又好像漸漸消失一般。
編導林璐參與導師計劃時，所配對的導師為楊曜愷導演。回憶當時三次的會面之後，《裊裊》故事和角色才漸漸有了定調，而劇本基本上更是重寫過。《裊裊》創作取自導演自身的故事。當時回到香港後，對於公公認知障礙症的病情，對於弟妹的愧疚和逃避，對於公公主要照顧者的觀察，對於音樂治療可能起到的幫助和作用⋯⋯種種的感受讓她決定更誠實地面對自己，把這些不可愛的、矛盾的部分都給予角色們，把這個故事寫出來，並慢慢地發展成現在觀眾看到的樣子。
而談及當初選角，還有與演員的合作方面，導演和主演也展現了十足的默契和信任。導演談到那時是從其他港產片中，看到Rachel的能力和特質，能夠充分駕馭《裊裊》中，妹妹韻靈那種奔放不羈、有點喜怒無常的性格。Rachel亦分享了自己面對演員這個職業的態度：保持一顆開放的心，面對不同劇本和導演，都能夠看到不同的角度，有著不同的思維，從而進入角色的語言。
《裊裊》這個項目一路走來，曾報名了不少影像平台及影展。導演直言自己也同樣不斷地在經驗中成長，踏出多幾步，作品才有機會介紹給更多的人看見。