Empire of Silver – Advance Screening with Director Christina Yao By Thuy Nguyen

Written by : Thuy Ng
Last Thursday I got a chance to go to the advanced screening of the Chinese film,  Empire of Silver directed by Christina Yao. Being a big fan of historical period Chinese films, this was a must see for me.  It was interesting to note that the Empire of Silver focused solely on drama rather than action. Director Christina Yao sought to produce a film focused on the drama and the intricate family relationships rather than produced a kung fu action film.

Set in China during the time of the Boxer rebellion, the story follows the scandals and the inevitable spiralling downfall of one of the most powerful families in the banking capital province of the time, Shanxi. Made on a budget of 10 million, financed by investors interested in promoting tourism in China, Director Yao was allowed complete artistic freedom.  The film had quite high production values featuring one of the four heavenly kings, Aaron Kwok and also featuring many locations. Although there were a few continuity errors in the film and some odd title graphics, the film was a good watch, however a little too long and stretched out for someone of my short attention span.

During the Q&A sessions, I questioned her on the difficulties she encountered as a female director in China. Surprisingly Director Yao believed that she did not encounter obstacles because she was a female, she pointed out that she was more likely to encounter obstacles as a minority in the film industry rather than as a female. Her advice was that in this film industry, you got to know what you’re doing and know your stuff, otherwise if you don’t you’re pretty much doomed.

Meeting Director Yao, reminded me why I was in this industry, it reminded me of my original passion, goals and dreams that first pushed me to walk down this creative career path those few years ago. Her humbleness and down to earth personality inspired me, being one of the few females in this industry setting the standards for the rest of us.

Director Christina Yao & Thuy Ng