Beyond 'jaws'
'We didn't set out to make a typical shark film,' says American-born Laura Lau. 'It's not people getting ripped to shreds from beginning to end.'
Which may disappoint anyone hoping to be scared out of their wits by Open Water, which Lau made with her husband, Chris Kentis. But Lau wants audiences to get a lot more out of the film than a good scare. 'We hope people will get a different kind of experience,' she says. 'It's not the usual kind of action thriller. There are a lot of different emotions involved.'
Making a film with her partner of 15 years wasn't difficult, Lau says. 'We've been working together for a long time. We made a short film together, we've written a few scripts together, and we'd made a feature film together. So there was no struggle between us.'
They dive together, too - and that's where the idea for Open Water came from. 'Whenever we went out on these trips, we'd shoot film in the water,' she says. 'We'd cut it into these little home movies. So, when Open Water started to come together it wasn't much of a problem. We felt as if we'd already rehearsed the process.'
Lau now spends much of her time at home, looking after their seven-year-old child. Lau's father is from Singapore and her mother from Kunming. She says she used to have family in Hong Kong (her Chinese name is Liu Li Jin), and has visited many times.
She credits local films as part of her inspiration: 'I grew up watching Hong Kong films,' she says. 'I think there's a particular kind of sense of humour - a kind of style that's really entertaining.
'I'm very excited our film will be playing in Hong Kong,' she says.
