CHINESE is chic and Hong Kong Chinese directors have become even more so overseas with the success of people such as John Woo and Wong Kar-wai. However, Hollywood has not been alone in knocking on the doors of the better-known local directors. Even some Western singers are looking East for new ideas for their music videos.
One of the more significant has been Scottish group Texas who based the music video for their single Halo (1997) on avant-garde film-maker Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express although they did not use a local director.
Recently, it was France's best-selling singer Mylene Farmer who came looking for local talent for her latest single L'ame Stram Gram - and found well-known action director Tony Ching Siu-tung.
Ching was surprised, to say the least, when the call came from France. 'It came out of the blue but it was all right because Mylene knew everything about my work. She had seen all the films,' he said. 'We were very happy to receive the order for the project, not only because of the work but also because it is an honour every time people from elsewhere think enough of our work to approach us. A music video is still a very large project.' At first glance, it would seem Ching and Farmer have little in common. Ching made his name working with producers such as Tsui Hark before directing the hits A Chinese Ghost Story, Swordsman II and The Heroic Trio. Farmer was a Canadian-French singer who made her name singing French pop songs. But both have a love for the art of filming as well as a knack for physical activeness. Farmer's concerts have always been a display of showmanship as well as songs.
'She took a very active interest in every aspect of the production,' said Ching.
Farmer, known for her bright red hair as much as her bleak and depressing music videos, was actually introduced to Ching's work by a friend. 'I watched some Chinese movies before, but I didn't know about Tony's movies. When I said I wanted to make this music video, someone told me that Tony was a very good director,' she explained.