Most directors find it difficult enough dealing with only a handful of actors when shooting films. But not Barbara Wong Chun-chun. This up-and-coming young director seems to have adopted the principle of 'the more the merrier'.
Her first narrative feature Truth or Dare: Sixth Floor Rear Flat followed the dreams and disappointments of a group of six twentysomethings sharing an apartment. Her upcoming film also has six main characters - this time all male - and takes a light-hearted look at the pressures they face in daily life, such as unemployment, demanding girlfriends and impotence.
'I like this type of film because it's a concept film - it has a theme - so you really have to have a lot of characters,' says Wong, explaining her penchant for ensemble comedies. 'You can't have just two characters representing all the problems that men face.'
Indeed, the range of woes suffered by the six men would be too much for just two sets of shoulders to bear. Wong describes the film as being in a similar vein to British hit comedy The Full Monty, in that the male characters are well-meaning and nice enough, but life seems to be getting the better of them. Ekin Cheng Yee-kin is set to star as an office worker under pressure from his boss. Chapman To Man-chat will play a guy who loses his job and watches his wife go to work for the first time - and become a big success. George Lam Chi-cheung also stars, in his first film role in several years, as Cheng's bully of a boss, who is henpecked by his wife.
The cast also includes Hacken Lee, Andy Hui Chi-on and Shaun Tam Chun-yin, each of whom plays characters with their own crosses to bear. 'The film is completely from a male point of view, so it's the total opposite of Women's Private Parts,' says Wong, referring to her first film, an award-winning documentary in which women talk frankly about their sex lives. 'Since making that, I've always thought that I should make something for the men, just to be fair.'
Wong says it wasn't too hard to see the male viewpoint because she had plenty of material. 'Most of my friends are male, and usually when guys have a problem they tend to talk to a female friend. So, I had a lot of stories. Of course, I'm sympathetic when they talk to me, but if I was their girlfriend, would I accept what they're saying? That's another story.'
The film, which has the English title Six Strong Guys, is set to start shooting next month, with Lawrence Cheng Tan-shui producing for Filmko Entertainment.