John Chu

John Chu Ka-yan still remembers the dumbstruck expressions on the faces of the bank managers he asked to finance his computer-animation enterprise. It was 1987 and, although Hong Kong's economy was soaring, he had trouble borrowing the millions he needed for computer hardware to expand Centro, which he started in 1985 as a post-production house for commercials.

'You could buy a gorgeous flat with about HK$1 million in those days,' he says. 'But what was I buying? Just a computer. Banks didn't understand anything about technology. In those days, a computer geared for making animation, including the software, cost HK$2 million. And I wasn't buying just one.'

Today, Chu (above) presides over one of Hong Kong's most established computer-animation companies, with a team of 150. Having contributed to some of the most sophisticated computer-assisted films in recent years - he co-produced The Stormriders and oversaw the special effects for Kung Fu Hustle - Chu has moved onto bigger things with The Magic Gourd.

The film, about a genie-like gourd that uses its powers to assist a lazy child, is a co-production with Walt Disney and another major step for a local enterprise such as Centro.

That the film was finally made after years of planning is due not only to Chu eventually getting funding, but also his persistence. 'Capital isn't necessarily required for a person to make their dream come true,' he says. 'There are many other ways.'

Chu was inspired to make a career in animation by his father, Chu Yuk-wa, who produced children's films. While his friends spent their free time in playgrounds or sports grounds, Chu would visit movie studios with his father. He spent four years studying cinematography in Rome after finishing secondary school. When he returned to Hong Kong, he started a small commercial production house with his own savings, then went to work at TVB, before launching Centro in 1985.