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I was born in Hong Kong and went to Diocesan Boys’ School. When I turned 19, I went to the US for college.
It was around 1968 during the Flower Power movement. It was a time filled with hippies, drugs and anti-war demonstrations.
I had no idea what was going on. I thought: “Why is this country so strange?”
My family wouldn’t let me study film. I did a business degree. After that, I became an accountant.
I had a good income, but I didn’t really like the business world.
When I don’t like something, two things happen: I’m unhappy, and there’s a limit to how good I can be at it.
I was making Super 8 experimental films in the evenings.
A friend of mine who was working at RTHK as a producer asked me to come back and work there.
I was around 30 years old. My family had all moved to the US, but we kept a home here and gave Sister Tao a salary, so she could watch it. She said, “Come back, I’m bored!”
She was really happy to see me move back, because she could make me food.
When I came back, my pay was one-eighth of what I was making back in the US.
When I’m too comfortable, I become restless. It suits me better when things are a little bit uncertain.
I was a production assistant. I went on to work at Shaw Brothers, then as an accountant again. I then became a general manager at Tsui Hark’s film studio. After that, I was at Golden Harvest for over 10 years.
Not many people know about both film and finance. [As a financial controller] I have an edge over people who don’t know much about film.
My brain is split into two sides: one is creative, and the other one reasons. They’re constantly fighting.
The creative side is more painful. If you can’t push for other people to do what you want to do, it can be frustrating.
As a filmmaker, you have an identity. You’ve created something that will mean something after you’re gone.
When I was 45, I had a heart attack. I didn’t understand why it happened so early. Then I understood why God had arranged it that way. My mum and Sister Tao were still around to look after me.
I was really scared of dying. When you are at that stage in life, you don’t really have time to think about a bucket list. You’re just trying to accept the fact.
There was a time, after “A Simple Life” came out, when my profile was raised.
I’m thankful that it happened when I was 60. When fame and fortune happen at a young age, it is not necessarily a blessing.
When the whole world is telling you how great you are, you start to think that you really are amazing. But you are the only person who truly knows.
I don’t know what Sister Tao would have thought about the film. The Sister Tao I know is very shy. A lot of people now know who she is, and I don’t know if she would have been too happy about that.
When I go to her grave, I have often wondered: “Do you approve of this? Did I say anything wrong?” I look at her photo but don’t get any answers.
I feel she would have been happy with it. Without her blessing, the film wouldn’t have had as much attention as it did.
I’ve used another name for her in “The Amahs.” “The Simple Life” was closer to reality, but “The Amahs” is a fictional story inspired by her. This also gives more leeway in the creative process.
I think I’ve used Sister Tao’s name enough now. It’s time to stop!
In Hong Kong, people put a price tag on everything. Your parents ask you, “How much are you making?” Your success is defined by the amount you make.
Whether or not a film becomes a box office hit or whether or not a stage play sells out is a false way of measuring how successful it is. The real value lies in how the audience views it.
I’m a nostalgic person. I think the older, the better. I feel everything in the 50s was larger than life. People were simpler and lovelier.
I like the convenience of technology, but sometimes I find it intrusive. You’re constantly looking out for whether or not your phone is going off. If it’s not, you feel rejected.
Sister Tao’s generation had many virtues that are now gone. The trust between employer and employee is now non-existent. These are the things I miss.
I can afford to say this now: everyone should choose to do what they want to do.
Life should be like crop rotation. If you grow rice this year, flowers the next and vegetables after, the earth becomes very rich. If you only grow rice all your life, the land is barren.
 
Beg, borrow or steal tickets: Roger Lee’s stage production of “The Amahs” at the Hong Kong Arts Festival is now sold out. Feb 28- Mar 15. City Hall, 5 Edinburgh Place, Central.


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Roger Lee

Roger Lee. Photo: Chris Chan/2015 HKAF

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Film producer Roger Lee has been in the industry since the late 1980s. He rose to prominence for the critically acclaimed “A Simple Life” in 2011. The film is based on his relationship with amah “Sister Tao,” who was with his family for more than four decades. This week, Lee is back with “The Amahs,” a stage production again inspired by Sister Tao. He tells Andrea Lo about how he went from accountancy to film, becoming famous at 60, and what Sister Tao would think of his work.
