Film producer who worked with Jackie Chan, John Woo, Wong Kar-wai sees Hong Kong cinema going downhill. She has an answer
- Debbie Lam, who has worked with directors including John Woo, Jackie Chan and Wong Kar-wai, is focused on helping a new generation of Hong Kong filmmakers
- She talks up a grouping that connects the European and Chinese film industries, and a Hong Kong scheme funding international collaboration between filmmakers
American comic actor Mel Brooks made his debut as a director with a film that was initially controversial, then cult gold, and then considered so important it was chosen to be preserved for all time in the United States’ National Film Registry.
The movie was The Producers (1967). But if you think it offers any sort of career guidance for film, stage or television hopefuls, think again.
Although the role might be mysterious to most and the credit “producer” says little, the job doesn’t, as a rule, involve swindling investors and planning permanent exile in Rio de Janeiro.
“A producer is like a mother taking care of the project!” says one of Hong Kong’s finest. While director and scriptwriter focus on the creative process, “the producer is the quality control and has to monitor the budget – it’s quite a lonely job”, adds Debbie Lam Suk-yin, whose 30-odd years in the film and television industry have seen her credited alongside a stream of household names.
