Wi Ding Ho's Respire

You'd think winning an award at Cannes would get a guy some attention, but apparently not ... despite winning the PRIX DECOUVERTE KODAK at the Cannes Film Festival this year, there is still virtually nothing online about Wi Ding Ho's Respire - a film inspired by the SARS crisis - other than this single, solitary article. Seriously ... I just googled this thing a handful of different ways and came up with nothing, which is a shame because Ho is obviously a skilled film maker and what stills there are out there are just gorgeous.

The film is set in a near future scenario where, due to continual outbreaks of respiratory disease, people are required by law to wear breathing masks at all times. When a girl begins to cough she realizes she will soon die and sets off for one final day with the boy she loves ...

Regular ScreenAnarchy reader iamNataku sent in a pair of stills from the film and managed to ask cinematographer Jake Pollock a few questions about the film. Read on for Jake's thoughts ...

"As far as being able to see the film, AFI may show it in their upcoming festival, which would obviously be fairly close to you (Los Angeles, California). We're still uncertain about other U.S. festivals. Currently, there is no plan for a DVD release.

Since we won the Kodak award at Cannes, you could always write to Kodak and see if they have plans to screen it in any of their traveling showcases?

My involvement in Taiwanese film? Wi Ding and I met at school ten years ago. He turned me onto Wong Kar Wai (his thesis film had much influence from WKW as well).

The Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu is another source of inspiration. And if you want to keep up with the pulse of Asian influence, watch Shunji Iwai's films (Hanna and Alice, All About Lily Chou Chou). I can't tell you how many times I’ve been asked to mimic the look of his films.

I came out to Taiwan about four years ago (not speaking much Mandarin, I am not conversational or able to read) after getting pretty burned out on New York "indie" crap.

I came to Taiwan because of my working relationship to Wi Ding as well as through other western friends who've also set up base out here (but not in the industry).

Yes, we shot in 35mm. All of our film was supplied free from commercial production houses. They often have left over short-ends and sometimes re-cans. Even though they save the footage for future shoots, they NEVER use the stuff. By begging and pleading, we were able to amass about 11,000 feet of film.

However, most of the film was several years old, so bleach bypass was a practical as well as stylistic choice. It was also the first film in Taiwan to use bleach bypass beyond a single scene.

The entire film was shot on the 85mm lens with a net on the back of the lens and a ninety/forty-five degree shutter. All handheld or on steadicam.

We had very little money, so the interior scene was lit only with paper lanterns, diffusion frames, and black flags. I think we only ever used two lamps. The day exteriors were also a combination of beadboard, solids, and diff frames. The night concert was mostly lit with stage concert units.”