A Moment In Time

Tell us more about yourself.
I’m 25 years old, and I’m from Qingdao, China. I came to Singapore to study for four years, and have been working as a Director of short films for the past three years since graduating.

I also play fingerstyle guitar, and give give guitar lessons on the weekends.

When did you start playing the guitar?
I started when I was 12 years old. I play the acoustic guitar, and I also sometimes sing when I play, but I’m a lot better at guitar-playing than I am at singing.

What do you like most about films?
To me, photographs capture a specific, fleeting moment in time, but with videography, I feel like I’m able to capture an entire memory in a single video.

Both forms of art are nice, and each of them have their pros and cons, but filming is more for me.

Do you have a favourite film or director?
My favourite film, which also happens to be by my favourite director, is Like Father, Like Son, by Hirozaku Koreeda.

Hirozaku Koreeda is a director that I admire a lot, because he’s the kind of director that’s very detailed, and his films are always very slow-moving.

It’s not for everyone, but I personally really enjoy films with very slow pacing, unlike those Hollywood blockbusters that are always very dramatic. With movies like those, it’s like at every stage of the movie, there has to be a form of conflict, or a problem to be solved, but Hirozaku Koreeda isn’t like that. He just tells his story slowly, and really touches audiences with the tiniest of details.

What is one thing you miss most about your hometown?
I miss my city and the views (laughs). My hometown is near the sea, so you can imagine how nice the view is.

What’s one thing you like most about Singapore then?
No working overtime! There’s no work-life balance in China—people are always working.

Here, I have a work-life balance, so I have time to gym or do what I like outside of work, like play the guitar.