Cinema Feature: In Search of Answers

Ismene Ting talks about the healing power of nature in her new film, Finding Shangri-La

by Simon Fowler

Writing for the screen is often considered one of the hardest disciplines to master, so when the Yunnan New Film Project offered actor and theatrical director Ismene Ting the chance to turn her musical Welcome to Shangri-La into a movie, she was apprehensive. But the temptation of having her work immortalized on film was enough to overcome her initial trepidation and she began reshaping her story into a melodrama, which she renamed Finding Shangri-La. The story focuses on a woman who, after tragically losing her son in a car accident in Taipei, goes off in search of answers in Shangri-La, Yunnan. Shortly before the film’s intended release in May, that’s Beijing sat down with Ismene to find out about the challenges of directing her first movie, her love of the stage and the healing power of Yunnan’s amazing landscape.

that’s Beijing: How did you get involved with the Yunnan New Film Project?
Ismene Ting: It was an accident. I wasn’t really ready to direct films; my entire background has been in theater. I had written a play called Welcome to Shangri-La and, apparently, Lola [producer of the Yunnan Film Project] saw the script, and seeing as there was a place in Yunnan called Shangri-La they approached me about making it into a movie. At first I wasn’t interested in doing it because I felt I had no idea how to even begin directing a film. But after talking with my sister – who is the producer at the theater workshop – she convinced me that I really had to take this opportunity.

that’s: What aspects of directing a movie did you find difficult?
IT: Everything! When you work in a theater you are literally in a theater all the time; you don’t have to worry about whether it will rain tomorrow, or if there will be enough light for you to get all your work done. We shot this movie in Taipei and in Shangri-La, and there were difficulties in both places. In Taipei you had to deal with all the bureaucracy that comes with making a film – making sure you have the right permit to shoot in a certain place. In Shangri-La we had to contend with the local population; it’s not a place like New York where people are used to films being made around them, and you have to remember that. You have to develop a relationship with the local population to make sure things go smoothly. Ultimately I think that’s what making a movie is about: making connections with the people around you in order to get the work done.

that’s: What inspired the main themes of the movie?
IT: When I started writing the script for the play I didn’t really know where I was going with it. After a while I started to think about my mother, and all women in general, and the ideas came from there. Actually, I’m not a mother myself, but there is something about these themes that are really true for a lot of women, and I feel that somewhere deep down I am a mother. I do know these emotions and feelings. The main themes are about forgiveness, love and dealing with loss.

that’s: Were there any directors you looked to for inspiration before you started to make the film?
IT: I like a lot of directors, but as I never really considered that I would be a filmmaker, I never thought about whose work I really appreciated. Woody Allen is someone whose work I have always admired. I recently re-watched Match Point on a plane and it made me remember how much of a master he is. There’s certainly something theatrical about his work, and it’s something I can identify with.

that’s: Did you find the setting of Shangri-La to be influential?
IT: Shangri-La to me is a really beautiful place; there’s something so powerful about the huge mountains that you just have to surrender to nature. The landscape is Mother Nature itself. The start of the film takes place in Taipei where a woman is dealing with the loss of her child. She sets out to Shangri-La to kill herself, but really she has no idea how to go about it, and it’s in the powerful setting that she discovers how to live and love again. Once people see it, I hope this is what they will feel.