Pang Ho-Cheung’s First Attempt

In person: director Pang Ho-cheung! North American Premiere!

It’s a brave director who’s willing to screen the movies he shot when he was 14, but in a death-defying feat, Pang Ho-cheung will not only screen two short films he made when he was 14…he’ll be in the theater at the same time! Repeating a stunt that has become incredibly popular at other film festivals, Pang Ho-cheung will provide live commentary for two short films he made as a kid: “Summer Exercise” and “The First Adventure of the Three Gangsta Bears.”

Pang is one of Hong Kong’s most popular directors, and his movies range from hitman comedies (You Shoot, I Shoot), to romances (Love in the Buff), to extreme comedies (Vulgaria), but now, we go back to the beginning, to a world where one young man and his parent’s video camera took on all odds…and won!

Pang Ho-cheung’s got this to say about the whole thing:

“In making a first film, especially a short one, a common mistake for the filmmaker would be to make it too long. Things would only worsen if he is his own scriptwriter. As such, I kept reminding myself to stick to the word ‘short’ all the time because at least the audience wouldn’t have to suffer and find my film unbearable even if I had done a bad job.

“The film was shot in the summer of 1999, based on two short stories I had written. Like Ah Wah, the kid in the film, I consider it my own summer exercise. In the film, Ah Wah was too lazy to finish his exercise and therefore feared punishment from his teacher and family. I am able to finish my exercise before summer ends, but nonetheless fear judgment from the audience as well. I’d only hope that I’ll be spared the punishment.”

No, director Pang. You will not be spared ANY punishment!