"Koali & Rice" is about the twilight years
Of Lin Xiumei and Qing Er
Starring Gua Ah-leh and Yang Kuei-mei
The old girls
"Koali & Rice"
Is sweet potato porridge
Lin Xiumei is a typical Minnan woman
Like many others of this group
She's been willingly bearing the burden of hard works for all her life 10 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,600 "You volunteered to come help her after you retired"
"I have nothing better to do at home"
Lin Xiumei Played by Gua Ah-leh
My character
Devotes her life to her family with no regrets
Every mother would do the same
But the children
They take it for granted
"A mother"
"Wants to"
"See her children everyday"
"But now I only get to see my sons when I say I don't feel well"
Qing Er Starring Yang Kuei-mei
Qing Er is a representation of the self
That Lin Xiumei is afraid to become
She often admires at Qing Er
At her upholding of justice and her being straightforward
And her boldness
"He drinks his ass off everyday"
"Using the hard earned money our son earns by working on board"
When her best friend leaves
Without saying goodbye
It hits her heavily
I'm too old to do a lot of work
But I don't want my children to see me as a useless old woman
How she reinvents herself
How she upholds her dignity later in her life
"Qing Er gave me the drum"
"She appeared in my dream and asked me to do it for her"
Only thing I care about now is playing the drum
To let my children see my ability
And it's not just cooking and doing laundry for you
I am a fashion designer
Ye Qian Apparel Design "Lass Mazu Lin Mo-niang"
"Koali & RIce" poster Illustration by Pencil Brayn
"Koali & Rice" is a work of mine during my study at Beijing Film Academy
"Koali & RIce" poster Illustration by Pencil Brayn
Pingyao International Film Festival 2019 People's Choice Awards Hidden Dragons Best Film
I draw inspiration
From the village I lived in
The living scenes of Southern Fujian
My hometown is Quanzhou Fujian
The living scenes of Southern Fujian
"Xiumei" is actually the name of my grandmother
When I was a boy
I watched hundreds of folk plays with my grandparents
And during the process of making a film
These genes are reactivated
Every time I go back home for the Spring Festival
I would roam the city
Director painted storyboard
Set
And meanwhile try to find sets
Director painted storyboard
None of the sets is specially built for the film
Set
Lin Xiumei Starring Gua Ah-leh
Gua Ah-leh is a girl inside
And so her Xiumei is also very much of a girl
The scene where she ransoms Qing Er
They improvise and make it a playful act
Two best friends at their twilight years
It's touching
Behind the scenes
When she (Gua Ah-leh) learned that they were speaking the lines in Southern Fujian dialect
Behind the scenes
She became quite nervous
And she prepared for half a year
Qing Er Starring Yang Kuei-mei
When she was not at the set
Qing Er Starring Yang Kuei-mei
She would dress herself in plain clothes
And wander around
Asking about the prices of vegetables
And meat
Trying to blend in the atmosphere
The other characters are played by the villagers
From our village and the neighboring one
The film is touching on a subject
That is always shunned by Chinese -- sickness and death
Every time I came back from Beijing
Some of my seniors left without saying goodbye
Like a leaf falling from a tree, silently
I talk to the seniors when I'm home
I can see they have a very limited expectation of themselves
"Koali & Rice" is trying to discuss
When you are approaching the end of your life
Are you brave enough to exceed yourself