It wasn’t for philosophical reasons that Hong Kong auteur Scud originally planned to make ten films, and ten films only: he just figured it would be nice to have ten posters on the wall in his office. And while the plan was flexible over the years (he considered retiring after his fifth film, 2013’s Voyage), now it appears to have solidified. Hence IFFR’s decision to honor him with one of the Focus programs, showing all ten of his features, including the world premiere of Naked Nations – Tribe Hong Kong.
When Vanja Kaludjercic spoke to TFV about the program on the eve of the festival, she expressed her hope that the Rotterdam experience might persuade the director to reconsider his stance. “The LGBTQ+ community needs voices like his,” she told us. Scud smiles upon hearing this during our interview. He concedes he did enjoy the ambience at the premiere (“I’ve never had a bad premiere, and this one was a lot of fun”) and hints at a “never say never” attitude before adding, “But there will probably not be another Scud film.”
If he sticks to this, then Naked Nations is quite the farewell. Shot when COVID restrictions were loosening in Hong Kong (as acknowledged in the credits), the film is cheerfully brazen in its provocation, with multiple lengthy scenes, starting from the first, of men running around in the nude with a face mask as their only item of clothing. Unsurprisingly, this was a bit too much even by guerilla filmmaking standards: “I can’t go back to Hong Kong, there’s a warrant for my arrest,” Scud says with a chuckle.
Assuming the “ten and done” principle is upheld, does he think he got everything out of his system as a director? Is there nothing left to say? “I believe I said everything I wanted to say. There is only one regret. I had written a script, called Naked Nation, which was a chronicle of Chinese history based on stories I heard from my family. Producers even said I would get distribution in China, which was a new thing for me.” So what happened? “President Xi got elected.”
Of course, with China’s notorious censorship issues (“Someone acquired the rights to my films for a platform, and I’m not sure how much they had to cut”), the idea that they would even entertain the notion of releasing a film called Naked Nations is amusing. “And now it couldn’t even be released in Hong Kong,” says Scud, who is planning to relocate his studio to a safer place, like Taiwan.
Part of the aim of the Focus section is to increase international awareness of the people and countries it pays tribute to. “I’m honored,” the director says. “I couldn’t believe Vanja mentioned me and my work so much in her opening remarks, because I admire her a lot. And I’m happy to be discovered by a new audience.”
That said, he fully embraces his status as a filmmaker with a very niche following. “I don’t have a choice,” he says with a laugh. “Early on, I was not very comfortable with that. The other day, I re-watched my very first movie, City Without Baseball. I still can’t believe it didn’t attract a wider audience, but maybe there is something about my work that makes them turn away. Now I’m indifferent to it. What am I supposed to do, catch up with the mainstream? I won’t do that.” He adds a pertinent detail about the release of his first movie, back in 2008: “It screened for exactly 21 days, and there’s one fan who went to see it on 19 of them.”
So, what’s next? “I’m relocating my studio because I don’t want my work to endanger other people. I have been thinking about maybe going back and facing sentencing because I don’t think they would be too harsh. The new film is going to travel for about a year, and I’m also re-editing two of my previous films, with new titles, as an experiment.” If they’re different enough, wouldn’t that make them movies no. 11 and 12? He reacts with a knowing grin: “Maybe.”