Interview with Filmmaker Dazhi Huang (NIGHT LIVE)

NIGHT LIVE played to rave reviews at the April 2018 Experimental & Music FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Dazhi Huang: This film is my graduation thesis, In the month when I was brainstorming for the script, two unfortunate incidence happened: One was the Pulse shooting, the other one was a white policeman killing an unarmed black man. I was traumatized by both event, and I was also fully aware of their social effects which magnified by social media and live streaming. I had this impulse to put my takes to these two incidents into my upcoming film, but u sing a more lighthearted, entertaining way, in order to portray it authentically to myself, to make it fit for the environment that I live in.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

It took around 3-4 months

3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Night Live

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Finding the actors and coordinating the schedules of the crew(I didn’t actually have a producer this time so it was really tough and annoying)

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I discovered a lot of new things that I never knew about my own film, so I was amazed.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?

During the creation period of the film, I had a tough relationship with my father, so some parts of life naturally blended into fabrications

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Week End by Jean-Luc Godard and Persona by Ingmar Bergman and Friends the sitcom

8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?

It’s a great platform

9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?

The times there are a changing by Bob Dylan

10. What is next for you? A new film?

I wish, I’m going to grad school for film directing

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every single month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 3 times a month. Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com for more information and to submit your work to the festival.