Renowned Mainland film director Lu Chuan gave a sharing on the creative process of his wildlife film Born in China at a talk at HKBU jointly organised by School of Communication’s Academy of Film and Chinese Film Panorama on 19 September.

Born in China captures the intimate moments of three families of endangered animals—panda, golden monkey and snow leopard. The film follows them as they move across Southwest China according to certain seasons in order to survive in the spectacular yet brutal natural environment.

Describing the genre of the film, Mr Lu Chuan stressed that, “This is not a documentary; it is a wildlife film featuring animals. We prepared a script in advance and we chose shots that are relevant to our story and put them together through laborious editing.”

Born in China is a co-production with Disneynature. Mr Lu said: “Efficient communication is the Disney team’s number one priority. To ensure that the production could be carried out smoothly, the director had the responsibility to explain to the entire team every single aspect related to the production and give detailed directions. I think this is something all filmmakers should bear in mind.”

Known for creating films that deal with historical and social issues, Lu Chuan is one of the most talented and well-known young directors in China. His debut film, The Missing Gun, received critical acclaim at prestigious film festivals such as Cannes, Venice and Sundance. He rose to fame with his second feature Kekexili which won him numerous awards including Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. Another film he shot, City of Life and Death, was a great success and received the top Golden Shell prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival.