Seedy Cinema: Catch Screening of Local Indie Flick "Into the Belly of Beijing" at Yue Space, Jun 25

Kyle Mullin | Jun 23, 2017 4:00 pm | 1 comment | 1939 reads

Get ready to feast your eyes on Beijing's seedy side. On June 25, Yue Space will host a screening of Into the Belly of Beijing, a DIY film set in the hutongs and written and directed by Ricky Reid, an American expat who has dwelled in those dynamic alleyways.

The film's official synopsis describes protagonist Victor Alexander Stixx, an expat "navigating through the hutong alleys of Beijing picking up packages for an anonymous company. As the jobs become more dangerous, Victor sets off to track down information about the company's new technology. He is aided by Morgana, who works for the company and sees Victor as a way out – but it's Beijing, there is no way out."

Below, Reid tells us more about shooting this gritty dystopic thriller, and how our bustling, smoggy, boisterous city served as the perfect setting.

Let’s start by talking about your lead character, Victor, and how he delivers dangerous packages around town. Do you think that works as a metaphor for life in Beijing, in general?
Sure, in a way where the tension is always high, and you’re always on the edge. It’s definitely hard to be “zen” in this city. The traffic, the construction, the chemical gray skies can all really weigh on you psychologically. Hence the use of black and white scenes periodically in the film, in order to convey the grey colorless feel Beijingers can get after a long stint with no visa runs or holidays.

Of course there is good and bad to every city. There are aspects of Beijing I can’t get anywhere else in the world, and I cherish this city for that. But this film is a dark, glitchy thriller, so things needed to be portrayed in a morose way. As for Beijing itself, it will always be a love/hate relationship. Which is my favorite kind.

Let’s back up and talk about how did you began working on this film in the first place.
Sure. This three-year project began with one test scene me and a friend, Husain Amer, shot for a 24-hour film competition in Macau. I didn’t end up making it to Macau for the competition, but while I was browsing through the test footage we shot I liked what I saw, and the idea to take this one scene and build a movie out of it began.

From there, I just kept writing and piling on scene after scene, connecting the story as I went. Luckily, there is such a plethora of personalities peppered throughout the Gulou area – where I’ve lived for the last six years – that were perfect for being in front of the camera, reading my script, and having some fun on a DIY project.

That’s how it all happened – one test scene, a video editor wanting to make his first film, and a network of wild foreigners in Beijing.

What inspirations were your drawing upon while making the movie?
The city and the hutongs were inspirations in and of themselves. There is this ‘new China’ being slammed right on top of the ‘old China,’ which creates quite an alluring aesthetic. The other inspiration is all the diversity of people you meet here. Every foreigner here seems to have a crazy story about how they got here. So these factors, along with my own personal motivation to make a film, gave me the sense early on that this was the place and time I wanted to reflect on screen.

Who are your biggest influences as a filmmaker?
Tarantino, of course, for his style and framing, though it’s his use of music that influenced me the most. The timing and choice of songs are what create some of his most memorable scenes for me – the opening diner scene in Pulp Fiction, the iconic twist scene with Travolta, "Stuck in the Middle with You" in Reservoir Dogs, or in Jackie Brown when Samuel L. takes out Beaumont in the trunk of his car. These scenes have such a punch because they have the right song, to give the right tone, at the right time. Quentin is the best at this, and it’s definitely something I try to mimic.

Also Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy was a heavy influence as far as wanting to create a space in the film for the conversations people have at home or at the café. I wanted to have scenes where we could commentate on love, relationships, art, or just everyday shit. There are only four or five scenes like this in my film, but it was very important for me to have that in there.

Charlie Kaufman is another influence of mine, but more as a writer. He really writes what’s inside his head – literally, like in Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. This is exactly what I try to do in Belly of Beijing – grab what’s in my head and throw it on screen.

Tell us more about some of the specific hutong locations that you shot in, and how they make the film all the more special.
We shot in a few hutong locations, but the most pivotal one would have to be at Fang Bar. It’s a classy cocktail joint in Fangjia Hutong run by Zak Elmasri. That bar, unfortunately, almost closed down due to the recent bricked-up policy sweeping through the hutongs. So it makes it special in a way, as a testament to this city’s volatility, not to mention the resiliency of those keeping the hutong social scene alive.

Anything else you'd like to add?
Yes – this project was very much spearheaded by me, but it would have been utterly impossible to do without the army of people around me always willingly to help push it through the finish line, so thank you!

And on top of that Screenings of Into the Belly of Beijing will be going on all summer, so come watch it and let’s download some weird memories.

Into the Belly of Beijing will be screened at Yue Space as part of the Loreli Affordable Art Market on Sunday, June 25. The screening at 7pm costs RMB 50 to attend. The market runs from 2-11pm. Check out the film's trailer here.

For more information click here or check out the poster below. To keep up with future screenings and events related to the film, join its WeChat group by scanning the QR code below.