Here are some photos by Timothy Chang from the cast and crew screening party held over the weekend. Thanks to the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale for hosting and everyone who were able to take time out of their Sundays to come out! It’s now onward and upward with marketing and business development for the film.
At the age of four or five, a young Chinese girl growing up during the 10th and early 20th centuries would begin the process of foot binding. Her feet would be broken and bound into tight bandages for the next ten to fifteen years. The goal was to achieve the desired size of the three-inch golden lotuses. Foot binding caused constant, excruciating pain. In the beginning, a girl could barely even stand on her own. Walking even a few steps would often be painful and tiring.
Qiu Jin was considered one of the more fortunate victims. Despite the pain, she continue to remain active throughout her life.
Rae and I are getting closer to completing the rough cut of The Qiu Jin Project. It’s been a long process, but the light at the end of the tunnel is clearly visible now. Of course, there’s a lot of work still to be done even after we get the rough cut done. For instance, we have to complete our musical score and perform color grading. Still, having the rough cut is a significant goal that we set out to achieve this month!
We’re on the home stretch for completing our principal filming and photography. This morning, we photographed our betrayal scene with Xu Xilin and a Qing Dynasty Governor. Preston and Stan did a great job posing for the camera. I’m famous for the line, “One more time,” and they both were very patient when I snapped shot after shot.
Click the link to see the rest of the photos.
This weekend in Southern California, we filmed some scenes of Qiu Jin learning and practicing martial arts with her relative. Rae’s cousin was great for the role of Qiu Jin’s Tai Chi Master relative!
In addition, we filmed our first interview with a U.S. based scholar, Professor Hu Ying from UC Irvine. On our East Coast trip, we will be traveling to Brown University and Connecticut College to interview two additional scholars familiar with Qiu Jin’s life and work.
Click the link to see the rest of the photos of Tai Chi Master.
Our actors and actresses braved the scorching heat in our garage to complete filming for the month in the Bay Area. We are now headed down to Southern California and the East Coast, where will will complete the rest of our filming.
Nearly a dozen domestic scenes were filmed this weekend. Notable scenes include Qiu Jin’s husband and his drinking buddies, wedding preparations with the evil twin maids, and young Qiu Jin learning calligraphy. The featured photo is the Qiu Jin family portrait. You’ll never guess who the baby daughter really was!
Click the link to see more photos from this weekend.
Day two of filming last weekend took us again to Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. We filmed scenes of Qiu Jin discussing political ideas with a group of Chinese female students. The actresses’ kimonos were prepared expertly by Yuki, who is a master at tying the obi! Hakone Gardens was also used as a fill-in for China, where Connie and Li Jing discusses their plans for the Chinese Women’s Journal.
Our garage set once again was transformed into the Datong School. Finally, we had Richard return to reprise his role as Sun Yat-Sen for a quick portrait.
Click the link to view photos from Day 2.
At Vista Point, we filmed scenes of Li Jing as Qiu Jin practicing Tai Chi and reading by a tree, mirroring those we shot in April with Melissa as Young Qiu Jin. The following day, we were at Berkeley’s Tilden Park for the Chinese Women’s Army. We had 34 extras for the army scene, all dressed in black kung fu uniforms. Led by Li Jing, the troops were drilled in wushu basics and taught female empowerment.
We got some great footage and some wonderful photographs, which you can see below. Thanks go out to Eric, JP, Edna and Erik, and Petrice for organizing and helping out with the shoot. Finally, big shout out to the members of the Chinese Women’s Army. You all did a fantastic job, and we couldn’t have pulled it off without you!
Click the link to see photos from the shoot.
During the filming of our trailer, we created three Autumn Gem posters. Which one do you like the best?
Autumn Gem 