Derek Yee on Mentoring Young Hong Kong Directors at Shanghai Forum: ‘Stay Positive’

Hong Kong cinema stalwart Derek Yee spoke about taking responsibility for nurturing younger generations of filmmakers at Shanghai International Film Festival‘s forum on Hong Kong’s “Director’s Succession Scheme.” The panel was joined by filmmakers from younger generations, including Stephen Fung, T. Keane Wong, Wong Hoi, Norris Wong and Nick Cheuk.

“Afterpiece,” the opening film of SIFF, was directed by T. Keane Wong and produced by Yee. Wong, who started his career as Yee’s script supervisor on “I Am Somebody” at the age of 19, has consistently followed in Yee’s footsteps.

“I asked him to follow the project from the start to the end. Throughout my career as a producer, I’ve noticed that many assistant directors who transition into directors tend to pack up as soon as filming wraps, leaving the remaining work to a post-production coordinator. That means they missed out on a comprehensive, full-cycle filmmaking experience,” said the veteran filmmaker. “His edge is that he stays dedicated to every project from inception to completion. Every assistant director dreams of directing. When I finally felt he had reached maturity, as a chance from ‘Director’s Succession Scheme’ came along, I asked him to write a screenplay.”

Yee also shared how Wong became his greatest assistant on set. On larger productions, the directing team could expand to as many as 10 members, each with distinct responsibilities. “As I get older, my own memory has started to fade, and he helped me keep track of everything. Especially during post-production, the younger generation absorbed new knowledge much faster than we do – knowledge about AI in particular. So in reverse, I find myself turning to the young for answers,” he said.

Wong, for his part, was grateful that “Afterpiece” opened SIFF. He noted that disagreements with Yee only arose during the script stage, where the veteran went into exacting detail about each punctuation mark. “I hope this modest achievement has not brought him shame,” Wong said.

Yee said he preferred working with young people because it allowed him to re-experience his youth. “They remind me of that dream for cinema, and of wanting to achieve something great,” he said.

Fung added that when Yee visited the set of “Afterpiece,” he would not overreach to interfere with Wong – he often sat in a corner drinking coffee. “But we can feel that aura around you, and it’s so pressuring,” Fung jokingly said to Yee. “Look how serious you are!”

Yee acknowledged the observation. “I was afraid the actors might take advantage of the new director,” he said. “My being there helped.”

Norris Wong and Wong Hoi discussed their upcoming film “Good Trip,” another “Director’s Succession Scheme” project starring Hong Kong Film Award-winning actors Nick Cheung and Cherrie Chung Suet Ying. The directorial pair, collaborating for more than a decade, were considered the successors to Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, the executive producer of the project.

“We never needed to elaborate on our separate tasks. Mostly we discuss together at the script stage. Because I’m a writer, I’m mostly in charge of writing. On set, if we need to discuss the script with the cast, I take more responsibility. He’s a better chatter than me, so he’d be the better person to manage the crew,” Norris Wong said.

Wong Hoi confessed that when he first began working with Nick Cheung, he was intimidated to share his thoughts until Cheung encouraged him to open up.

On working with Mabel Cheung, Norris Wong said having a director as executive producer was a distinct advantage. “She knows exactly what creators need. She told us not to let past poverty limit our imagination and said, as long as I dream, she’d find a way to help,” she said.

Nick Cheuk, previously selected for SIFF Asian New Talent with Yee-produced “Time Still Turns the Pages,” tutored SIFF ING, the festival’s young filmmaker training program. Initially intimidated by Yee, Cheuk said he eventually took valuable lessons from him.

“Director Yee once discussed what cinema truly is. He described it as a commercial commodity with artistic merit, and an artwork with commercial value. I used to wonder why he framed it that way. In fact, it is because he feels a deep sense of responsibility toward investors,” Cheuk said. “Making a movie requires immense capital. It is entirely different from drawing a picture at home; it impacts so many people. What I learned from his words is that we, too, must be accountable to everyone involved.”

Acknowledging the difficulty of fundraising, Yee agreed that a barren market could be frustrating and encouraged directors to hold firm and believe the dark times were only cyclical. He also emphasized the importance of networking and self-promotion, recommending Peter Chan as a model – “he does much better marketing than me,” Yee said.

“It’s all about a healthy mindset. Stay positive,” Yee said.

On the subject of financing, Norris Wong said she gained confidence by completing her debut feature with a clear directorial point of view, and funded her second film herself. Cheuk urged directors to lean into their creative distinctiveness. “You have to consider what makes your work unique,” he said.

Asked why he continued to make films after more than 50 years in the industry, Yee was direct. “Because you have something to say,” he said.

“Cinema isn’t actually that grand. We can rarely solve the very questions we raise in our films. Only a handful of movies have truly sparked real-world change, and that is where their unique value lies,” Yee said.

The panel was followed by a discussion with the teams behind three low-budget Hong Kong features screening at Shanghai IFF – “Dog Day Evening,” “Bird of Paradise,” and “Unidentified Murder” – joined by Ho Leung Lau, Yukki Tai, Chui-Yi Wu, Catherine Chau, Ka Hei Kwok and Jack Lee Chun-Kit.