Interview Karena Lam

François: I would like to begin by talking about your career before the movies coz for us here in France that's not easy to find information even in english, so tell me if I'm right, what I found is that you are born and raised in Canada, right ?

Karena: Yes

F: From Chinese Hong-Kongese dad and from Chinese Japanese mum, that's right ?

K: Taiwan Japanese mum.

F: Ok, so after that you moved to Taiwan where you began a singer career with a first CD in 95 and then you went back to Canada to study more about music, then back to Taiwan for a second CD in 99 and then you moved to HK to begin a career in movies. So everything is right ?

K: Yes, it's right. C'est bon (Editor's note: french sentence meaning 'that's right')

F: Sorry ? (<-- the side effects of early wake up)

K: C'est bon ? Is that how you say it ?

F: (Laughs), oh yes, c'est bon : )

K: How I was involved… Well, basically with the producer Derek Yee. He saw me in some music videos so he filled me in. He filled me in to HK for a casting but after time Ann wasn't there so I phoned Derek and he's ok with it and then later on, we turned back to Taiwan. It was very funny coz he thought I was too nice for the part. And then I told Derek I wasn't nice at all and then I told him my experiences, my own personal experiences. And he was convinced. And I got the part in July Rhapsody. So basically it started out with Derek Yee.

F: And about your work with Ann Hui, she's well known as a great actor's director and I guess you were happy to begin you're career with her?

Karena Lam in July Rhapsody

K: It was pretty intimidating working with Ann actually, coz knowing that she was one of the more earlier female directors in Hong-Kong. So I assumed that she is a really tough and really mean, having survived in the film industry for such a long time. She's got a very steady reputation but working with her was so good because she's a real person. I mean she's very free-spirited, like when she wants to laugh, her laughs are very loud and she'd be like pounding on the ground and cracking up on everything else.

She's a person with a very big heart and it was really good working with her coz she gave me so much freedom. She gave me a lot of freedom because it was my first steady film so there was a lot of things I wasn't familiar with, such as film environment, so she just wanted me to go on and play around the role, she didn't gave me too many limitations. That was great working with her.

K: Well maybe it wasn't too hard, it’s just like, you know, a female nature. I had to be very performant because I don't live in HK. I wasn't raised in HK. I've never lived here so here in HK it's quite different from Canada where I was brought up.

Karena in July Rhapsody

Basically before the film, about 2 weeks ahead, I spent some time with the other students in the film, I went joking with them, shopping with them, arcade, game centers. I was always asking questions because they speak with the slang. Teenagers in Hong-Kong they have a very lazy tongue so they don't like to say like they have a slang but they don't speak perfect Cantonese and so I had to learn the slang somehow. Well I just basically spent more time with them, and it was just to chat with them and ask them many questions etc etc... It was very fun.

And I practised drawing because you know in the film, she does a sketchbook, she’d always draw others in class. There was an artist who was doing the drawings, and then Ann asked me if I could draw, and I said, well I can try a scribble. She saw my drawings, she said, just use mine. I had to practice drawing. It was full of fun actually.

K: No it wasn't easy at all. Actually I was quite frightened then. I always thought I was not able to do that, because I had played a student, and I had to go to a very different character, sensitive mentally. Very vulnerable. It was quite hard to deal. And honestly, I had doubts about myself, each day on the set I always asked Law Chi-Leung the director "are you sure?", if it's good, if I'm ok. He gave me a lot of confidence and of opportunities. I thank him for that. And I felt he helped me doing homework as well, prepare for the role, cause when I first came to Hong Kong, I didn’t speak perfect Cantonese. And, it was OK to have a slang for July

Karena Lam in Inner Senses

Rhapsody, in a sense they wanted me to speak local Cantonese, so I had to read the script each day for 35 hours for about a month, before we started filming.

And then afterwards, Law Chi-Leung brought me to a mental clinic, to observe, and do some homework there, I felt like depressed, and it did really open my eyes. I think it was the real purpose of going to a mental clinic, because in the movie, my character doesn’t think she’s insane. She just feels she’s completely honest of herself, and no-one believes her.And so, therefore, when I was in the mental clinic I just tried to get up there like within 10 minutes, because I don’t feel I belonged there and I felt I was feeling normal, I’m totally sane, so I don’t understand what’s the point in being there. That’s a disturbing uncomfortable feeling, I felt that. After that encounter in the mental clinic, I was in July Rhapsody, how do I feel ? Well, I feel uncomfortable and I feel like I don’t belong there.

But the scary thing when we went to that mental clinic, like we went with Law Chi-Leung and his assistant and they just left me there, and because you kind of snuck-in, because you know how to go there, if you are not a patient, so we snuck-in and I sat in the middle of the room, I was observing the little gestures, the little movements, doing homework, basically. That helped me a lot.

Karena Lam in Inner Senses

K: I think I’m really lucky, because, actually, when I came to Hong Kong for July Rhapsody. I was seeing one of those service platform. And to be honest, I had everything packed, my luggage (ready) each day, I constantly thought to go and get back in, because I always thought right after July Rhapsody I would return back to Taiwan to fnish my homework.So everything seemed so suddenly, It was really smooth, like right after the end of July Rhapsody, Law Chi-Leung casted me and he wanted me for the part, and then OK, I want to go to Taiwan after this, we went back home, and then Dante wanted to meet me, and so it just kept going, and I kept staying…

It was until I came to Hong Kong in July, and it was until Christmas I decided I was to settle down in Hong Kong. Everything just came so suddenly and so smoothly, it was really unexpected, and I think I’m really lucky. I think I give myself a lot of pressure because people give you opportunities, you need to try to do your best, instead of taking an advantage of it. So I hope I can try different genres of films, I always ask myself “What am I gonna learn on this project?”, and then “Is it worth taking it on ?”, and then I decide. I’ve been very lucky so far, and very fortunate.

K:When I got the “new artist” award , I was like, “OK, remember to thank to all the people that I’m supposed to thank”, but unfortunately, when I went up, I was so nervous and I was looking down at all those people I admired, I watched their films and I felt so little, I thanked everyone except my family and friends, so when I got home, I had a hard time for three days.

But then when I got for the “best supporting actress”, I was kind of sad actually, because I just thought everything came too quick, and I didn’t think I deserved it, because it was so fast. I was not upset but I didn’t feel that belonged to me. I know it’s a strange reaction. My company they’re like: “why are you so sad about it, why don’t you enjoy it?”. Up until now I never brought any of the awards home because once I get off the stage I just hand it over to my company, and they display them in the office.

I never brought any of the awards home. I wanted to get a fresh start each time, and learning things from zero, and I don’t wanted to “Ho, two years ago I got this award, so and so”. I don’t want to become like that, because an award then I don’t have to try hard. I like to start from zero each time.

K: I always give films first priority, I know it’s mean to say this, but my company is always rolling their eyes at me when I say this, but to be honest films is something… I think because singing right now is…, I haven’t started recording and I’m not ready for it yet. Each time I prepare for a job, I always have this process where I do homework, and then I get ready, and then I get into the situation. But singing, I haven’t started singing yet, we’re recording next week, so probably for a time I’m recording for the next month or so, then I’ll get into the character of being a singer.

But being a singer is so much more personal, so I think I’m a little scared, as for movies, it’s just not me and myself projecting a role. I need to rely a lot on costumes, on makeup, on lighting, on other actors, etc, but for singing, I think right know, I’m still at the posture where I’m kind of scared. I’m a little scared of doing this right now. I mean singing is so much more personal. The voice, you on stage alone… Singing is like telling people what you’re thinking. And I don’t really like people knowing what I think.

K: Yes, it will survive, we always survive. But it will take a lot of time for us to think about new ways to attract the crowds. I think HK crowds are quite strange.... Recently, I know they all prefer to watch more films too, because they are stucked in Hong-Kong. (Smile). But then it's good because it means box office as well. I really hope that the coming summer will be successfull.

Floating Landscape

K: When he saw it, he liked it, so he helped Carol Lai to approach other film companies. It was a process which took from April till this January, when we started doing the film. So it was a big half year since I have the script in my hands. I knew it so well. I felt so related to this character. She looks very vulnerable at first sight, very soft and very tender. But she is very strong, very sensual. And I just loved that. And plus, the other cast was Liu Ye, you know, the mainland China actor from Lan Yu? I wanted to work with him so much. When I knew it was him, I was so excited, I saw his performances in the movies, and I just liked it. Working with him, I have learned so much. Because there are a lot of actors and actresses in Mainland China, they are trained for four or five years, in the University for acting, and I had no training what so ever. So it's totally different. The actors in Hong Kong don't have any training. It's just based from experience. Liu Ye is so good in interpreting, he can laugh in one second, and be inside the character the second after. I can't do that, I need some time to do that. So I learned a lot from him.

It was weird also, we filmed it in Qingdao in China, we were there for about a month and a half or two months. At the end, I felt so sad, you are with the all crew, the cast, everyday for two months, so you got very attached. But it was very good experience.

Truth or Dare

K: Yes. Truth or Dare is a comedy. It's a very real life comedy, based on a true story, I mean the character they exist, they actually did rent an appartment in Hong Kong. So it's a comedy, but we don't make funny faces to make laugh. They are real life characters, so that you can feel related to them. It was great, because Barbara Wong, the director, she has a very good sense of comedy. She came out of the Academy of Art in 1998, in Hong Kong, she is an actress herself. You know, she directed a movie before, Women's Private Parts. But she is an actress also, a trained actress, so she is very familiar with the actors' mentality. She really knows how to help us to build an environnement, or build a character. So it was really fun working with her. And she is very open minded about ideas. If you have an idea, or if you don't feel comfortable with something, you just let her know, she is very sensible. And she is very aware. And also, as it was a comedy, each day was like laughing part, it was really fun. I don't mind taking a few more comedies. Even if I was just really scared before, because I made more drama, so I was really scare being in a comedy, I don't find myself very funny. But I saw a little bit of this movie, and I loved it.