Interview Chinese Arthouse Cinema Distributor Jiexiao Ying: New York is a City for Dreaming

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专访华语电影发行应婕晓 | 纽约是一个看月亮的城市
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cg2ZHXeL9tXpGCjyRgw0eg

Interviewed by Sunrise 2019.6.10

Jiexiao Ying, born in Hangzhou, China, graduated from Fudan University in 2016 with a major in Chinese Language and Literature. In 2018, she graduated from Cinema Studies MA program at New York University. She is as a New York-based international sales agent and film festival publicist for Parallax Films, and she writes film reviews for DeepFocus. In 2019, she assisted Cohen Media Groups and Kino Lorber in the North American distribution of Chinese language arthouse films, “Ash is Purest White” and “Long Day’s Journey into Night.”

Q: I have noticed in your WeChat moments that you have been promoting “Long Day’s Journey into Night” (hereinafter referred to as “Long Day”) in the North American market. Can you tell me how you got the job?

A: I have interned at independent arthouse film distribution companies when I was a graduate student at the NYU Cinema Studies program. I used to intern with Zeitgeist Films, which shares the same office space and facilities with Kino Lorber, which released “Long Day.” As a Chinese-speaking person, I was borrowed by Kino Lorber to support the film at its screening at the New York Film Festival last fall. I distributed postcards with screening info to the audience who were patiently waiting outside in the long queue. I love this film myself and told the staff and Kino Lorber that I hoped to help out when the film is theatrically released in April 2019. In February of this year, Kino Lorber’s theatrical manager Nick indeed reached out to me and hired me to work on this film as the Chinese community outreach coordinator. I designed the strategy, and Nick assisted me in accomplishing the goal while he continued to conduct regular North American audience promotions.

This job was very valuable to me. Not only was that my first freelancing job after my long history of internship in North America, but it also allowed me to discover my unique career path: I was responsible for Chinese community outreach and social media promotion at an American distribution company for Chinese arthouse films. I have always wanted to bridge the gap between the US distributors and the Chinese audience because American distributors don’t have access to WeChat and Weibo and feed the news to the Chinese audience. I also believe that the Chinese market has been long overlooked. This time, I can finally solve the problem and realize my dream to connect Chinese diasporas with Chinese movies. After accepting this job, I was recommended to the Cohen Media Group to promote another Chinese arthouse film, “Ash is Purest White”, which helped me improve my skills in this niche marketing field.

Q: What do you do in terms of Chinese community outreach?

A: Community promotion is to find a suitable audience for niche movies. The strategy for each movie will be different. This searching process is the reason why the arthouse film distribution attracts me. For “Long Day”, I aimed at Chinese filmmakers, artists, international students, etc as the targeted audience. I think this is a group of people who are interested in the innovation of the film form and willing to try different viewing experiences. So the hooks for the marketing strategy are “59-minute 3D long take,” “dreamy,” and “a flying experience”.

Usually, as a distributor, my job is to spread the screening information to the audience. However, I sincerely hope that everyone can go to the cinema to experience this film and even get to know each other during this activity. Therefore, I wrote articles on social media to promote the film, placed postcards to fancy places where cool Chinese hipsters hang out, wrote to art institutions for their information, and contacted WeChat Public Account for co-promotion. In the meantime, I organized a local screening event in New York. In the New York premiere evening, I applied for a group discount price of $3 less and invited movies lovers from my WeChat group. People came from New Jersey and Queens to watch the movie. They introduced themselves when we had a little drink before the screening. They discussed the emotional expression and the technical details of the film in the WeChat group after the event, which extended their happiness of the film.

During the film promotion, I have met more people who like Chinese arthouse movies in North America. The WeChat group of “New York Cinephile Group” is approaching 500 members. “LA Cinephile Group” and “American Cinefile Group” are small but will continue to expand. All the groups are composed of film lovers. I also have a network of young film professionals who I found when I was in charge of the film casting info collection on the platform of a cinephile outlet, DeepFocus. These online communities are a solid cinephile base to start my work.

I was very happy throughout the process because I got a lot of help from my friends. Jennifer Zhan is much experienced in organizing film events in Canada. She has shared many suggestions over the phone, including providing a few precious franchises, like vinyl records and scarves of the film theme, to engage the overseas fans. Director Bi Gan’s friend, artist Inna, has already seen Earth, but she invited more than a dozen artists to watch the movie at Metrograph, turning the viewing experience into an eventful gathering of old friends.

(Artist Attendees at Metrograph Party)

Q: On New Year’s Eve, “Long Day” suffered from the backlash in film review due to its misleading campaign. Does this cause any difficulties for North American distribution?

A: The unfortunate response of “Long Day” in China was reported by US media. However, this has become an anecdote in the context of the high remarks given by the American film critic. The industry is more likely to be curious about the film: why does the arthouse box office miracle suffer from a bad review the next day? Indeed, the Chinese review may have an impact on Chinese audiences, so I tried to collect the original and honest positive reviews from the North American audience. For example, the film is indeed a bit slow and makes you sleepy, but after getting used to this rhythm, you will catch the beauty of the film in its anti-gravity experience, Tang Wei’s green dress against the damp town, the game-like labyrinth of the narrative and the excellent music composition. I post these feedbacks on WeChat public account, and I hope that Chinese speakers in North America can rediscover the film.

The promotion of North American arthouse film is less stressful than that in China, because the rules of the game are established, and the audience of arthouse films has been cultivated. They subscribe to the news of the distributors via e-mail, follow the social media accounts, and receive the physical line-up in their mailbox. The distributors feed the news to the loyal audience and promote the films in consistence with the style of the film, invite film critics who might be interested in the title, and contact newspapers and radio stations to advertise. However, the Chinese audience market has not yet been explored. American distributors often think about contacting Chinese-language newspaper and placing postcards in Chinatown. However, I think that new immigrants and international students rarely read Chinese newspapers and magazines, and they may not live in Chinatown. I believe that in addition to contacting the organizations in film schools, Chinese-specific social media tools such as WeChat and Weibo are necessary for film publicity.

Speaking of difficulties, the difficulties I encountered were the difficulties faced by Chinese audiences. The most common one is that people do not know when the film will be released and where to buy tickets. Arthouse films are not like commercial movies. The premiere date is not the same across the nation and the selected theatres are scattered. The audience of “Long Day” is expected to be enthusiastic and patient, waiting for the film to expand from one city to another. New York, as the most critical box office city of the arthouse movies, shows the film for two or three months; Los Angeles and Washington DC will play the film for more than two weeks; the other cities will only hold the film for a few days to two weeks. As a result, if you don’t pay extra attention to the film, it is easy to miss its screening in your city. What I can do was to track and update the city where “Long Day”  was played each week, and broadcasted to everyone which cities opened the film on Friday, which theatres stopped showing the film on Thursdays. I spread the news via my WeChat Public Platform, “CineClub18,” and Dangmai’s WeChat Public Platform and Weibo.

Another challenge is that Chinese-speaking audiences are not used to buying the tickets on the theatre’s official websites. There are many film lovers who ask me where to buy the tickets. In China, there are online ticket platforms which cover all the films in all the cinema. In the US, however, each independent cinema has its own website and ticket-purchasing channels. You can subscribe to these cinemas via e-mail and you won’t miss any news about the upcoming film. I recently discovered a practical way of purchasing tickets: Google “film title + screening” in Chinese, and you can find the theatre information in your city. Click on the time in the showtime box (do not click on the movie title), you will enter the official website or their partner ticket purchasing channel. After buying the tickets, you can present the electronic version on your mobile phone upon entering the cinema (adjust the screen light to the brightest).

(New York cinephiles at Film at Lincoln Center)

Q: Why do you think Kino Lorber picks up the Chinese arthouse film “Long Day”? Do you think it can make money in the theatrical release?

A: This is a very bold decision for Kino Lorber, because “Long Day” is only the second feature film of Bi Gan. Although he is critically acclaimed in the film festival circle, he is still technically a new director for the audience. However, the distributor values the filmmaker’s review among the film critics. Later, many established American newspapers and magazine, such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and the Film Comment gave beautiful film reviews and build the reputation of “Long Day” among the film professionals. Kino Lorber’s publicist often shares the praises from media outlets every day. “Long Day” has become a recent box office champion among many films released by Kino Lorber.

Another challenge is that the film has a 59-minute 3D long take, and the usual arthouse cinema does not necessarily support 3D screenings. Kino needs to reach out to new cinemas and even screen the film in commercial AMC cinemas, to ensure that each area has 3D screenings. We were worried that AMC viewers might not like this challenging narrative and the slow pace of the film. However, “Long Day” performed well in both arthouse cinemas and commercial theaters. By the beginning of June, its box office record has exceeded 400,000 US dollars. The film is still running in various cities.

Theatrical screening is only one part of the revenue. For distributors, the significance of a theatrical screening is to promote the film regionally and gain exposure from the local media. “Long Day” will come out in DVD, Blu-ray, streaming media and other formats later. Viewers who like the movie, or people who have not caught the chance to watch it, can collect the physical copy or watch online.

Q: According to your observation, what is the audience demography of Long Day in the cinema?

A: At the premiere in the Lincoln Center, I took a closer look at the audience. They are from all races and ages and very diversified. Kino Lorber’s partners said that the general audience of arthouse films is often elder white people, who are well-educated, patient to watch movies with subtitles, and fascinated by Tarkovsky. However, “Long Day” has a larger number of young people of different races. Perhaps it is a 3D movie, with A-list Chinese actors, or perhaps young people still read the film reviews? I am also very curious about the phenomenon myself and need to interview the audience again.

Q: Cinephile group is also very popular in China. Do you know anything about that? Are you inspired when you initiate the cinephile groups overseas?

 A: I have done theatre-on-demand in China, similar to the nature of a cinephile group. In summer 2017, I hosted two screenings in China. One time, with the help of the “Elemeet” platform, I showed Fan Jian’s documentary “Still Tomorrow” in Longyan, Fujian. Another time, I cooperated with the director and a new friend Xing Chao to show the documentary about startups, “Go with Your Gut” at Chaoyang Theater in Beijing. I received much support from the “Elemeet”, who helped me to contact the theater, sent me a large box of giveaways, including the documentary protagonist Yu Xiuhua’s poems, exquisite postcards, and bracelets. A WeChat group of “movie captains” also offers advice for a successful screening.

The screening of “Still Life” was very vigorous: my cousin baked beautiful cookies and gave them to viewers for free; my uncle took many photos of the event; my mother’s high school classmate forwarded the event information, turning the screening activity into a class reunion in the cinema; people came with their parents, making the theatre full of love and warmth. After the screening, I held a discussion with a microphone, talking about the choice of characters, the image of the fish, the sentimental moments of the protagonist. That experience made me realize that movie theatre can be a reason for people to connect, and the space of the cinema can be a forum for discussion across ages and backgrounds. Since then, I have wanted to bring these connections and sparks everywhere, including Chinese in New York.

I met a mother in Florida a few days ago. She hopes that her children will have more access to Chinese films and cartoons. I realize that mothers and second-generation immigrants are very important audiences for Chinese movies, and they are also huge in amount. However, Chinese film festivals and screening opportunities are rare in some cities. I think if I have time to find the right film in the future, I can remotely assist people in launching a theatre-on-demand in a city where people need.

Q: We see disrupting behaviors in Chinese cinemas, such as screenshots and talking over the film. Why do you think those happen? Is this the case in North America too?

A: I personally think that the impulse of taking screenshots comes from a lifestyle, a “sharing mode” of lifestyle. If an experience is not shared, it will be considered faded into oblivion over time, non-existent, so we cannot help keeping traces of life through photos. Or some people are passionate about encouraging other people to watch the film they like by posting images on social media. I also have this kind of impulse, but I don’t need to achieve the goal by taking screenshots. I can use the official high-resolution stills for voluntary promotion, or show the ticket stub as evidence of my viewing experience. After all, the screenshots not only infringe the copyright but also disrupt the audience and ourselves with the dim light, the action to capture the film. Predicting and finding the perfect time for shooting a still will divert our attention and disrupt the immersive experience the cinema offers.

The reason why people talking over the film might be that the movie is boring, but I feel it is best to respect the person who chooses to continue watching the movie anyway. At this time, I hope that Chinese cinemas can adopt very strict rules over theatre behavior. For instance, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in the US has a strong culture for the cinephile. People who take pictures and speak during the film are warned, and if they don’t listen, they must leave the movie immediately! Disruptive behaviors are rare in the United States. Upon entering the cinema, everyone is ready to be immersed in this black space for about two hours and embrace the experience. Watching a movie is not about chasing the trend, but trying a new experience. People have a different mentality here, and they are not anxious to share on social media to confirm their happiness.

Q: Do you want to stay in New York for your career path?

A: If circumstances permit, I hope to continue playing a unique role here: connecting overseas audiences by high-quality Chinese movies and creating public space for discussion. New York is a paradise for arthouse cinemas. Recently, I have collected reviews from my friends about more than a dozen cinemas, and we made a map of arthouse cinema in New York, which are full of our fond memories.

People may think New York is a fast-moving financial city or a dazzling fashion capital, but in my eyes, New York is a city where many individuals are looking up to the moon and dreaming wildly. If you insist on doing something you like, you can win encouragement and respect from others. Strangers are easily moved. Especially for artists, they can always find like-minded partners, whether they do arthouse films, impromptu comedy, or pioneering drama.

New York is like a spaceship, full of ambitious people from all over the world. I really want to continue working hard in this city of dreams.

专访华语电影发行应婕晓 | 纽约是一个看月亮的城市

 

应婕晓，生于杭州，2016年毕业于复旦大学汉语言文学专业，2018年毕业于纽约大学Tisch电影研究硕士项目。作为纽约的联络人，在视幻文化做国际销售和海外电影节公关工作，同时在深焦撰稿。2019年在纽约协助Cohen Media Groups和Kino Lorber做《江湖儿女》和《地球最后的夜晚》的北美发行和华语媒体推广。

Q:看到你的朋友圈，了解到你最近在做《地球最后的夜晚》的北美推广，可以聊聊你是怎么接触到这个工作的吗？

A:我在NYU读电影研究硕士项目期间，一直在独立电影或者艺术电影发行公司做实习。我所在的Zeitgeist Films和发行《地球最后的夜晚（下文简称地球）》的Kino Lorber共用同一个办公场地，我作为一个说中文的人，就被借去支持《地球》去年秋天在纽约电影节的放映活动，给排长龙的观众发放影片明信片等等。我自己很喜欢这部影片，和Kino Lorber的工作人员说，我希望在4月院线正式放映的时候做自来水推广。然而今年2月的时候，Kino Lorber的剧场发行Nick果然找到我，正式雇佣我负责《地球》这个项目的华语社群推广，由我自己制定策略。Nick一边进行常规的北美观众宣传，一面辅助我完成目标。

这次机会对我来说非常宝贵，不仅是我在北美长期实习后的第一份自由职业工作，也让我发现了自己的独特功能：在美国艺术电影发行公司负责华语社交媒体的宣传。我一直烦恼英语的发行商不会用微信、微博把放映消息投喂到华语观众面前，也深深觉着华语观众市场被发行低估，这次终于可以直面问题，实现通过华语电影联系异乡人的愿望了！在接受了这份工作之后，我被推荐到Cohen Media Group做《江湖儿女》的华语宣发，提升了华语社群推广的技能点。

Q：华语社群推广具体是做什么呢？

社群推广就是为小众电影找到合适的观众群，每部电影都会有所不同，这个寻找的过程正是艺术电影发行吸引我的地方。对于《地球》而言，我把主要华语受众定在电影人、艺术家、留学生等等，我觉得这是一个对电影形式的革新，适合愿意尝试不同观影体验的人群，因此推广的时候突出的是“59分钟3D长镜头”“梦幻感”“飞行”这方面的特质。

通常作为发行商这方，只需要把放映信息传达给观众。不过我真心实意希望大家能去电影院感受这部影片，甚至通过电影认识彼此。所以我一方面在社交媒体上写文章做宣传，和朋友们在文艺青年出没的场所发明信片，写信给艺术相关的机构，联络微信公众号联合推广；另一方面我也组织了纽约当地的观影活动，申请了便宜3美元的集体优惠价，邀请微信群上的影迷朋友。大家果然从新泽西、皇后区赶来看电影，在映前小酌时自我介绍，在映后的电影群里讨论影片情感表达和技术细节，延伸了电影的快乐。

在宣传的过程中，我认识了更多北美各地喜欢华语艺术电影的人们，“纽约观影团”的微信群将逼近500人了，“LA观影团”和两地之外的“美国观影团”规模还很小，但都是特别热心华语艺术电影的朋友。再加上深焦剧组招募令期间结识的各地电影人，我找到了一个不断成长的艺术电影观众基础。

整个过程我很开心，得到了很多朋友的帮助。小玄儿在加拿大办观影团非常有经验，在电话里慷慨地给我分享了许多建议，包括给海外影迷提供少量珍贵的黑胶唱片和丝巾等周边，增加活动的吸引力。毕赣导演的朋友艺术家Inna早已看过《地球》，但是她邀请了十几位艺术家来Metrograph观影交流，看电影多了一层老朋友聚会的事件性。

Q:跨年时《地球》遭遇了国内的报复性口碑下滑，这对北美宣发有没有造成什么困难？

A:《地球最后的夜晚》在国内的反响也会被国外的媒体报道，不过在整体赞誉的环境下，这成为了一则轶事，业内人反倒更想去看看，到底是一部怎样的电影，会在中国收获票房奇迹，又遭遇口碑的断崖式下滑。不过口碑对于华语观众可能会有影响，我试图收集一些在北美看《地球》的普通观众的感受，给大家诚实的反馈，比如的确会有点困意，但是习惯了这个节奏以后，反重力的观影感受，汤唯在水汽中摇曳的绿裙，近似解谜游戏的叙事，出色的音乐设计，都是观众提炼的亮点。我把这些反馈放在微信公众号的推文中，希望北美的华语观众可以重新发现这部影片。

北美艺术电影的宣发在某种程度上比国内压力小一些，因为游戏规则基本固定了下来，喜欢艺术电影的观众群已经培养了起来，他们订阅着发行公司的邮件，关注着社交媒体账号，甚至接收着纸质片单。公司直接面向这些观众做和电影风格一致的宣发，邀请感兴趣的影评人，联系报纸和电台打广告就可以。不过，华语观众市场还没有被发掘，美国发行商的思路一般是去找华语报刊，在中国城发明信片。然而，我认为新移民和留学生很少读华语报刊，也未必住在中国城，除了联系各个学校的组织之外，微信和微博这些中国专用社交工具是特别必要的宣发手段。

说起困难，我遇到的困难就是华语观众遇到的困难。最常见的就是观众不知道何时上映，在哪买票。艺术电影不像商业大片，放映时间不统一，地点零散。《地球》的观众不仅得热情，还得有耐心，等候影片在一个个城市之间流转。纽约作为艺术电影的票仓放映两三个月，洛杉矶、华盛顿会多放一阵，但是其他地区上院线的时间从几日到两周不等，如果不小心关注着消息，很容易错过。我能做的就是每周追踪更新《地球》所在的城市，给大家播报哪些城市周五上新，哪些周四下架，发布在我的微信公众号“萤火点灯人”，荡麦的公众号和微博上。

另一个挑战是华语观众对于“官网购票”这种土味购票方式也不太习惯，经常有观众问我哪里买票。北美不像国内有几乎覆盖所有影院的淘票票或猫眼app，每个艺术电影院都有自己的网站和购票渠道，可以订阅这些艺术电影院的邮件，就不会错过新片的消息了。我最近致力于科普购票方法：谷歌搜索“电影名 放映”就能看到所在城市的排片信息，点击放映的时间数字（不要点击电影名），就会进入官网或者合作购票平台，买票，检票时出示电子版（屏幕调到最亮）就可以了。

Q:你觉得Kino Lorber为什么选择发行《地球最后的夜晚》这部华语艺术电影？在影院放映赚钱么？

A:这对于Kino Lorber来说是一个非常大胆的决定，因为《地球最后的夜晚》是毕赣导演的第二部作品，尽管电影节的声誉很高，但在院线还是一位新导演。不过艺术电影的发行商非常看重这部影片在电影圈子和影评人中的口碑，后来大量美国主流报刊如《纽约时报》、《洛杉矶时报》以及杂志《Film Comment》的长篇影评证明，这部影片在北美有极高的专业口碑，负责公关的同事每天都喜气洋洋地发来各大报纸的好评，《地球》成为了近期院线发行影片中的爆款。

另一个挑战是这部电影有长达59分钟的3D片段，而普通的艺术电影院未必支持3D放映，所以Kino需要建立新的合作，甚至尝试把艺术电影放到AMC院线（北美最大的连锁院线）里，尽量保证每个区域都有3D的场次。我们一度担心AMC的观众不会喜欢这个叙事复杂慢节奏的影片，没想到《地球最后的夜晚》在艺术院线和商业院线的表现都很出色，到6月初已获得了40万美元的票房，目前还在各个城市放映。

影院放映只是收入的一部分，对于发行商来说，院线放映的重要意义是宣传影片，获得当地媒体的曝光，赢得观众的青睐。《地球》将来会出DVD，蓝光，流媒体等格式，喜欢影片的观众，或者没赶上看电影的朋友，可以收藏或观赏。

Q:根据你的观察，《地球最后的夜晚》在电影院的观众组成是怎样的？

A:在《地球最后的夜晚》的林肯中心首映场，我仔细观察了一下，各种族和年龄段的观众都有，分布非常平均。老板们说一般艺术电影的观众都是老年白人，他们受过高等教育，有耐心看带字幕的电影，着迷塔科夫斯基。然而，《地球最后的夜晚》有大量不同种族的年轻人，或许因为它是3D电影，或许因为演员本身的吸引力，或许因为年轻人还是会看报纸的影评推荐？我自己也很好奇，需要再多问问观众。

Q:国内的观影团也特别火爆，你对国内的观影团有了解么？对你在海外的观影团组织有什么启发？

 A:我在国内做过点映活动，类似观影团的性质。2017年暑假，我在国内做过两场放映活动，一次是通过“大象点映”平台的帮助，在福建龙岩放映范俭导演的纪录片《摇摇晃晃的人间》，另一次是直接和导演合作，与刚认识的搭档邢超在北京朝阳剧场放创业纪录片《内心引力》。例如“大象点映”这一场，工作人员的支持非常到位，帮我联系院线，寄给我一大盒周边，包括余秀华的诗歌，精致的明信片，还有手环等等，我们在发起人群里交流方法。

《摇摇晃晃的人间》的点映弄得非常轰轰烈烈：表姐帮我烘烤了一屉美丽的小饼干，免费发放给来看电影的人；舅舅拍了一堆活动照片；妈妈的中学同学们帮我转发活动信息，把观影活动变成了一个开在电影院的同学会；同学们带着自己的爸爸妈妈来，场面更加热闹和温馨。映后，我举着话筒主持了一段讨论，谈论人物的选择，鱼的意象，影片主角的动人时刻。那段经历，让我意识到电影可以作为人们相聚的理由，电影院的空间可以成为跨越年龄和背景的讨论场所。自那以后，我就想把这些联结和火花带到各处，包括纽约华人身边。

前一阵子认识了佛罗里达州的一位妈妈，她希望能让孩子多接触华语片、动画片，让我意识到妈妈们和第二代移民们是华语电影非常重要的观众，也是一个庞大的群体。但是一些城市的华语影展和放映机会较少，我想日后若有精力，找到合适的影片，也可以远程协助大家在有需求的城市发起点映。

Q:国内的电影院常出现不文明观影行为，比如屏摄和讲话等等，你觉得这是什么原因呢？北美有这种情况么？

A:我个人觉得“屏摄”的冲动来自一种生活模式，无时无刻不在分享的生活模式。如果经验没有被分享，在时间的冲刷下会变得淡漠，近乎不存在，所以你需要不停地留下生活的痕迹。也有一种情况是属于价值观输出型选手，希望大家能去看自己喜欢的影片。我觉得自己也有这种冲动，但是不需要通过 “屏摄”达到目标。我觉得可以利用官方发布的高清剧照作为安利的理由，或者拍摄票根作为体验过的证据。“屏摄”除了版权问题，手机的微光和动静不仅打扰邻座，也会造成自己分神，预判拍摄的时刻多少会影响自己对大银幕的沉入感。

“讲话”可能是因为电影无聊，但是我觉得无论如何还是要尊重选择继续看电影的人，如果能安静离开是最好。这个时候，希望国内的影院能采取非常严格的管理办法，就像美国迷影氛围浓厚的Alamo Drafthouse Cinema一样，屏摄、讲话的人，警告一次不听，必须离开电影！屏摄和讲话的行为在美国很少见。进入电影院之后，大家都准备好在这两个小时左右，沉入这个黑色空间，沉入一种体验。看电影不是追热点，而是获得一种体验，同时不着急用分享来确认这种快乐，所以可能在心态上有很大的差异。

Q:你希望日后留在纽约发展么？

A:如果情况允许的话，我希望继续在这里发挥独特的作用，让海外观众看到出色的华语电影，创造讨论的公共空间。纽约本身又是艺术电影院的天堂，最近收集了伙伴们对十几家电影院的评测，做了一个艺术电影院的地图，勾起了我很多回忆。

大家可能以为纽约是一个高速运转的金融城市，或者声色犬马的时尚之都，但是我眼中的纽约是一个许多人都在看月亮和做梦的城市。如果你坚持做喜欢的事，你很容易得到他人的鼓励和尊重，陌生人都特别容易感动。尤其是做艺术的人，无论是艺术电影、即兴喜剧，还是先锋戏剧等等，都能轻松找到志同道合的伙伴。

纽约就像一个宇宙飞船，满载着来自世界各地的野心勃勃的人们，我很想在这里充满野心的城市继续打拼。