Vivian Hsu at the Hawaiian Film Festival!
Taiwan-born actress/recording artist Vivian Hsu may be the most exposed actress at the 2010 Hawaii International Film Festival, starring in three films.
But with the film festival winding down this weekend, Sunday's repeat showing of "Fire of Conscience" is the last chance to catch Hsu on screen. Last night she joined award-winning directors Li Qian Kuan and Xiao Guiyan here for the world premiere of "The Star and The Sea." She also had a role in "Hot Summer Days," which showed earlier in the festival.
With the assistance of interpreter Marshall Wu, Hsu talked about her dual careers in film and music, the roles she'd like to play, and a story she'd like to share with America in a major film.
John Berger: You have three movies here at the festival. Each one represents a different genre. Do you have a favorite genre or a favorite type of character?
Vivian Hsu: I particularly like "The Star and The Sea." The role of Xinghai's mother is very challenging. I've never played a mother before. Also, it is a period piece that takes place 100 years ago. However, l also like the challenge of working with different crews and different directors because it inspires different kinds of creative sparks. In the future I would like to do something I've never done before, particularly like a thriller, a crime story or a ghost movie.
JB: What is your next project?
VH: I just finished a film produced by Ang Lee in which I play a person with a birth defect. It is a type of role I have never played before and I enjoyed it.
JB: You have had a successful career as a singer and a successful career as an actress. At this point in your life do you have a preference?
VH: I enjoy acting more.
JB: Is there a director or actor you would like to work with?
VH: I would like to be in a movie directed by Ang Lee, not just produced by him, because his films are always a deep and special portrayal of humanity and timeless emotion. Also, I have never been in a true action movie and I would like to also work with a classic action film director. I have been in action movies but the female's role is always "damsel in distress" -- I only scream and run away, and for me that is not actually a female action part. I want to be a martial arts heroine with a sword.
JB: Is there a story you would like to share with Americans in a movie?
VH: Americans might be very familiar with the struggle of native Americans in the United States but have no knowledge of aboriginal groups in Asia and the struggle of Taiwanese indigenous people resisting Japanese colonization. I hope with this kind of film I can introduce this part of Asia that is largely unknown to American audiences and preserve this culture in film.
JB: Is there anything you haven't done yet that you would like to do?
VH: What I really want to do is publish a book on the aesthetic and beauty of Asian woman. I think it is very different from the Western view of beauty and aesthetics. This project has been on my mind for a very long time but I've never had the time to do it. For a girl, learning how to maintain yourself and how to keep yourself beautiful is an important lesson and a big struggle, and I want to tell how Asian females -- in China, Japan, Korea -- face the challenge. I think it would be a cultural exchange with Western audiences.
JB: One more quick question. You speak several languages. Was English more difficult to learn than Japanese or Korean?
VH: Learning Japanese was easier for me than Korean because Japanese still uses a lot of kanji but Koreans now use entirely the Korean alphabet, so Korean is more difficult. The grammar structure of English is much closer to Chinese than Japanese and Korean, and growing up in Taiwan, part of the education we receive is English -- American English, not British English -- but the best way to learn it would be to live here.
Source: Star Advertiser.