Film graduate wins advertising awards Macau’s got talent

Lei Cheok Wai

Macau may be facing a problematic shortage of local talent, but Lei Cheok Wai is surely not the one to blame for that. His directorial commercial entitled “Anti-Smoking PSA” has won him many awards in the US, namely, third place in the Commercial category at the 36th College Television Awards (Emmy Awards), the Bronze Award (Student Category) at the 2015 American Advertising Awards – Los Angeles, and also the Silver Award (Student Category) at the 2015 American Advertising Awards – California.
Defying his parents’ expectations that he become an accountant, the 24-year-old persevered with pursuing his dream of being a film director in the United States thanks to a financial grant from the Cultural Affairs Bureau.
Lei’s decision to study at the Art Center College of Design in California is definitely understandable, as the college is consistently ranked among the top design schools in the world. Over the past year, the government has beefed up its efforts to devote more resources to the burgeoning local film industry, which Lei welcomed and praised. However, the problems the industry is currently facing are not only financial.
“I think Macau has enough talented people, and the government has also done its utmost in providing resources, which is fine. What the city lacks is a complete education system in video production. What we need is to nurture talent,” said Lei, adding that there were currently not many people technically talented enough to bolster the cinematographic industry in the city.
Macau’s abundance of both western and eastern culture, along with its unique gaming landscape, is probably the reason that the city has piqued the curiosity of many production teams from abroad. Opportunities for local production teams to work with international teams have been on the rise over the past few years. Lei reckoned that local talents must get themselves technically well-prepared for these rising opportunities.
“There are more foreign production teams coming to Macau for video production, which creates more opportunities for local production teams to get involved in their production. On top of that, more interaction can be facilitated between the two sides. It can further enhance the level of local production,” said Lei.
The fresh graduate told the Times that he is eager to return to Macau to foster the local filmmaking scene after he gains more professional experience in America. “Of course I would like to come back to Macau. I wish to produce short films to be released on the Internet as viral videos, which could effectively and swiftly lift the city’s fame.”
The continuous outflow of local talent has become a growing concern for the SAR government, which set up a Talents Development Committee last year in a bid to retain and nourish potential talent. To Lei, all of these problems could be easily addressed from a marketing perspective – the city needs to be completely repackaged.
“As long as Macau refurbishes its image as a leading destination in the creative realm, both domestic firms and foreign companies will come to Macau to look for local firms or talents to participate in their production. This will automatically attract talents back. It’s like a food chain, where there is demand, there is always supply.”
As the Cantonese saying goes, “Dreams aren’t as edible as rice.” Many local youngsters surrender to mainstream voices, either for quick money or having realized that dreams are hard to realize. Fortunately enough, Lei, currently working as a commercial director and MTV producer in California, was glad that his job paved the way to his dream. “Commercial design provided me with working opportunities. This not only turned my dream into my occupation, but also lets me showcase my talent at work.”
He continued: “Youngsters must yearn for a dream come true. It’s also a good thing to keep persevering for it. I am no exception,” said Lei. “But firstly you need to figure out if you have the required amount of perseverance to turn your dream into an occupation. Dreams aren’t as edible as rice. You’ve got to be mentally prepared for the fact that it takes time to hone your skills in order to reach your dream.”
But it takes more than just effort for an Asian director to stand out amongst the global filmmaking industry. Lei told the Times that stereotypically westerners tend to be less interested in products made by Asians. However, as long as your works are brilliant enough to represent your full capability, that should be enough to arouse their interest and opportunities will eventually come.
Earlier, the fresh graduate also obtained first prize in the 2013 “BomBom” Music Video Contest, which was organized by the song owners of American hip- hop singers Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. In addition, Lei’s MTV production for another American singer, Phil Beaudreau, called “Won’t Get Away,” has also been shortlisted for the National Film Festival for Talented Youth. Staff reporter