Q&A | Zhu Congqian – PhD student, writer: ‘Macau draws a lot of attention to the cultural industry’

Zhu Congqian, a PhD student from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Macau (UM), recently won a national award for Best Young Screenwriter at the 2016 Next Idea Youth Screenplay Competition. The award was for a screenplay adapted from his own science-fiction story titled “The Autumn, the Dinosaur- man and I Left Behind.”

The story emphasizes the importance of children learning how to face reality as they grow up.

Zhu, from mainland China, has been studying for five years in Macau and he participated in the competition as a representative of UM.

Macau Daily Times (MDT) – Can you tell us more about the winning story? What led you to participate in the competition and what did you expect from it?

Zhu Congqian (ZC) – I have no experience in screenwriting, and I had never written one before. This screenplay is based on a novel I wrote in the past. I made some changes to it and rewrote it as a screenplay. The original book was published in mainland China earlier this year. Around June or July, I came to know about the existence of this competition and I decided to participate. I feel like it [the screenplay] was incredible. Based on my personal judgments, cartoons and screenplays about youth struggle, I don’t usually reach the final rounds of such competitions. Normally, these topics might be awarded for their artistic achievement, or given excellence awards. This is why I feel really happy.

MDT – Where does your screenwriting hobby come from and what kind of stories do you like to create?

ZC – When I was little, my grades were not that good. My world sounded safer when I imagined it rather than living in it for real. I started writing when I went to university, having started by writing poems and literature reviews. Poems are [for me] too formalized. I like writing children’s novels or books for young adults […] I [also] prefer to construct a realistic world in my literature which can reflect reality itself.

MDT – Is there anything in your life that changed after you won the prize?

ZC – Some things changed. Wining the competition provided me with many opportunities. There are a few mainland media companies looking for my cooperation. However, awarded stories need more time to be produced, and need a full [production] plan. [I would] first choose some media and drawing companies which relatively suit the market best in order to start writing screenplays with them. No companies from Macau have reached me yet.

MDT – What do you think of Macau’s potential if it wants to develop its film and television industries?

ZC – I think Macau has blessed advantages. The city draws a lot of attention to the cultural industry. In turn, the gaming industry has a natural connection with US companies. Macau’s actors and actresses have a more southern specialty, and Macau’s acting industry has communicated relatively more with Hong Kong. Its location is an obvious advantage.

MDT – How do you expect Chinese films and television to compete in the global market?

ZC – I am not worried about that. One needs to admit that Asian culture has inspired film and television products that seemingly cannot be accepted by Western audiences. If you look at the market from the perspective of Western audiences, [Western films and television programs] have their own stable market.