Originally a sparsely populated collection of coastal islands, the territory of Macau has become a major resort city and the top destination for gambling tourism. In fact, it is the ninth-highest recipient of tourism revenue and its gambling industry is seven times larger than that of Las Vegas. A far cry from what the grandparents of videographer, Vhils, experienced during his childhood. A homage to his grandparents, Vhils explores the changing high-tech culture and its effect on relationships, social life and worldview. And he isn’t alone, Macau has a rich and predominately rural history. These fast-paced changes toward technology has left a huge wage gap throughout society. So, while Macau has preserved many historical properties in the urban areas, the government is heavily criticized by its citizens for ignoring the conservation of heritage and tradition in its urban planning and technological development.
In memory of my father, my grandparents and the inner mountains of Portugal - Trás-os-Montes (2017).
PS: Wow. Staffpick! I am truly grateful for the response that the film has been getting. I have to thank Vhils - this video is a strict collaboration between his amazing work and my own. Be sure to check out Solid Dogma, the company I work for and has been supporting and producing all the videos I've been making. http://vhils.com || http://www.soliddogma.com
I think the best way to tell a story is to speak of something intrinsic to you. The more you know about the subject you are dealing with, the deeper people will connect with the film, by seeing their own reflections in it. This short film blurs the line between documentary and fiction, since it is based on a true story, from my own grandparents, but it could be anybody’s story - in this case, a woman in Macau. The universality of storytelling is what pushes me to insert this tiny narratives on a much broader subject that me and Vhils have been tackling. And that is, generally speaking, the pace at which the world is moving today. It has sped up dramatically from 20 years back. And while that has brought us infinite positive things and progress, it also created new questions and paradigms. Is the world still a big place? We take 3 hours to drive 300kms, but we can send a photograph to the other side of the world in one second. Are distances getting smaller? Is the world shrinking? Are the gaps between us getting smaller? Or are we drifting apart? We’re constantly texting, talking, posting about everything and anything, but are we really communicating most of the times? And maybe more importantly - is anybody really listening?
As a curiosity, the only super 8 shot that is used in this film portraying a woman and her baby (a big friend of mine) is actual footage from Macau in late 1970s. Domingos Silva, his father, was always documenting their life in Macau and he kindly sent me a pack of old videos and it was with absolute pleasure that I made a small homage to his family and any other family who has lived there in the past.
Thank you so much to Sin Ting Yung for translating AND reading my story in cantonese for the third time. It's been 2 years since the first one and I am very grateful for having the opportunity to express myself in cantonese. Thanks to Tiago Silva, Li Chongyu and Locanda Films for being an indispensable help on local production while in Macau and helping me get whatever I needed when I needed.
And finally, thank you to Vhils and all the Vhilstudio Team who joined us in Macau : Alex, André, Russo, Juca, Viktor, Zhao, Tiago and Li, for one more amazing job done in such a small timeframe. You guys are truly hard working beasts ;)
Full credits :
Artwork : Vhils
Written & Directed by : José Pando Lucas
Production : Solid Dogma, Vhilstudio
Camera & Edit : José Pando Lucas
Sound Mix : Chullage, José Pando Lucas
Voice Over : Sin Ting Yung
Translation : Sin Ting Yung, Miguel Moore
Local Production : António Faria
Aerial Footage : Crane Productions
Super 8 : Domingos Silva
Vhilstudio Manager, Asia : Tiago Silva
Communication Manager, Asia : Li Chongyu
Vhilstudio Manager, Portugal : Duarte Cavalinhos
Artist Assistants : Alexander Silva, Alex Zhao, André Alves, Duarte Cavalinhos, Ionut Clipacs, Luís Alcatrão, Paulo Piedade, Viktor So Lost, Sin Ting Yung, Tiago Silva
Editorial Content : Miguel Moore