China’s Jing Han weaves together intricate stories for award-winning ‘Five Love Pieces’
Jing Han was only five years old when her parents bought a DVD player. It was then when she fell in love with movies, devouring film after film from her home in China. She was fascinated by the images that moved on the screen in front of her. The moment she began a new movie, she felt an adrenaline rush, and quickly, it became her favorite past time. As she grew, film became more than a hobby; it was an art form; it was her passion. She knew, even from five-years-of-age, that she was meant to one day make movies.
Now, an industry leading Chinese editor, Han is living that childhood dream. She has worked on countless award-winning projects, from films like Drawn Curtains and First Time Since to the music video Dreaming. Her vast understanding of her craft is evident in all her work, as is her passion.
“The reason why we are so fascinated about film is that it connects people. As an editor, knowing that the final product you deliver is going to connect you and hopefully a large audience from different cultures, that you are able to bring people joy and laughter and tears, is beyond fulfilling,” she said.
Han loves a challenge with her work, and when she worked on the film Five Love Pieces she had to seam together not just one story, but five. The film follows five different couples that respectively depict the concepts of sex, betrayal, secrets, and persistence, who eventually all cross paths in a coffee house, and leads to a series of consequences. The film portrays different kinds of relationships, with a gay couple, a lesbian couple, and heterosexual couples. Han appreciates how simple yet strong this idea was, and she wanted to be a part of it. On top of this, Writer/Director Jialei Li is also from China, and in the script he wrote about a Chinese couple who followed their dream of acting and moved to the United States, which Han deeply related to.
“The story is about different forms of love. The script fascinated me with its variety and complexity. It was definitely a challenge. And I think we should embrace more films that talk about love with fresh perspectives, that deal with feeling truthfully. Love is in our DNA, it’s part of who we are,” said Han.
Han came on board early, allowing her to work closely with the director and cinematographer on the script and shot list during pre-production. This greatly helped the editing process, as she had a clear vision of how every scene should play out when she began working in post-production. Because of the complexity of the script, the skeleton of it is extremely significant in order to ensure the audience stays informed and involved at the same time. Han was able to translate the intentions of the director into the sequence of images and express the intended ideas within those images, creating a cinematic masterpiece.
“The challenge of this project is that it has several chapters, and each one of them is an independent story. It wasn’t until the last scene that the audience discovers how everyone is connected. Each small story is a different genre, which was exciting for me to work on,” said Han. “I had a delightful time working with Jialei Li. He is very passionate about his story and I like that energy about him. It’s inevitable for directors and editors to have differences, but we figured it out smoothly. He trusted my instincts and respected my decisions.”
Five Love Pieces premiered at 2019 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival earlier this year, where it was nominated for Best Short Film. It has gone on to countless other film festivals, taking home many awards, including Best Editing at the LA Shorts Award. Han was also nominated for her editing contributions to the film at the European Cinematography Awards. Han could not be more thrilled for the film’s continued success.
“I am also very happy that the audience connected with us emotionally and feels for the story, it is the most important recognition for filmmakers and we did it. I had a delightful time working with the whole cast and crew, they are all very professional and they deserve all the recognition,” Han concluded.
By Annabelle Lee
May 30th, 2019
