This director loves making friends.

Qin Keqing made two preparations for the next step.

Ideally, I would join the crew of "King of Beggars" as a person in charge, so that I could observe and learn about the shooting rhythm of Hong Kong films during this period and accumulate experience.

If you build a good relationship with the director or a certain star in the production team, you can use that as a springboard to try your luck in Hong Kong and see if there are any better opportunities.

The benefits of doing this are obvious: having experience in a blockbuster film like "King of Beggars" will lead to more job opportunities in Hong Kong and a higher starting point.

Moreover, by then, "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" might have already won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, making Qin Keqing's resume even more impressive.

Actually, if you don't have high expectations and can accept the life of an extra, the opportunities in Hong Kong during this period were far greater than those on the mainland.

Qin Keqing did a special check. Although he couldn't find specific numbers, he was certain that from the mid-to-late 1980s to the present, Hong Kong has produced at least 200 films every year, and sometimes even more than 300.

These 200-plus films may not seem like a lot, but it's important to remember that during that period, mainland China only produced around 150 films a year.

How big is the mainland?

How big is Hong Kong?

To put it another way, each of Beijing's districts—Shunyi, CP, TZ, DX, Pinggu—is roughly the same size as the land area of ​​Hong Kong.

And areas like HR, MY, FS, and YQ are almost twice the size of Hong Kong.

Or to put it another way, many county towns in mainland China are no smaller than Hong Kong in terms of area.

Most of the Hong Kong films of this period were shot in local studios or on the streets of Hong Kong. Imagine what it would be like if your county could shoot more than 200 films every year.

Well, at least there are definitely... endless opportunities to play minor roles there!

For others, playing a minor role might not be considered an opportunity.

But for Qin Keqing, this was an excellent opportunity.

If you just "endure" for a year or two, you might be able to get a couple hundred points, or even more, which is equivalent to having a few close friends or friends with mutual benefits.

Of course, this is not the ideal way.

Qin Keqing would prefer to enter the Hong Kong film industry with a more respectable identity—once she has a slightly more respectable identity, playing minor roles would no longer be considered playing minor roles, but rather a cameo or a hobby.

Not only will they receive different treatment, but they will also not be mistreated, nor will they have to wait in the most inconspicuous corner for an unknown summons.

Just like during the filming of "Woman Sesame Oil Maker", Qin Keqing "casually" took on a minor role, but in the entire crew, who dared to boss him around while he was playing a minor role?

On the contrary, many people praised him for his talent and good acting...

A minor character with no lines and no close-up shots, just there to fill a role, and he actually acted well?

It's not that Qin Keqing can't endure hardship or be mistreated, but if given the chance, who would willingly force themselves to suffer without any real hardship?

This time, "King of Beggars" is an excellent springboard.

Qin Keqing had already prepared her response to Xie Feiwen's next plan.

"Director, I'm not from a film school background. I came here because I love movies. I never had a clear purpose before, so I just drifted around to different film crews, thinking that when I couldn't make it anymore or when I had enough of 'playing,' I would go back to work and have no regrets in this life."

Qin Keqing picked up the teapot, found a new cup, and filled it with water for Xie Fei.

"Last year, I was an extra in the film crew of 'Divorce'. I happened to run into director Zhang Yimou who came to the crew to find Liu Peiqi. I didn't know Director Zhang, and he happened to be standing next to me watching Liu Peiqi film. I thought Director Zhang was a new extra, so I started chatting with him."

Xie Fei was about to pick up his teacup when he heard this and couldn't help but laugh: "You think he's an extra?"

"Yes, I even asked him if he was a new extra."

"Pfft..."

Xie Fei laughed out loud: "You two just started chatting like that? He even gave you a chance to join the cast of 'The Story of Qiu Ju'?"

Qin Keqing seemed lost in memories and said softly, "How should I put it? When he found out that after I graduated from university, I gave up my regular job at my workplace and came to Beijing to work on film crews, he probably couldn't understand it."

So, they gave me a chance to work as a production assistant, partly to let me know how hard filmmaking is, and partly to see if I was cut out for it.

"It seems you didn't seize that opportunity, otherwise you wouldn't have come back to Beijing to work on film crews again."

"Director, that's a bit of an oversimplification. I'm not a professionally trained actor. Before joining the 'The Story of Qiu Ju' crew, I had only been in Beijing for about three months, and I was still working as an extra. What do you think I need to do in my role as a production assistant to earn Director Zhang's attention?"

Qin Keqing deliberately retorted, "Besides, I'm just a low-level production assistant, doing errands and odd jobs. Throughout the entire filming, I hardly spoke a word to Director Zhang. When he got busy, he probably forgot about me, this lowly production assistant."

Xie Fei thought about it and realized that was indeed the case. During the filming of the movie, his mind was always on the camera, the plot, and how to express it better... If it were him, he wouldn't be able to pay attention to how a production assistant was doing either.

"Even after 'The Story of Qiu Ju' was filmed, my mindset didn't change much, otherwise I wouldn't have come to Beijing to continue working as an extra."

Qin Keqing refilled Xie Fei's cup with tea before continuing, "It wasn't until recently, when I became your assistant and you gave me the opportunity to be the assistant director on the film set, that I suddenly felt enlightened, found my purpose in life, and my mindset underwent a major change."

"Oh?"

Xie Fei became interested; he hadn't expected that he would actually "enlighten" Qin Keqing.

So he leaned forward, full of curiosity, and said, "Tell me about it."

"Chinese cinema shouldn't be like this!"

Qin Keqing's gaze was intense as he stated decisively, "A few days ago, I rewatched the works of directors such as Tsui Hark and John Woo, not from the perspective of an audience member, but from the perspective of a film professional."

To be honest, I was deeply shocked!

I can sense that Hong Kong films have a very mature system in terms of narrative pacing, camera work, and efficient crew operation, which is completely different from the system in mainland China.

It's clear that they possess efficient production management and skillful genre film storytelling techniques.

I'm not capable of judging the pros and cons of these two different systems, but I want to see for myself, experience and feel them, and learn and verify what the effects of different systems are.

Xie Fei frowned upon hearing Qin Keqing's words.

He didn't speak, and neither did Qin Keqing.

Qin Keqing is gambling.

Logically speaking, Xie Fei, as an academic director and a teacher at the film academy for many years, should have been replaced by art film directors like Xu Anhua and Wang Jiawei, who were clearly commercial film directors, by Qin Keqing. This would have been more in line with Xie Fei's preferences.

But who is Xie Fei?

He was a teacher who stayed at the school after graduating in 65, and he served as the vice dean in charge of teaching at the film academy starting in 81.

Art film director?

Film schools teach art film directors.

Any one of Xie Fei's students is involved in art films.

No matter how ambitious Qin Keqing is, or how many grand words he makes, how can someone who is not formally trained in academia compare to students who have received systematic education?

To put it more bluntly, Qin Keqing is self-aware. He knows that his performance in "Woman of Fragrant Souls" is nothing more than diligence and meticulousness. At most, it is just that his non-professional background made Xie Fei's eyes light up.

It's not yet at a level where Xie Fei can fully support it.

Therefore, we had to find another way.

We have to be different.

Qin Keqing was betting that Xie Fei wouldn't discriminate against commercial film directors, and that Xie Fei had a broader vision.

There is another advantage for Qin Keqing.

Qin Keqing is not from an academic background, nor is he Xie Fei's student. If he achieves nothing in the future, it will have nothing to do with Xie Fei, and Xie Fei's reputation will not be affected in the slightest.

But what if Qin Keqing succeeds?

People will say that Xie Fei gave Qin Keqing the opportunity, and that Xie Fei was Qin Keqing's mentor.

After a long silence, Xie Fei looked up, his face showing little change. "You're thinking of joining a film crew in Hong Kong next?"

Qin Keqing nodded without hesitation and stated his purpose.

"I heard that a movie about Beggar So from Hong Kong is going to be filmed in Beijing. I want to go to that film crew to experience the difference from our traditional movies."

"Su Qi'er?"