Interview – Guan Hu Discuss Black Dog

East Asian cinema is a genre I deeply love. While I don’t consider myself an expert, I’m ionate about it and take pride in that ion. So, when I had the opportunity to speak with Chinese director Guan Hu about his latest film Black Dog, I was ecstatic.

Black Dog follows Lang, played by Eddie Pang, who has recently been released from prison and returns to his hometown. As part of his parole, he is tasked with clearing the streets of stray dogs in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games. During this process, he forms an unlikely connection with the titular black dog.

In this exclusive interview, I spoke with Guan Hu before Black Dog‘s UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. We discussed what it was like to make Black Dog after The Eight Hundred, what it meant to him to set a film in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games, and his experience at the Cannes Film Festival.

My first question is your previous film The Eight Hundred was a dialogue-driven and intense war film. How was it making a film that’s kind of the opposite, more subdued and a subtle drama? The process of making this film started from the script stage as a psychological story of one person. We wanted to observe a person’s life after getting out of prison. It had nothing to do with intense drama or the so-called cruelty that usually accompanies stories. In fact, it is almost the opposite. We wanted to approach this with restraint and calm, observing a slice of life. This was a different kind of production, but for me, it wasn’t particularly difficult. It’s just two different ways of telling a story.

What do you hope UK audiences take away from this film? For me, the most important thing about films is that they allow you to look at your own life. We only have one lifetime, but as a filmmaker, I get to experience 70 or even 100 different lives. For example, when I watch a Neil Jordan film, I get to experience life in a remote corner of the UK, that kind of British life. Similarly, British audiences can experience a faraway and unfamiliar life in northwest China. Isn’t that a wonderful thing? That’s the beauty and responsibility of cinema—to let us experience different lives and feelings from each other.

There are a lot of dogs in the film, from the opening to the ending scene. How was it working on set with such a large number of animals, and were other methods used to capture those scenes? It required extreme patience and professional preparation. We had a team specifically for the dogs, a trained team dedicated to the shoot. They rehearsed with the dogs ahead of each scene, which was very important. When it came time to shoot, the dogs were already familiar with what they needed to do. It was all about waiting patiently and continuously capturing the right moments. People often say that working with animals is difficult, but for me, it was actually quite fun—much easier than expected.

You had digital effects with a tiger in the movie. How was it dealing with such an fascinating animal on set? For the tiger, we built a very large and long cage. Once the cage was set up, the tiger could walk on the street, but inside a cage. The cameras and the crew stayed outside the cage, so everyone felt safe. The cage was painted green, so it could be removed in post-production. It wasn’t particularly difficult; the only challenge was managing such a large cage, which had to be controlled remotely.

Jia Zhangke appears in your film in a small role. How was it for you to direct someone who is also a director? I’ve worked with other directors before, like Feng Xiaogang in Mr. Six, who had a bigger role. I will gladly act in Jia Zhangke’s films too if he invites me. We’re all friends, and we help each other out. China Film Director’s Guild Awards fosters this kind of mutual . In fact, not only Jia Zhangke, but also directors like Zhang Yang and Zhang Jianya appear in the film. We have a habit of helping one another in this way.

The film takes place leading up to the 2008 Olympic Games, which for many, including myself, was the first major exposure to China on the world stage. Do you have a personal connection to that time period?  Of course. That was a period when China’s economy was developing rapidly, and the whole country was both joyous and sorrowful. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake also happened then. It was a significant year. I felt that placing the character’s fate against such a backdrop of upheaval would amplify the power of their story. Instead of focusing on the bars and young people of Beijing or Shanghai in 2008, I chose to focus on someone more distant, someone left behind by the times, someone forgotten. These are the people who, when placed in such a tumultuous era, reveal even greater strength in their stories.

This is your first film selected for the Cannes Film Festival. What was it like being at such a prestigious festival, and how did it feel to win the Un Certain Regard Prize? It was an honour. At the time, there were so many strong films, and we didn’t have high hopes since it was our first time attending. But in the end, we won, and it was a great honour for me. The most profound feeling I had at Cannes was the immense respect the audience and critics had for filmmakers. The sense of honour was unparalleled. It made me feel like overcoming any difficulties or hardships to make films is worth it. That was a very powerful experience for me.

Black Dog opens in UK cinemas from Friday 30th August | Read our review here