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 Writer/Director Ray Yeung
Ray Yeung, chairman of the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
Society, has been running the Festival since 2000. During which time he
also worked as an art director for feature films such as ‘Gimme,
Gimme’, (nominated in four categories including Best Film in the 2002
Taipei Golden Horse Award) and ‘I Hate You So’ shot by Oscar winning
cinematographer Peter Pao.
As director and art director for Television commercials, Ray has worked
for clients including Coca Cola, MacDonalds and HSBC. A Seven-Eleven
commercial he directed was voted Top Ten Most Popular Commercial by
Asia Television.
A qualified lawyer with a MA in Media studies, Ray has directed stage
plays in Hong Kong and London including ‘Banana Skin’ written by
himself and ‘The Third Sex,' written by Chowee Leow.
For British television, he directed and produced ‘The Race,' a pilot
magazine programme highlighting the cultural diversity of Britain for
London Weekend Television. Other television credits include ‘Hysteria,'
‘Juke Box Jury,' ‘The Last laugh’ and ‘The Happening’.
Ray has written and directed three short films:- ‘A Chink in the
Armour,' ‘A Bridge to the Past,' funded by the British Arts Council,
and ‘Yellow Fever’ which won the Audience Award in Madrid Lesbian and
Gay Film Festival and is being distributed by Frameline Distribution.
CUT SLEEVE BOYS is Ray’s first feature. Ray Yeung's second
feature 'Doggy' (working title), a film about three Asians in New York,
is currently in production.
click to see Ray Yeung comments
Director's Statement
Having worked as Festival director of the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay
Film Festival since 2000, I discovered that each year we struggled to
find queer films made by Asians. Those that were made usually came from
Asia and dealt mainly with ‘coming-out’ problems and the frustrations
of being gay. Tones were usually sad. I wanted to watch a film about
modern gay Asian lives. A film which asks ‘What happens to gay men once
when they have accepted their queerness? Do they live gaily ever
after?’ So I set out to write a romantic comedy which dealt with these
questions in a humorous way.
I decided to base the film in Britain because having lived in London
for most part of my life, I realised that there is still a distinct
lack of Asian voices in the British media. A few more Chinese faces
have been seen selling mobile phones, deodorant and washing powder on
television in recent years but is that all we have been waiting for?
Even in the new millennium, the Chinese continue to be depicted as
waiters, prostitutes and gangsters. Has the evolution of multicultural
representation left the Chinese behind?
The main characters in CUT SLEEVE BOYS do not suffer the ‘fresh off the
boat’ mentality of finding it hard to assimilate into mainstream
society. These characters have done it so well they have become the
city itself – confident, successful and sophisticated, with the power
to choose. They are a new generation of British Chinese who dare to and
can have it all!
A common misconception of gay Chinese men is that they are all
effeminate. Even though I wrote Ash as a very effeminate gay man, I
wanted to turn this stereotype on its head. At the end of his journey,
we discover it takes a true man to dare to be effeminate. In the modern
scene, gay men are restricted by a self imposed ‘straight’ jacket which
they feel pressurised to wear. Camp men are at the bottom of the
hierarchy in the cruising ground. Is this a form of inverted
homophobia? What is the point of coming out of the closet when you
cannot be yourself? And what if you are attracted to someone who is as
camp as you? Is distressed denim the new rainbow flag?
In contrast to Ash’s feminineYing, I created Mel, the masculine Yang.
Chinese men are rarely seen as sex symbols in Western media. In Mel’s
case, not only is he aware of his sex appeal, he uses it. He is a
muscle Mary who fits right into the gay scene. A circuit boy who is so
assimilated, he is no longer satisfied with just one party or one
lover. But where does a gay man go when the party is over? What if his
name is no longer on the guest list?
Some friends who first read the script commented that there were not
enough references to the characters’ Chineseness. In fact, one comment
I got was once the characters were introduced you forgot they were
Chinese. This was a conscious decision. Is the character’s yellow skin
not enough to remind the audience that they are of a different race?
Must they also encounter ‘Chinese’problems like family pressure,
immigration issues, inability to communicate with a few drug
trafficking or triad attacks thrown in for good measure to demonstrate
their Chineseness?
Although the film focuses on two gay Chinese characters, I believe
their problems are universal. With today’s media obsession with youth,
beauty and the perfect relationship everyone is conditioned to take
that Botox injection. We live longer but are we serving double time on
our mid-life crisis? In today’s world, is maintaining a youthful
appearance not just narcissistic but a necessity? And is finding love
just another insurance policy?
Ultimately this film asks many questions and tries to suggest some
answers. But of course nothing is ever conclusive. However, what the
ending does show is that all the main characters are in one way or
another looking for their identity. Perhaps this is the theme for all
my films – our constant search for self-acceptance, that sense of
belonging and that moment of tranquillity.
- Ray Yeung
Credits
Writer/Director
Producers
Line Producer
Associate Producer
Director of Photography
Composer
Editors
Production Designer
Costume Designer
Hair and Makeup Designer
Production Manager
Script Supervisor
First Assistant Director
Second Assistant Director
Third Assistant Director
Steadicam Operator
Focus Puller
Camera Assistants
Gaffers
Sound Recordist
Boom Operator
Art Director
Art Dept Assistant
Makeup & Hair Assistants
Online Editor
Sound Editor
Mastering Sound Mixer
Assistant Mixer
Graphic Designer
Title Artiste
Web Designer/Still Photographer
Poster Photography
Chinese Subtitles
Chinese Music Supervisor
Chinese Flutist
Female Vocal
Production Accountant
Assistant Accountant
Floor Runner
Production Runner
Production Intern
5.1 Sound
Post Production Facilities
Camera and Lighting Kit
Avid Editing Kit
Sony Hi-Definition Digital Stock
Clearances
Insurance
Catering
Facilities Transport
Special Thanks to
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Ray Yeung
Ray Yeung
Chowee Leow
Celia Bargh
Rosa Fong
Patrick Duval
Paul Turner
Anuree De Silva
Catherine Fletcher
Malin Lindholm
Maria Papandrea
Sharon Holloway
Sarah Hannam Davies
Susan Hodgetts
Matthijs Klaasen
Claire Thompson
Adrian Sherwen
Guy Campbell
Dominic Jackson
Sue McDonald
Simon Kennedy
Behar Loshi
Micheal Onder
Simon Firsht
Mick Duffield
Jon Hose
Paul Parsons
Dylan Voigt
Dirk van der Velden
Rebecca Vincent
Keira Philo
Jess Brooks
Hannah George
Jessica Davis
John McMullin
David Richmond
Vince Watts
Stephen Goldsmith
Sio
Hiu Chi Chan
Webmaster BK
Red Saunders
Yoke Voon
Richard Tay
Liu Xiao Hu
Natalia Roni
Charles Bates
Robabeh Haghayeghi
Chris Neilson
Poppy Corbett
Cormac Rae
Mixed at S2S Post
VET
supplied by Aimimage
Avid Editing Kit supplied by Central Hire
Stanley Production
Twinglobe
The Clearing House
provided by Media and Entertainment Insurance
Services Ltd.
Clarkson’s Catering
Sarah Hannam Davies
Translux
Southern Film Services
Miss Rebecca Pan for allowing us the use of her
songs.
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