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The ResponsibleChina Show: Conrad Clark, China in “Soul Carriage”
Update: Conrad Clark received the Altadis New Directors Award at the Sans Sebastian Film Festival. Congrats, Conrad!
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Last week, I spoke to Conrad Clark, 28, producer and director from the Shanghai-based film company, Practice Productions.
Clark received his master’s degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, where he studied anthropology and cinema. Born to an English father and an Austrian mother, Clark grew up in the U.K. and France, and now, he’s expanded his international background to include — where else? but — China, where he just wrapped up shooting his latest film, “Soul Carriage.” The movie will make its world premiere at the Sans Sebastian Film Festival on September 25th.
“Soul Carriage,” a literal translation of the Chinese word for hearse, or “ling che,” tells the story of a migrant worker from a construction company in Shanghai who must return the body of his dead friend back to his family in the countryside of Zhejiang province. However, the “main character” of the film, according to Clark, is the physical environment of China, which is undergoing massive urbanization and transformation while struggling to achieve sustainability, serving as a metaphor for the psychological dilemma of millions of Chinese people, especially migrant workers, who are searching for either spiritual or material fulfillment.
I talked to Clark about what inspired him, what he learned about China, and what he hopes audiences get out of watching his film.
02-responsiblechina_-conrad-clark-china-in-_soul-carriage_.mp3Conrad Clark, China in “Soul Carriage”
(Music credit: “Fresh,” by MadMaxXB from GarageBand.)
- For more on Practice Productions, click here. Go to “Creative” –> “Soul Carriage” for multimedia features about the film. Included is an interactive photobook, “Soul Present,” about contemporary architecture in China.
- Read about Chinese migrant workers in my previous post about Evan Osnos’ article in the Chicago Tribune:
“Spotlight on the Trib’s Beijing Correspondent, Evan Osnos“
[tags]Conrad Clark, Soul Carriage, China, migrant workers, Sans Sebastian Film Festival[/tags]
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Somehow it reminds me of a Turkish film I have called “Journey to the Sun” (or something like that) about a young Turkish migrant worker in Istanbul who has to return his friend’s body to his friend’s hometown in eastern Turkey/Turkish Kurdistan. Good film, too.
[...] Click Here [...]
[...] interviewed three people — Caroline Campbell, Conrad Clark and Doug Ross — and continue to look for more [...]
Well done.
The hero in this film acted very well,but the others seemed more like figurants, not natural.The plot which the girl refused to receive the body characterized out of the reality.The whole plot is somewhat draggy,while the film ending of firecrackers is treated beautifully and full of metaphor.
[...] For anyone who has seen the film Soul Carriage (We showed it in August) I recommend going over to Responsible China to listen to his podcast top learn more about the background of the fim. Click Here [...]