September 6 - 8, 2001 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL (Italy) [World Premiere] (AWARD WINNER) November 11 & 14, 2001 PUSAN INT'L FILM FESTIVAL (Korea) [Asian Premiere] (Official Selection out-of-competition) November 28 & 30, 2001 GIJON INT'L FILM FESTIVAL (Spain) (Official Selection in-competition) January 11 - 13, 17 & 19, 2002 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL (United States) [US Premiere] (AWARD WINNER) February 2, 4, 6, 7 & 9, 2002 CLERMONT-FERRAND INT'L SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (France) (Official Selection in-competition) March 30, April 7, 2002 HONG KONG INT'L FILM FESTIVAL (Hong Kong) (Official Selection out-of-competition) May 21, 24, 2002 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL (France) ("DIRECTORS' FORTNIGHT" OFFICIAL SELECTION) May 26, 2002 SEATTLE INT'L FILM FESTIVAL (United States) (Official Selection in-competition) June 5, 7, 2002 TORONTO WORLDWIDE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (Canada) [Canadian Premiere] (Official Selection in-competition) June 8, 12, 2002 FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL (United States) [East-Coast Premiere] (AWARD WINNER) August 16, 18, 2002 EDINBURGH INT'L FILM FESTIVAL (United Kingdom) [UK Premiere] (Official Selection out-of-competition) September, 2002 YING E CHI DISTRIBUTORS (Hong Kong) (THEATRICAL RELEASE) October, 2002 APOLLO CINEMA DISTRIBUTORS (United States) (THEATRICAL RELEASE) LOS ANGELES SHOWTIMES: SUNSET 5 / West Hollywood / 10 AM 10/5-10/6 MONICA 4-PLEX / Santa Monica / 11 AM 10/12-10/13 PLAYHOUSE 7 / Pasadena / 11 AM 10/19-10/20 FALLBROOK 7 / West Hills / 11 AM 10/26-10/27
REVIEWS & QUOTES "A well-directed, well-paced film... Promising director with a talent for story-telling..." -- Wong Kar-Wai, filmmaker. "Great performances and nicely rendered tension, composition, and editing...." -- Chris Lee, producer and former president of Tristar Pictures. "Short-filmmaking at its best... One of the best short films I've seen..." -- Marie-Pierre Macia, artistic director of Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight. "...Korean directors are now noticing and paying more attention to young Chinese directors such as Dayyan Eng..." -- Ju Kyung-Jung, filmmaker. "Bus 44 is one of those rare films that have all the ingredients of a truly great movie... The story is complete, and the self-restraint obviously needed to not spin this out into a longer piece is admirable. It is well paced, intriguing, and defies any viewer to not react to the underlying message of the movie." -- Jo Lusby, City Weekend Magazine. "A deep and moving tale about the ills of society." -- Man Yan, Beijing Evening News.
There have been over 1,000 articles about "Bus 44", the cast and/or the director in the Chinese media with interviews and profiles in newspapers, websites, magazines (such as Cosmopolitan, Performing Arts, Weekly News, etc.) and TV programs across the country.
PRINCIPLE CREDITS Production Designer: Xiao HSU Sound, Music: ZHANG Yang Film Editor: Dayyan ENG Executive Producers: Dale ENG & Nahid ENG Bill YIP FU Dong GONG Beibi Dhabih ENG Cinematographer: Sam KOA Writer, Producer, Director: Dayyan ENG
FILMMAKERS' BIOGRAPHY DAYYAN ENG (Writer, Producer, Director) who was born in Taiwan, is a young Chinese-American writer-director. He studied film arts in the US and transferred to the prestigious Beijing Film Academy where he finished his undergraduate studies in directing. A 35mm short film he wrote and directed in 1997 ("East 22nd Street") won awards and nominations at eight international film festivals, and was acquired by CANAL+ for exclusive rights in France. For the past four years, Dayyan has been directing national TV commercial spots for the Asian market. His second short film, "Bus 44", won awards at Venice Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese-language short film to win at both festivals. The film was also invited to 2002 Cannes Film Festival's "Directors' Fortnight", and most recently won the Best Short Film Award at 2002 Florida Film Festival . The success of "Bus 44" started a revival in short-filmmaking in China and was a critical hit both in Asia and US/Europe, while at the same time gaining TV and theatrical distribution world-wide. He lives in Asia where he is in pre-production with his first feature film project. BILL YIP (Executive Producer) was born in Hong Kong and has started working in the feature film production since 1986 in posts including assistant director, scriptwriter and production manager. He worked with internationally acclaimed directors like Wayne Wang, Pucchi Leong, Masashi Yamamoto, Sylvia Cheng, Francis Gerard, Lawrence AhMon and Marion Hansel. He set up his own production house in 1998 and specializes in commercial and corporate works. He is currently the president of Creative Horizon, a Hong Kong multi-media art group that organizes workshops, performances and art education in various art forms. SAM KOA (Cinematographer) was born in Hong Kong. He has been working in the film industry for over 8 years,and began his career as a lighting assistant on some of Tsui Hark's films in Hong Kong. After completing further studies at the Beijing Film Academy, Sam has worked as a cinematographer for a number of television commercials. Sam currently freelances in China. ZHANG YANG (Sound, Music) was born in Beijing, and grew up in the film industry. His father is the head ofthe Central Film Studio, and a well known cinematographer. Zhang Yang decided to follow in his father's footsteps in film arts, and graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in sound recording. His prior work has included sound for the award-winning films "East 22nd Street", "Xiao Wu" and "Platform". He is also the guitarist of the Chinese rock group Sober. XIAO HSU (Production Designer) was born in Taiwan and studied art and design at the National Art Institute in Taipei, before entering the directing program at the Beijing Film Academy. He is living in Beijing where he does freelance work. His prior work includes the Golden Horse Award nominated short film "One Yuan".
ACTORS' BIOGRAPHY
GONG BEIBI (Bus Driver) began her film career as a child actress. She graduated from the Central Drama Academy, where she became an instant star in China after starring in several popular TV series. Due to her success while still a student, she became known in the media at the time as "little Gong Li". She has starred in feature films in both China (Wu Tianming's "An Unusual Love") and Hong Kong (kung-fu comedy "The Lord of Hangzhou"). "Bus 44" is her first short film. WU CHAO (Young Man) was born in Beijing. Not a professional actor, he was discovered in 1998 for the lead role in the feature film "Lunar Eclipse" which went on to receive the Jury Prize at the 2000 Moscow Int'l Film Festival. "Bus 44" is his second film. He is a professional dancer in Beijing. LI YIXIANG (Short Bandit) graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in acting. He has taken on diverse lead and supporting roles such as a policeman, farmer, soldier, historical figures etc. His prior work includes several TV series and feature films. He lives in Beijing. Due to the success and media attention of "Bus 44" in China, Li has gone on to star in Chen Kaige's new short film due out in 2002. ZHOU KUI (Tall Bandit) graduated from Central Drama Academy in acting. A professional stage actor at the Beijing Children's Theater Group with TV series and feature film experience, he currently works in Beijing.
DIRECTOR'S COMMENTS I have always been interested in social psychology and wanted to do a film about how people react under certain stressful circumstances. The story attracts me not only because it has an interesting plot with a twist, but mostly because the underlying theme is even more haunting than the events that take place. I intentionally made this film with a certain ambiguity of time and place -- this story could have taken place anywhere in the world. Making films about people and human nature attracts me because I feel that people around the world have much more in common than they do differences. "Bus 44" carries a universal theme that travels across all boundaries and societies, trespassing the dark side and bright side of human behavior.
PRODUCTION INFORMATION Original Title: Che Si Shi Si English Title: Bus 44 Language: Mandarin Chinese 35mm / Color / Dolby SR Sound Aspect Ratio: 1:1.85 Kodak Film & Processing / Arri Camera and Lenses 11 mins. / Completed in April, 2001 Production: Hong Kong / USA
VENICE FILM FESTIVAL (Italy) [World Premiere]
(AWARD WINNER)
November 11 & 14, 2001
PUSAN INT'L FILM FESTIVAL (Korea) [Asian Premiere]
(Official Selection out-of-competition)
November 28 & 30, 2001
GIJON INT'L FILM FESTIVAL (Spain)
(Official Selection in-competition)
January 11 - 13, 17 & 19, 2002
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL (United States) [US Premiere]
(AWARD WINNER)
February 2, 4, 6, 7 & 9, 2002
CLERMONT-FERRAND INT'L SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (France)
(Official Selection in-competition)
March 30, April 7, 2002
HONG KONG INT'L FILM FESTIVAL (Hong Kong)
(Official Selection out-of-competition)
May 21, 24, 2002
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL (France)
("DIRECTORS' FORTNIGHT" OFFICIAL SELECTION)
May 26, 2002
SEATTLE INT'L FILM FESTIVAL (United States)
(Official Selection in-competition)
June 5, 7, 2002
TORONTO WORLDWIDE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (Canada) [Canadian Premiere]
(Official Selection in-competition)
June 8, 12, 2002
FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL (United States) [East-Coast Premiere]
(AWARD WINNER)
August 16, 18, 2002
EDINBURGH INT'L FILM FESTIVAL (United Kingdom) [UK Premiere]
(Official Selection out-of-competition)
September, 2002
YING E CHI DISTRIBUTORS (Hong Kong)
(THEATRICAL RELEASE)
October, 2002
APOLLO CINEMA DISTRIBUTORS (United States)
(THEATRICAL RELEASE)
LOS ANGELES SHOWTIMES:
SUNSET 5 / West Hollywood / 10 AM 10/5-10/6
MONICA 4-PLEX / Santa Monica / 11 AM 10/12-10/13
PLAYHOUSE 7 / Pasadena / 11 AM 10/19-10/20
FALLBROOK 7 / West Hills / 11 AM 10/26-10/27
REVIEWS & QUOTES
"A well-directed, well-paced film... Promising director with a talent for story-telling..." -- Wong Kar-Wai, filmmaker.
"Great performances and nicely rendered tension, composition, and editing...." -- Chris Lee, producer and former president of Tristar Pictures.
"Short-filmmaking at its best... One of the best short films I've seen..." -- Marie-Pierre Macia, artistic director of Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight.
"...Korean directors are now noticing and paying more attention to young Chinese directors such as Dayyan Eng..." -- Ju Kyung-Jung, filmmaker.
"Bus 44 is one of those rare films that have all the ingredients of a truly great movie... The story is complete, and the self-restraint obviously needed to not spin this out into a longer piece is admirable. It is well paced, intriguing, and defies any viewer to not react to the underlying message of the movie." -- Jo Lusby, City Weekend Magazine.
"A deep and moving tale about the ills of society." -- Man Yan, Beijing Evening News.
There have been over 1,000 articles about "Bus 44", the cast and/or the director in the Chinese media with interviews and profiles in newspapers, websites, magazines (such as Cosmopolitan, Performing Arts, Weekly News, etc.) and TV programs across the country.
PRINCIPLE CREDITS
Production Designer: Xiao HSU
Sound, Music: ZHANG Yang
Film Editor: Dayyan ENG
Executive Producers:
Dale ENG & Nahid ENG
Bill YIP
FU Dong
GONG Beibi
Dhabih ENG
Cinematographer: Sam KOA
Writer, Producer, Director: Dayyan ENG
FILMMAKERS' BIOGRAPHY
DAYYAN ENG (Writer, Producer, Director) who was born in Taiwan, is a young Chinese-American writer-director. He studied film arts in the US and transferred to the prestigious Beijing Film Academy where he finished his undergraduate studies in directing. A 35mm short film he wrote and directed in 1997 ("East 22nd Street") won awards and nominations at eight international film festivals, and was acquired by CANAL+ for exclusive rights in France. For the past four years, Dayyan has been directing national TV commercial spots for the Asian market. His second short film, "Bus 44", won awards at Venice Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese-language short film to win at both festivals. The film was also invited to 2002 Cannes Film Festival's "Directors' Fortnight", and most recently won the Best Short Film Award at 2002 Florida Film Festival . The success of "Bus 44" started a revival in short-filmmaking in China and was a critical hit both in Asia and US/Europe, while at the same time gaining TV and theatrical distribution world-wide. He lives in Asia where he is in pre-production with his first feature film project.
BILL YIP (Executive Producer) was born in Hong Kong and has started working in the feature film production since 1986 in posts including assistant director, scriptwriter and production manager. He worked with internationally acclaimed directors like Wayne Wang, Pucchi Leong, Masashi Yamamoto, Sylvia Cheng, Francis Gerard, Lawrence AhMon and Marion Hansel. He set up his own production house in 1998 and specializes in commercial and corporate works. He is currently the president of Creative Horizon, a Hong Kong multi-media art group that organizes workshops, performances and art education in various art forms.
SAM KOA (Cinematographer) was born in Hong Kong. He has been working in the film industry for over 8 years,and began his career as a lighting assistant on some of Tsui Hark's films in Hong Kong. After completing further studies at the Beijing Film Academy, Sam has worked as a cinematographer for a number of television commercials. Sam currently freelances in China.
ZHANG YANG (Sound, Music) was born in Beijing, and grew up in the film industry. His father is the head ofthe Central Film Studio, and a well known cinematographer. Zhang Yang decided to follow in his father's footsteps in film arts, and graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in sound recording. His prior work has included sound for the award-winning films "East 22nd Street", "Xiao Wu" and "Platform". He is also the guitarist of the Chinese rock group Sober.
XIAO HSU (Production Designer) was born in Taiwan and studied art and design at the National Art Institute in Taipei, before entering the directing program at the Beijing Film Academy. He is living in Beijing where he does freelance work. His prior work includes the Golden Horse Award nominated short film "One Yuan".
ACTORS' BIOGRAPHY
GONG BEIBI (Bus Driver) began her film career as a child actress. She graduated from the Central Drama Academy, where she became an instant star in China after starring in several popular TV series. Due to her success while still a student, she became known in the media at the time as "little Gong Li". She has starred in feature films in both China (Wu Tianming's "An Unusual Love") and Hong Kong (kung-fu comedy "The Lord of Hangzhou"). "Bus 44" is her first short film.
WU CHAO (Young Man) was born in Beijing. Not a professional actor, he was discovered in 1998 for the lead role in the feature film "Lunar Eclipse" which went on to receive the Jury Prize at the 2000 Moscow Int'l Film Festival. "Bus 44" is his second film. He is a professional dancer in Beijing.
LI YIXIANG (Short Bandit) graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in acting. He has taken on diverse lead and supporting roles such as a policeman, farmer, soldier, historical figures etc. His prior work includes several TV series and feature films. He lives in Beijing. Due to the success and media attention of "Bus 44" in China, Li has gone on to star in Chen Kaige's new short film due out in 2002.
ZHOU KUI (Tall Bandit) graduated from Central Drama Academy in acting. A professional stage actor at the Beijing Children's Theater Group with TV series and feature film experience, he currently works in Beijing.
DIRECTOR'S COMMENTS
I have always been interested in social psychology and wanted to do a film about how people react under certain stressful circumstances. The story attracts me not only because it has an interesting plot with a twist, but mostly because the underlying theme is even more haunting than the events that take place. I intentionally made this film with a certain ambiguity of time and place -- this story could have taken place anywhere in the world. Making films about people and human nature attracts me because I feel that people around the world have much more in common than they do differences. "Bus 44" carries a universal theme that travels across all boundaries and societies, trespassing the dark side and bright side of human behavior.
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Original Title: Che Si Shi Si
English Title: Bus 44
Language: Mandarin Chinese
35mm / Color / Dolby SR Sound
Aspect Ratio: 1:1.85
Kodak Film & Processing / Arri Camera and Lenses
11 mins. / Completed in April, 2001
Production: Hong Kong / USA