Fantasy Blues of “Gua Ling”

Directed by Charlotte Chen

Location: Guangzhou，Guangdong

It seems like only yesterday when a friend shared the "Marinetime Guangdong Project" with me back in June. The process of signing up, being selected, and having all the filming details laid out before me went by in a blur, echoing the certain sense of the real and the imaginary that we wanted to present in "Fantasy Blues of 'Gua Ling'".

On August 27th, we officially commenced the project in Gua Ling, a village in Zengcheng District, Guangzhou. With ancient trees of over a hundred years and nearly five-century-old buildings, a group of friends gathered here to tell a fresh story from a unique perspective, an experience ineffably delightful.

Some scenes exceeded our expectations in texture and effect, with natural performances from actors yielding spontaneous moments that were just right. It was a new endeavor for me to express emotions that defy words through visual language.

As someone who has only lived in Guangdong as an adult, I hope to represent the subtle charm of Gua Ling, an emigrant hometown, from an external to internal viewpoint. I also aspire to explore its multifaceted nature through unconventional filming angles.

During one of the shooting days, the appearance of the dragon boat team, the lion dance troupe, and the splendid performance by the Cantonese opera teacher created an unprecedented sense of novelty for me. These scenes evoked a feeling similar to what my character experienced—an air of mystery that irresistibly draws one closer. This captivating essence lingers throughout the film, carried forward by both the settings and the characters.

《梦幻瓜岭布鲁斯》

陈晓璐 导演作品

【拍摄地】广东广州

【导演手记】

从6月朋友分享“山海计划”的消息给我，到报名、入选，再到一切拍摄事宜铺陈在眼前……时间转瞬即逝，就如我们想在《梦幻瓜岭布鲁斯》中想要呈现出的某种亦真亦幻的感觉。

8月27日，《梦幻瓜岭布鲁斯》在广州增城瓜岭村正式开机。逾百年的古树、将近五百年的古建筑……一群朋友相聚于此，用一种新鲜的方式去拍摄一个带有新鲜视角的小故事，的确妙不可言。

有些场景呈现出的质感和效果超出了我们的预期，演员的自然表演，也生出了一些即兴又恰到好处的时刻。一些难以用语言描述的感受和心情，可以借助视听语言一一涂抹出来，这对我本人来说，也是某种程度上新的尝试。

对于成年后才来广东生活的我来说，更希望用由外而内探视的视角去呈现瓜岭这个侨乡不易被察觉的魅力，也希望能通过一种非常规的拍摄视角去挖掘它的多面性。

记得有一天拍摄大场面的时候，龙舟队和舞狮队的出现，还有粤曲团老师的精彩演出，都让我感受到了前所未有的新奇。这些场景给我的感觉，就相当于我的角色感受到的那样——充满着神秘而又让人不自觉想要去接近的气息，而这种气息也在片子当中被场景和角色延续了下来。

责编 | 王楠
校对 | 苏敏