On the eve of their family hotel’s demolition, a father seeks to reunite with his son, passing on a multi-million-dollar inheritance along with a poignant request: to bid farewell to lingering spirits of the hotel's past guests.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
I was inspired to make “Hongfu Hotel” when I returned to China last fall and revisited the Buddhist temple from my childhood. I felt simultaneously nostalgic and humbled before the century-old murals and statues of Bodhisattvas, which had greatly faded from their once vivid and powerful appearances. Only 12 years had passed since my last visit, but it felt like a lifetime had swept through the temple. Its deterioration mirrored my own transformation as I had grown distant from my Chinese roots during my time in the US.
So I created “Hongfu Hotel” to capture my personal connection to Buddhism as well as to bid farewell to a part of me that is vanishing into the past.
I wanted to tell this story through a supernatural lens. Romanticize the horror and place the story in the heart of Modern New York City, Chinatown. Placing our main protagonist between the realms of the living and the dead to dramatize the metaphor that he’s caught between the new world and the old.
Meet The Team
Tian Xu
Steven Xie
Miao Wen
Cinematographer
Production Designer
Director
Chris Fleming
Michael Ben-Iftah
Justin Moon
Sound Designer
Associate Producer
Visual Effects Supervisor
DIRECTOR'S BIO
I immigrated to the United States at the age of 11, settling in Boston, Massachusetts. Growing up as a devoted Buddhist in China, I struggled to hide my faith in a predominantly Christian community. I moved to California in 2017 to attend film school at Chapman University, where I strived to tell stories about my cultural identity and the conflicts I experienced growing up in a religious Chinese family.
Transforming Los Angeles to New York City Chinatown
Director's initial concept for the Chinatown exterior shot
We lock in our filming location in Radford Studio and re-dresses it into New York City, Chinatown.
After traveling to New York City, our Student Academy Award winning Production Designer comes up with a initial mood board. Together with the entire art team, they completely redecorates Radford Studio.
Our Cinemtogarpher and his amazing Grip and Gaffing team uses light and shadows to bring life to our Production Designer's set.
Then with the help of our talented VFX team, they add lights in the windows and extends the buildings to four stories tall.
Finally, with sound and music. This is the final result.