Documentary interviews are not merely an act of asking questions, nor are they about going to the scene, seeing the interview subject, and then actually asking questions and waiting for their response – if that were the case, the other party would have nothing much to say. I remember once in New York, a reporter from “Qiao Bao” asked Teacher Xie Fei, “What films have you mainly directed?” Xie Fei turned to me and said, “How can she know nothing at all? What can I say?” The reporter embarrassedly said, “I don’t usually cover film and television.” Teacher Xie Fei said, “Then forget it.”

Documentary interviews require you to do extensive homework before the interview, thoroughly understanding the other party’s affairs and works, listing questions, before you can go out. This is still not enough – you must pay special attention to the details within his issues. You don’t go there to ask questions, but to build his trust in you, letting him know that you truly understand him and have a different perspective on him than others. Otherwise, you think you’ve asked an interesting question, but actually many people have asked it before. When you ask again, he either has no interest in answering or will brush you off. But your questions must generate enthusiasm in the other party, so that you can possibly get unexpected answers and content.

What remains vivid in my memory is interviewing the great Czech director, Jiří Menzel. In 2013, he was invited to participate as a jury member of the Shanghai International Film Festival. I contacted his secretary, and he agreed to accept a brief interview. The master was very introverted and also very proud – he walked into the room with his eyes lowered. He sat down, holding a pen, absentmindedly tapping it on the table. I asked him two questions about his films, and he answered while looking at the table surface – clearly these questions were not new to him. Then I asked, “You Czech directors are very wealthy.” He shook his head, but I said, “I saw your house in Prague is so big, with so many books inside, like a library.” He immediately raised his eyes to look at me and asked, “How do you know?” I said, “It’s from a short video you filmed yourself on the back of a pirated disc.” He immediately became interested and said, “This was bought with money my cousin left me after he died. He had some money.”

For an Eastern European artist, once you mention “underground” or “piracy,” they become interested, because before the dissolution, they all understood the world through such channels. They call this “Samizdat,” which comes from Russian, meaning “unauthorized publications.” Jing Kaixuan translated it as “Samiyate.” Actually, none of these things would ultimately be included in the interview – the key is that the interview subject has gained a new understanding of you, mobilizing his enthusiasm. He feels that your values are consistent with his, that you not only respect their culture but also understand and love it – this is the key!

After this, it wasn’t me asking questions, but Menzel himself telling us many stories, especially about Czech humor, which made us laugh heartily. He talked about how after Hrabal died, he gave all the film rights to his works to Menzel. He particularly wanted to film “I Served the King of England,” but no one would invest – it was too politically dangerous. After the dissolution, he continued looking for investment, but still no investment. People would ask: “Would such a film be box office hits?” Then, his producer secretly sold the rights to a television station behind his back. Even in such a small country as Czech Republic, Menzel couldn’t find this producer. Nine years later, he was again participating as a jury member in an international film festival when he suddenly saw this producer bringing his new film on stage to meet the audience. Menzel immediately asked to borrow a walking stick, completely disregarding his status as a great director, strode onto the stage, raised the stick and struck the producer on the head. The entire audience was in uproar – this was the famous “Jiří Incident” of that year.

At that time, I could occasionally access Google. I only asked one opening question, and he told all the subsequent details himself. In 2007, he finally found the money and completed the film. In 2008, it became an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and was also the number one box office film in Czech Republic for half a year that year. The two-hour interview ended, far exceeding everyone’s imagination. Finally, we took out a large stack of his pirated discs from our bags for him to sign. He was in high spirits and insisted on finding white spaces on the discs to sign, so the signatures would be clearly visible.

This was a tremendously beneficial interview! Because of love!