PRESS CONFERENCE – Johnnie To “I hope the public will understand the romantic and symbolic beauty of violence in my films”

Johnnie To, Sammi Cheng, Andy Lau, and Ka Fai Wai were at Cannes for the press conference of Blind Detective. Selected highlights.

Johnnie To, on food:

Basically, I love eating and my characters are just like me. Those who watch my films are well aware of this. In my features films, there are numerous dining scenes. Action and food is my special blend.

Johnnie To, on violence:
Of course, reality is full of violence, in every city in the world. I hope the public will understand the romantic and symbolic beauty of violence in my films. It’s not just gratuitous!

Johnnie To, on Hong Kong:
We’ve made short films in mainland China, but there were far too many restrictions. It’s more relaxed in Hong King. The city and the laws are more laid back. You can give free rein to your ideas.

Andy Lau, on collaborating with Johnnie To:
We’ve made many films together. We wanted to shake things up a bit and set ourselves some new challenges. That’s why we’ve introduced some new elements, such as comedy.

On the public reactions at Cannes:

Johnnie To: I was happy. Cannes is as it always is. It hasn’t changed during any of my recent visits.

Sammi Cheng: I was very moved. It’s an honour for me to be here with the team. It’s my first Festival and I’m really happy to see a Hong Kong films shown here in the South of France.

Reported by LR