Interview with director Matthew Kui

Welcome Matthew we are very excited to have you today with us to discuss about your work.

First off, Who is Matthew Kui and how did the passion for writing start ?

I am a filmmaker and fan of cinema from Hong Kong living in The United States. I always enjoyed watching movies and thought that it is an amazing medium for me to deliver my message and emotions to more people. I did not foresee it as my career path until one time in grade school a classmate of mine showed everyone a short film he made. It was a fun short film that everyone really enjoyed. I was deeply inspired and thought that perhaps this is something I really want to do as well. I started to play around with iMovie and shoot video clips at home with my laptop. It was from that moment onwards that I realized that this is my true passion and I want to continue pursuing it. My projects have all won awards from multiple film festivals. As my projects received these awards, it motivated me to keep working hard and tell thrilling stories through films.

Can you tell us about your previous work ?
I directed 2 other films which have both gotten multiple official selections for film festivals. “Addiction” is my debut short film that I have written and directed which has received seven official selections. It was about a regular college student getting addicted to video games and having to face the consequences. The following short film I directed, “Stiffed”, is a thriller short film about a brash woman stiffs the wrong server and finds herself locked in a room where the tables are turned. “Stiffed” won Best Thriller at the Venice Shore Film Festival. 

CONVERSATION ABOUT: The Last Target

While writing this script, was your goal to infuse it with elements from Chinese philosophy ?

I actually thought about infusing Chinese philosophy in the midst of writing “The Last Target”. The mentality of being the best. I believe the concept works well with the dynamic between the two main characters. A mountain can not contain two tigers, two top-tier assassins hanging out in the same city and both want to find out who is stronger. I wanted to play with this idea. I liked it better than two assassins fighting for a pile of cash. I am glad to be able to infuse it to my film.

Talk to us about your film? How was it created and what inspired it ?

I was watching “Cowboy Bebop” at the time I worked on the script. The two main characters were inspired by the two main characters from the anime, but instead of working together, I had them fight one another. I also drew inspiration from the situations of some mixed martial arts fighters. While many fighters would pick easy money fights over hard fights, there are some fighters that want to prove to themselves they are the best. They are willing to challenge fighters that they believe are dangerous, similar to their level, or even better. Also similar to the mentality of some old-school anime protagonists such as Goku from “Dragon Ball Z” where his motivation does not come from monetary objects but the will of wanting to be the best.

What would you describe as your directing identity style ?

One of the most important things about my directing identity style is that I want to make sure it is able to deliver the genuine emotion I want to deliver to the audience. I always ask myself are the audience able to resonate with the characters and story? I like to emphasize on the actors performance and the mise en scene. Details are important to me. I also value camera angles. I like to use different kind of shots which I believe helps the audience to zone in to the story. Overall, I would hope my audience to be glued on their seats when they watch my films.

Highly stylized and with an intense soundtrack, would you say that your short film pays tribute to the John Wick franchise or not ?

Absolutely, I am a fan of the John Wick franchise and it was definitely one of the main source of inspiration for me when I was working on “The Last Target”. However, it was actually not my original intention to use elements from John Wick. As I was completing the script, I determined on the direction of the film and figured John Wick’s style and tone would match well with “The Last Target”.

What is the target audience of your project ?

This film targets fighting and action fans. Audience that are interested in Chinese philosophy. For age group the film is more suited for mature audience since it contain certain extent of violence and the story revolves around killing people. The tiger visual slideshow and the fight scene is appealing to children audience but parental guidance would be advised.

What is the message the audience should convey leaving the screening of your film ?

I believe there are many messages one can interpret from the film. A main one I would like to convey to the audience is that when war starts, there are no good or evil and the result is very likely to be bad for both sides like what happened in the film. Also, I manifested an unorthodox motivation for the protagonist where his motivation did not come from monetary objects but the excitement of fighting someone he believed was very skilled and dangerous.

Any future projects incoming ? Along with personal aspirations.

I have a script that I adapted from “Witches’ loaves” by O’ Henry which is in the works that I am aiming to shoot soon. It is a change of genre compared to my previous project which I am excited for. I am also exploring opportunities to shoot feature films, series or anything else possible.

That was the interview with our beloved creator Matthew Kui. Our community is rising everyday, new talented filmakers and screenwriters get onboard. Be sure to check the rest of our interviews and why not schedule one for yourself to promote your work.

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