Hong Kong
CNN
—
Hong Kong may be known for its densely packed high-rises, crowded streets and frenetic, sleepless energy. But it’s the metropolis’ “quieter” pockets that interest film director Juno Mak.
The 34-year-old Hong Kong native finds inspiration in unexpected places, such as Ping Shek Estate, a vertigo-inducing public housing block in Kowloon. The buildings’ unsettling symmetries inspired Mak to set “Rigor Mortis,” his critically acclaimed 2013 Chinese hopping vampire film, in the compound.
“It’s claustrophobic and closed up,” he observes. “It’s a trapped beauty for me.
Juno Mak
Juno Mak, a Hong Kong film director, singer and actor draws inspiration from "quieter" parts of the city.
Juno Mak
Black and white photos, taken by Mak, show the eerie symmetry of the Ping Shek Estate housing complex, located in Hong Kong's Kowloon district.
Juno Mak
In Mak's research, he has said the buildings' architecture resembles that of jailhouses, making them psychologically unsettling.
Juno Mak
Mak describes setting his film "Rigor Mortis" in the housing compound because he wanted a "nightmare poetry type of film." The 2013 horror flick is about "jiangshi," or Chinese "hopping" vampires.
Juno Mak
Mak enjoys seeing the city through a car window. "That square window -- that's one of my main sources of seeing this city differently," he says. "It inspires me a lot for photography, and even being creative for scripts."
Juno Mak
Mak says he likes to wander in alleys, especially after dark. "During the nighttime you get alleyways, hidden restaurants, places where people just calm down a bit. I do enjoy the city, but I enjoy it in a calmed-down way."
Juno Mak
"I think living in Hong Kong and working in Hong Kong (is)so intense that you lose your sleep," Mak says. "People lose their appetite."
Juno Mak
"I think people that live in Hong Kong are people with massive energy levels," Mak says. "They are surviving on such small land."
“If you look up, it’s just four walls, sort of like a tunnel to the sky. That’s what fascinates me about Hong Kong. You see the sky, but only see bits and pieces because there are so many buildings.”
To escape the city’s intensity, Mak takes meditative strolls through Shek O, a coastal village in the southeastern part of Hong Kong Island. There, rugged rocks peek out from crashing waves and residents live in colorful homes facing out to the South China Sea.
“You feel a friendliness, it’s more chilled out,” Mak says. “Whenever I am working, creating… I want creativity in its purest form.
“I like the water there, the air. The tight, close alleyways.”
Watch the video above to find out more about Mak’s love of Hong Kong.