In 2017, Montréal-based filmmaker, Ky Nam Le Duc, released his first narrative feature, Oscillations. Two years later, he released his second feature, The Greatest Country in the World, at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma.
Both of his films are quiet, almost meditative stories built upon themes of immigration, family, and cultural identity. (The Greatest Country in the World contains dialogue in French, English, as well as Vietnamese.) It should come as no surprise that Ky Nam is deeply invested in greater onscreen representation for marginalised communities within a Québécois context.
Please tell us about your decision to become a filmmaker.
It was in my teens that I discovered “cinema” because I don’t come from a family that loves movies or talks about culture. There was a small video store near my house and sometimes they would have one or two foreign films. I would just browse and pick up movies at random. Some of the first I ever watched were Chungking Express and L'Avventura.
On TV, the Télé-Québec channel, really late at night they would play Québécois independent films. That’s how I came across this awesome film, Yes Sir! Madame…, by Robert Morin. The discovery process was different at that time, compared to now. Pierre Falardeau came to talk to us in school for two hours with a cigarette in his hand and talked about how he couldn’t get financing for his newest film despite earlier success. He said that you don’t make movies for money; you do it because you believe in the project.
Which scene was your favourite to write?
There’s a scene in The Greatest Country in the World where one of the main characters has an argument with his brother, this far-right guy. This brother makes a strong case about fidelity and taking care of family. I wanted to understand that side of the argument, to write those types of scenes where you’re writing from the perspective of someone very “different” from yourself. You’re creating a character who isn’t like you yet is also somehow inside of you. I appreciate that type of challenge.
Which scene was your favourite to shoot?
It never turns out exactly how you imagined it would; it can feel like a lesser version of what you imagined. But there is one scene in The Greatest Country in the World with two Vietnamese characters speaking Vietnamese in this convenience store. They had this father-daughter relationship which was very sweet and my crew was captivated even though they couldn’t understand a single word. The store was lent to us by a Chinese family and it had this special character about it that helped the scene feel intimate and somehow magical.
“There’s no money to be made in filmmaking in Québec unless you get subsidies. There needs to be a better way to reach more people and put Québécois cinema online. We pay taxes for those films to be made and yet it’s so hard to find these films online.”
How autobiographical is your work?
It is very much so. It always comes from somewhere, some part of my past. I base characters on friends or people I know. Characters are mostly based on some part of me. For example, racism exists inside all of us to some degree.
A filmmaker friend of mine was trying to write a ‘mother’ character and couldn’t figure it out. I asked him, “But couldn’t you try and imagine what it would be like to be a mom?”
What is the hardest lesson you learned while writing?
The discipline you need to put your ass in the chair, as they say. A lot of people don’t believe in rewrites which I think are vital. I know someone who has a really hard time with rewrites. He thinks writing is magical. It can be magical, but I think your creativity needs structure. You just need to sit down and try things out. The process itself of rewriting is so important.
What is the hardest lesson you learned while directing?
How to be tough and demanding. Most people are not demanding enough on set. That’s definitely an issue facing a lot of women in the industry. Most people just want to go home during a long shoot; they get really tired. If something doesn’t work, you have to be able to just tell yourself that the shot doesn’t work or the tech you have isn’t sufficient. Trust your own inner voice and be more demanding. Once you set up your shot and lighting, and you realise something doesn’t work, put your foot down and say it doesn’t work.
Assert yourself on set. It’s always teamwork with filmmaking, and people will be able to help you if you can voice that something doesn’t work. Filmmaking is like a conveyor belt in its process. The belt doesn’t ever want to stop and you are one of the rare people who can stop or pause the belt if needed.
Whose work is most exciting to you right now?
Lee Chang-dong. Maxime Giroux.
What is your go-to feel-good movie or TV show?
Community (the NBC sitcom). Really solid writing.
Unsolved Mysteries. So spooky, but it works.
In what specific area would you like to see the industry change?
The one no one ever wants to talk about is the distribution system. People just don’t go to the cinema anymore. It’s not in our habits to go anymore. We have giant screens and great sound systems at home. I went to a cinema recently and realised that the sound system was superior in my house.
Distributors make too much money for the films to get cinema releases; we need to have money invested more in online distribution. They get subsidies and take from our budget on top of that. There’s no money to be made in filmmaking in Québec unless you get subsidies. There needs to be a better way to reach more people and put Québécois cinema online. We pay taxes for those films to be made and yet it’s so hard to find these films online.
[BLANK] is a f*cking perfect movie/TV show.
The Wire is perfect TV. Nothing that good will ever be made again.
Ky Nam’s first feature, Oscillations, is available to rent here.