Camera (2014 film)

Camera is a 2014 science fiction thriller directed by James Leong and co-written by Ben Slater and Leong. A Hong Kong-Singaporean co-production, it stars Sean Li as a surveillance expert who falls in love with his newest target, played by Venus Wong. It premiered at the 2014 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. It is Leong's first narrative film.

Camera
Film poster
Directed by	James Leong
Written by	James Leong Ben Slater
Starring	Sean Li Venus Wong Calvin Poon
Cinematography	Basil Mironer
Edited by	James Leong
Music by	Shao Yanpeng
Production company	Lianain Films
Release date	19 July 2014 (2014-07-19) (BiFan)
Running time	96 minutes
Countries	Hong Kong Singapore
Language	Cantonese
Budget	$1 million[1]

Plot

In near-future Hong Kong, Ming receives a cybernetic eye to replace his biological eye, which went blind in his childhood. He uses this replacement to record everything he sees. On his latest surveillance job, he falls in love with the subject, a woman named Clare.

Cast

• Sean Li as Ming
• Venus Wong as Clare
• Calvin Poon as Dr. Chan

Po-Chih Leong, director James Leong's father, appears in a cameo as Ming's father.

Production

Prior to production, Leong received funding from the Network of Asian Fantastic Films in the form of the Puchon award.^[2] Shooting took place during January and February 2012 in Hong Kong.^[1]

Release

Camera premiered at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival on 19 July 2014.^[3][4]

Reception

Richard Kuipers of Variety wrote that the film fails to live up to its premise and does not expand enough on Hong Kong's futuristic timeline, though he said it "never becomes dull".^[5] Bérénice Reynaud of Senses of Cinema criticized the Variety review, saying that it missed out on how the film addresses surveillance issues in modern Hong Kong.^[6] Clarence Tsui of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Beauty thrives but also distracts the director from his aspirations of fusing fiction with social commentary."^[7] James March of Twitch Film wrote that the film "showcases the director's strong visual sensibility", but the dull screenplay causes it to fail to live up to its "intriguing premise".^[8]