My interview with filmmaker Charles Lanceplaine for Paper Magazine is up.

Here’s a bit from our interview:

What’s the best thing about being a filmmaker in China at the moment?

In Shanghai I would say there are two scenes: the people who are at all events and pretending to be cool (those are mostly foreigners) and the others, the people who are actually not at every party and who are actually pushing the scene. There are so many of them: Nini & Gregor at Idlebeats; Chacha, the singer of AM 444; Benoit Florencon, a French photographer who has been extensively documenting the music scene; Ka Xiaoxi. a local photographer, Keflione and Dezio, who are both really good street artists, to name a few.

Shanghai is really a place where with very little means you can make things happen. There is a very do-it-yourself culture out here. There are no real barriers if you really want to do something. 

Of course there always some touchy subjects you must avoid (if you do not want to get shut down) but as long as you don’t cross certain boundaries, it’s pretty safe.