Director Christopher He Talks About His New FIP-Huace Film “Psychosis”

Jan 01, 2026 CFM Co-production, Daily, Director 0

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Here is director Christopher HE talking to The Chinese Film Market regarding his big-budget sci-fi film “Psychosis”, his earlier passion for film and the things he learned in American film school. “Psychosis” will be co-production realized by Fox International Production, Sparkstone Entertainment and China’s Huace.

Study filmmaking in the U.S.
It’s fantastic that I can study filmmaking in the United States, especially in Hollywood. The great tradition of American film industry is focusing on storytelling. More importantly, the film industry standard makes filmmakers professional: they deliver good-production-value film, including film development process, workflow of preproduction, production, post-production, techniques of storytelling etc. We have to go through everything about making a film while studying.

There are many filmmakers and their works are so important to me: Steven Spielberg, Wang Kar-Wai, Michelangelo Antonioni, Stanly Kubrick, Ridley Scott, John Carpenter etc. To choose directors who have influenced me a lot, they should be Alfred Hitchcock, Spielberg and Ridley Scott. In their works, I learn a lot about film production.

The secret to be so young and so in
Don’t be rush. And then, focus. Sometimes I feel that to be a director can be easy, but it can also be very hard.

I’m glad that I have the opportunity to make this movie; also I have started working on other projects, so I feel very lucky about my start. But as I said: don’t be rush, because most of the time the project doesn’t depend on you alone, you have to wait; And focus, keep learning things that you still don’t understand, then you will make it.

Passion for films
I’m the only one in my family who works in film industry. My family are either businessmen or banking person so filmmaking is definitely not a family legacy.

When I was about 7, I found some videotapes at my uncle’s home: action, sci-fi, adventure, even B-movies, and I still remember that my uncle and I watched “John Rambo” on that fantastic day.

In the next few days, I tried my best to persuade my mom to buy a VHS player. Of course I got it on my birthday. From that day, one more hobby added in my life - renting videotapes.

After graduating from FHSU Kansas where I got my business management diploma, I came back to China to meet an opportunity I can work in Bank of China. That was good chance for a boy at my age at that time. But after working in there for weeks, I realized that I wanted to do something creative.

There is a production company in my hometown city Qingdao, I got in and have been working on several feature films and commercials in two years. I think It was my first step, more like basic instinct.

When I was working in this production company, I started to realize that I have some great story to tell in a specific way. By the time I have those thoughts, I realized it’s the time to go to U.S. to study filmmaking, especially writing and directing.

Advice to other young filmmakers
There are some suggestions on practical level:

1. Always to be prepared before meeting someone in the film industry, and you should have a complete portfolio package about your project, your team, and yourself.

2. A social party doesn’t work for me. Sometimes it is a waste of time. I prefer one-on-one meetings – that’s more valuable and efficient for me.

3. You have to deeply understand every part in filmmaking process, from screenwriting to visual effects, even special makeup, I’m not kidding.

4. If your salary is too low to live on, find a proper position/job but try not to switch to another industry.

5. Last note, if you want to direct, you must write.

I think, great filmmakers should love to be a filmmaker, and enjoy their job. That’s how they resist the temptation and stand the pressure. People just change unless they don’t want to.

The story of PSYCHOSIS
“Psychosis” is about a young psychologist and his partners invade his patient’s sub-consciousness world, he will find the secret about himself in this unforgettable adventure.

Working with Huace and Sparkstone
Huace, which was begun ten years ago as a TV producer, has recently become a major force in film production in China. During the 2015 American Film Market, they closed a co-production deal with Fox International Productions and Sparkstone Entertainment.

The CEO of Sparkstone - Long Wan is also producer of “Psychosis”. We met in a festival that screened my previous science fiction short film “Forerunner”, so we clicked together as a real team. That was when I start working on “Psychosis”. After then, we begin to develop the film together with Huace till now.

Because our distribution strategy require its privacy, so I can’t reveal too much at this moment, but I will say “Psychosis” is right in preproduction process. Everything goes well.

Right now I’m revising the new draft of the script in Los Angeles, and meeting some well-known Hollywood filmmakers for “Psychosis”. We will see.

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