La Fayette
Synopsis
It's 29th July 1966, and 14 year old Bobby is trainman to work at his family owned hairdressers. His father, Jun, lectures Bobby about the ideals of his Chinese heritage, and carrying on his legacy as a barber. Bobby on the other hand can only think about Englands' game in the World Cup Final tomorrow.
About this project
Since it's conception in 2018, to the Film's completion in 2020, La Fayette has been more than just a short Film. As the project had no Financial backing, and being students at the time, we didn't either. So, we had to get creative about ways we could make this Film off our own back...
So we organised two sell-out event nights at our local club, and released a Behind the Scenes book for our release. La Fayette is now completed and in the process of being sent out to festivals, and we are releasing a t-shirt to help fund our festival run.
Please have a look through our page to explore some of the history and inspiration surrounding the project.
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Graphic Elements
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The Chinese in Britain: personal tales of a journey to a new land
25/10/2014
written by Anna Chen
published in South China Morning Post
interview conducted by British Chinese Workforce Heritage
HAIRDRESSING
Many Chinese migrants entered the industry as the Soho Chinatown was being formed. They catered mainly to the diaspora, who appreciated their understanding of Chinese hair and styles.
Chen Jun, 82 years old, barber
"I was born in Yangzhou, in Jiangsu province, on June 13, 1932, into a family of farmers. Life was difficult because of the civil war and the impending invasion by the Japanese army. We'd been plunged into poverty for generations by natural disasters and war.
"I was the youngest of three children and only attended school for two years. I worked in the fields, tending the buffaloes, wore rags and was hungry most of the time.
"My father died when I was nine and, at 12, I went to Shanghai, to learn hairdressing. Yangzhou is famous for three blades: the chopper, scissors and razors. Chefs, tailors and hairdressers from Yangzhou are famous throughout China.
"In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, I worked in a hair salon as an apprentice for seven days a week for very little pay. Officials and businessmen were trying to make as much money as possible. Inflation was rampant.
"I was 17 when the Communists won in China and, at 20, I drifted into Hong Kong. I worked in a hair salon that was frequented by the rich and famous. Most of them would give us gifts during festivals, like football match tickets. Years later, some of them would visit my London salon. I worked in Hong Kong for 13 years and learnt Cantonese. My greatest reward was meeting my wife, who was in the same profession and with whom I have four daughters.
"I came to London in 1966 on my own and worked in a salon on Monmouth Street. My monthly wage was £22, even less than what I earned in Hong Kong. I often had bread for three meals a day, sometimes with milk. Seldom could I have rice. I watched every penny, even sleeping on the salon floor to save rent.
"There were hardly any Chinese and I had few friends. It was two years before I was reunited with my wife and daughters.
Hairdresser Chen Jun arrived in Britain in 1966. By the 1990s, he was mingling with the likes of prime minister Margaret Thatcher (below).
"In 1967, the salon owner retired and rented me the business. In 1968, I opened the China Beauty Salon - the first barbershop in Chinatown. Trade was good and, at its peak, my wife and 10 hairdressers were working there.
"Chinese people's hair is hard while Westerners' is soft. We have to be careful when cutting, and we learned new hairstyles by watching movies. The daughter of [the Burmese-Chinese entrepreneur who pioneered Tiger Balm] Aw Boon Haw and Tung Chao-yung, father of [first chief executive of Hong Kong] Tung Chee-hwa, were my customers.
"In 1980, I went into partnership with some friends and opened the Luxuriance Restaurant [in Chinatown]. We opened a second restaurant, Lux II, in Virginia Water. While the salon gave me a basic living, the restaurants gave me a surplus, as well as a place to entertain friends.
"In 2000, the China Beauty Salon closed after 32 years of business.
"It's not bad that I have had two out of the three cutting instruments from Yangzhou.
"Since 1991, I have been serving my homeland and helped [in the] construction of a road and schools in Yangzhou. I aim to keep busy and spend more time helping overseas Chinese."
Cast
STORE
SOLD OUT
FOREWORD
by Zewen Alford
I always believe that encounters happen because there are some connections between people, objects or events. The Bournemouth University Student Union asked me if I could be an actress for a short film due to the fact that I teach Mandarin Chinese at B.U. Though I sensibly declined it, I was intrigued by the film and was wondering what kind of film needs a Chinese actress. I then met the very young director Alex who invited me for a meeting to talk about his film and his aspiration. His maturity, good understanding about Chinese culture, enthusiasm, determination, daring spirit to explore a totally different culture and clear evidence of solid research about the film’s background, convinced me that this is a project worth supporting. I agreed to become the on-set translator as well as to help the team to find the actor for the main character, Bobby, through my connection in the Chinese Community, and I then accidentally entered into the world of the Art University’s film crew of LaFayette.
My role involved translating the script as well as making sure the actors/actress stick to the script on set; that’s where I witnessed first hand how a group of young talent were assembled together to produce a film using a foreign language, foreign actors/actress to interpret a foreign dilemma in a past era. I will let the audience judge the quality of the film, but what marvelled me the most is the way the film could exist in the first place and how the entire crew worked together to deliver the product - the earnestness, energy, natural openness towards the other culture, the fearlessness during their artistic exploration, that only the youth generally possess, are so astonishingly fresh and beautiful. This is the intriguing, compelling story of how a group of University film students began to make their talent shine as they took their first daring steps in the world of filmmaking. The world will feel their presence. When I sat on set, when I read this book, I couldn’t help but feel moved and affected by them - I am sure you will too!