Lucky House

Lucky House deals with notions of the Chinese diaspora and depicts the life of a second generation immigrant from China. The Short film portrays events within a Chinese takeaway owned by her father in which the story unfolds through an internal monologue that reflects on the past, present and the future of the protagonist played by Yen Guo. The hybrid nature of the Chinese takeaway and its adaption to a more western palette such as serving fish and chips acts an analogy and reflection of her own identity, as she finds herself in between two disparate ideologies. The cultural conflict is stylistically enhanced through the subtitles provided in both Chinese and English that support the narration throughout the movie, indicating moments of cultural mismatch and understanding. The latter half of the movie is flooded in red light, a colour that symbolises prosperity and good fortune within Chinese culture. The red imagery alluding to her dreams and aspirations are carried out through a dance sequence that reveals a moment of “becoming”.

  • Michael and Chiyan Ho
    Director
  • Jonathan Keane
    Writer
  • Shutian Zhou
    Producer
  • Rory Skeoch
    Producer
  • Yen Guo
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 23 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    Mandarin Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Michael and Chiyan Ho

Michael Ho (born 1991; Arnhem, Netherlands) and Chiyan Ho (born 1993; Hertfordshire, UK) both live in London and have worked together as an artist duo since 2019, after they graduated from the Architectural Association, London, where they both currently teach. They have participated in group exhibitions including “Radius”, Wirdnachgereicht, Basel (2019); House of Letters (2020), Figuratively Speaking (2020) and have been published in AArchitecture 35, Compromise and Low theory 1 & 2, a biannual digital publication and curation project by Chinese-Canadian curator and writer Kate Wong. They have also collaborated with Iranian artist Reza Aramesh on Centrefold, a weekly collective art making event resulting in a limited edition publication in scrapbook format. Their recent commissions include “Lucky House”, a short film for the ICA / BBC New Creatives program. They have a number of forthcoming group exhibitions that include; “Intra-Action” at Soft Opening, London; Delphian Gallery, London; ICA, London; as well as a Summer residency and exhibition at VO. Curations.

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Director Statement

Michael and Chiyan Ho are an artist duo currently living and working in London. As second generation immigrants from China, their work responds to the notions of cultural mismatch and subsequently cultural (re)discovery and identity. They take inspiration from their disparate experiences between two cultures, their Chinese heritage and their European upbringing. This combination of cultures helps bring to surface feelings of estrangement, (un)belonging and notions of home. Although predominately painting based, they feel that at the core of their practice are the ideas that emerge from the constant dialogue between the two of them. Their debut short film “Lucky House” aims to reveal a range of identities and stories, from the playful to the political and from the erotic to the domestic.