FINANCE and filmmaking, commerce and creativity – it is difficult to imagine two more dissimilar fields, but Kerr Xu has excelled at both, and now he is firmly invested in Bunbury’s most exciting new industry.
The Chinese director and entrepreneur left China for the United States as a young man to make his fortune in business, and though it was never his passion, it allowed him to lay the foundations for his production company, Shanghai Hippo.
“I started to sketch at three-and-a-half years old and by the time I hit junior high school I was one of the best in the country,” Mr Xu said.
“My parents didn’t support me towards being a painting artist so I ended up in finance and computer science.
“The artistic side was still always my favourite and after spending so many years in investment and banking I realised that I wanted to be on the creative side.”
Mr Xu headed back to China and founded Shanghai Hippo in 2003, with the Bunbury connection coming late last year when he hooked up with Vue Group and veteran producer Alan Lindsay.
Mr Xu said Mr Lindsay offered a refreshingly uncondescending attitude towards the potential for Chinese film.
“A lot of Western companies come to Shanghai looking for service jobs and cheap labour – they’re not looking for creative partners and they carried that kind of arrogance,” he said.
“This gentleman doesn’t have that and he’s earned our respect.
He will be one of the earliest people to actually join together with a Chinese company in this way.”
Lindsay said a big drawcard for joining with Shanghai Hippo was the fact Mr Xu runs the company, but he is still the main creative force.
He went on to explain the partnership was not just about moving pictures – but also about changing attitudes.
“People start to get involved in watching things from another country and vice versa and that builds an understanding quicker than anything else,” Lindsay said.
“If people are getting involved in the other culture, any intolerance will disappear quickly.”