The title of “Happy Bird” is intentionally ironic. In fact, the title itself announces the premise that what we often see on the surface is a direct contradiction to what an individual is actually experiencing. In the story, two high school seniors, Shaun and Hope, reconnect through an afternoon of smoking weed. They talk about the good old days when they were in the same school. Unexpectedly, when the conversation goes deeper, Hope's cutting scars are revealed and so is her emotional strife. This scares Shaun who later wants to comfort her and the two become intimate. Hope is unable to connect with the moment and recalls her suicide attempt. They part abruptly afterwards. Ultimately “Happy Bird” is an exploration of Hope’s story. Many people in today’s society put on a face of normalcy while hiding the depression and hopelessness they feel inside. The script reminded Xing-Mai of those he has known who have dealt with the same issues and created a connection for him with the premise, convincing him that he wanted to be a part of making this film.
Deng wanted the dichotomy that exists in Hope’s psyche to be visibly present in the environment of the film. Discussing these ideas with writer/director Osahon Tongo, he created a lighting scheme and camera movement that would convey the constant sense of danger and safety that would battle for Hope’s attention. The warm and welcoming lighting during the early part of Shaun and Hope’s reunion created a cozy environment. This lighting turns softer in the bedroom but as Hope flashes back to the suicide attempt, the cold and harshness of the lights gives a sense of the fear she had at the time. When the intensity of the emotional moment with Shaun takes over, the barriers (emotional and mental) are stripped away, taking the action to the swimming pool scene with Hope recalling her suicide attempt. The location itself creates an uncomfortable, cold, and lonely space for the character. Deng’s design of blue and green lighting is the very inverse of the warmth seen in the bedroom, making it all that more jarring. The uncomfortable vibe and sense of danger is palpable, nightmarish in a surreal manner. Underwater photography allows the audience to be with the character the entire time, enabling a sense of feeling that they are experiencing Hope’s journey with her. In the scene, Hope was screams under the water, as she is mentally drowning.
Explaining how he achieved this Deng states, “In the bedroom, I crafted a very smooth and warm feeling with the collaboration of the production designer, to show the coziness of environment and the happy persona of Hope. The characters are lit with soft and dreamy light and I used a MöVI to achieve the floating camera movement to show the Shaun’s attempt to connect to Hope. When Hope reveals her true self with a life filled with depression and scars, Shaun gets scared as he realizes in such a cozy room, there is death within the girl in front of him. The director and I blocked the actors away from the light source to achieve the contrast in lighting scheme. And the camera was not moving at all during this segment. The scene then flashbacks to Hope’s suicide attempt in the swimming pool. I lit the whole scene with blue-color lights and added more green tint to it in post-production. It showed the feeling of Hope’s near-death struggle as she is drowning.”
In addition to being an Official Selection at Indie Film Festival, Odyssey of the Mind Film Festival, and Zoetrope Spring Showcase, “Happy Bird” was an Official Selection of the Cannes Short Film Corner. While Xing-Mai has had a number of his works achieve this honor, he confirms that it is always a thrill to have his work recognized by such a prestigious event. One of the restrictions of being an in-demand professional is that you are unable to attend such events because you are working on yet another film. It’s not his favorite part of being a successful filmmaker but Xing-Mai Deng will keep happily working and one day, when the opportunity presents, he’ll go and received the praise that he so rightly deserves. Until then, he’ll happily take the praise that he receives from his fellow artists like Osahon Tongo who proclaims, “Working with Xing-Mai elevated the art of this film to a gold standard and it also brought a lot of light to an important message. ‘Happy Bird’ is a film that uses poetic cinema and neo-realism to express internal conflict. When I brought the script to Xing-Mai he passionately described the way in which he would like to capture these emotions underwater with dramatic lighting and in the house naturalistic lighting and steady-cam equipment to give it a simple elegance but raw grit that the story danced with. It really opened my eyes to the visual storytelling medium in a different way and it elevated the film immensely. Working with other filmmakers should encourage and challenge you, this is exactly what Xing-Mai does.”