“Promise Land” is a historical film which takes place in 1939 Poland. Two people of Jewish heritage (Ackerman [played by Grant Henderson] and Laura [played by Jessica Flaum]) are hiding out in a small abandoned wooded-clinic from German soldiers. The events are dramatic and riveting, as would be expected of this subject matter. The cinematography is breathtakingly beautiful while also conveying the harshness of Poland in winter, an obvious metaphor of the political situation of the times. The look of the film is honest, because the harshness of the terrain is real and was experienced by the crew. The exteriors were filmed in Petaluma, California (north of San Francisco) in the dead of winter. When you are filming, the generators that power heaters are not your friend. This means that the majority of the film crew, including Gong, were required to work outside in winter in northern California…which is less than cozy. While there was no grumbling from Xin about her personal comfortability, her gear was much less agreeable about it. She explains, “It was very cold. I’ll admit that I felt a little guilty because many of the others on the crew had a much more difficult experience. I got top-shelf treatment, but sometimes the environment was really bad. For example, we had one scene in the forest and there was no electric power…no place to put my computer. I needed to build a darkroom because when I got the footage I have to do basic color grading. I can’t color grade in normal brightness conditions so I used apple boxes and clothes to build a darkroom. Whenever possible the director gave me a very warm and comfortable room as my studio.”
Xin feels that one of the ways that she can contribute and excel as a DIT is in complete preparedness. During filming in the forest for “Promise Land” the entire production lost power. In this type of scenario, it’s very easy for the raw footage to get damaged. Fortunately, with foresight and preparation, Gong had all the important devices connected to big UPs which can maintain up to half an hour after the electric power has been lost. When this issue happened, Xin and the team had plenty of time to save all the unfinished worked and turn the devices off. After the electric power went back, the production continued working without any damage to the footage. Xin concedes, “, I always try my best to be as professional as possible. I’m always well prepared before the production even starts and I always double-check everything to make sure that there are no hidden dangers in the future. Finally, I always bring some surprise to the crew. I may bring some device like a Teredek which improves their experience so well that they really like it. I don’t think simply doing what is expected is enough, if you want to be memorable to others you need talent and something on top of that. People want to work with you when you do your job exceptionally well AND you make their experience easier than normal.”
“Promise Land” received copious accolades including: the MERIT AWARD at the International New York Film Festival, a finalist in the IndustryBOOST Competition, and selected by The first Normandie-World War II International Film Festival, the Hollywood screenings film festival, the 2016 7th Annual ITSA Film Festival, and others. The intensity of the film permeates the action onscreen and deeper, allowing the audience to feel the crew’s passion for the film’s message. Xin Gong stands alongside the other filmmakers involved in this production, proud of the work they did and the recognition it has received. A successful film is always a combination of the talented professionals in front of and behind the camera, “Promise Land” proves that this statement is more than presumption.