Excited to see after a lot of work and patient waiting that Chinese film by Canadian director Neysan Sobhani ‘GUIDANCE’ which was another project we worked on that kept us going during the 2020 pandemic territories is available worldwide on all major platforms: Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, & more.

Even better, it has been getting fantastic reviews both in China and overseas, even by the elusive New York Times which voted it one of the top 5 sci fi movies to stream! And 88% on Rotten Tomatoes (which is based on reviews by professional film critics)

As supervising sound editor for this sci fi drama, I was involved in the sound design, foley, audio editing, ADR, music score coordination and 5.1 mixing.

One of the reasons I enjoyed working on this film is it’s unique story that asks the question, what if you could turn your body into a quantum computer that could tell if someone was lying how would it affect your relationships? Would it make truthfulness pervasive?

Based on the key Baha’i principle that Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues, It’s unique these days to see a film based on the idea of virtue, even more so how we can use technology that is real and actually being developed to help humans more easily be ‘encouraged’ to live by virtues such as in this case truthfulness. We always want to know if there is a way to ‘cheat’ to allow us to become better. The interesting question this film asks is ‘would it work’? Once someone could tell you were lying, you would probably feel obliged to acquire the same ability to level the playing field. What is even more interesting is that this is a Chinese film from a Canadian director. As someone who has lived in China long enough to experience how white lies are a very pervasive and acceptable part of the culture, it poses an even more interesting question to an audience that may be most intrigued by this idea. However, when you ignore the language of the film, it could really be set anywhere and it still provides thought provoking ideas. That being said, this is after all a ‘relationship drama’ set in the future, so if your curious about the idea of acquiring virtue by turning your body into a quantum computer aka ‘NIS’ and running an app called ‘Guidance’ to give you an advantage in negotiations / relationships you may be let down by the fact that this is a film about conflicted characters in flawed relationships. But maybe even if that is not really your thing you will appreciate the film for its unique scenery of China, a glimpse into a possible near future, and an unpredictable ending that is sure to catch most off guard.

Get more info and see the trailer on the Pro Soul website here or the official website here. Full reviews on IMDB page

In my last blog I mention that “A New World Is Emerging, And New Opportunities”
That could certainly describe China’s music industry. Massive but very immature market, very few choices for music style and selection, very few willing to take the leap to pursue music beyond an initial 2 year attempt to do anything.
One of the projects that kept me going during the pandemic starting in 2020 was this group of very talented singers in China together called NUFU2R (“New Future”). Our aim with this group is creating fun, exciting new electro pop music. Led by 3 talented, experienced singers, Z.T. from Hunan, Lulu from Sichuan, and Karina from much farther beyond. If the beat doesn’t grab you, their soulful voices will!

Things went very well in their first year, we released a few songs, once of which reached silver status on the top music streaming platform in China, released a music video, and did some performances.
But for singers who make their living from music (which is very rare in China) a perpetual pandemic not only takes a financial blow, but is very discouraging when you can’t perform much and even when you can you need to decide wether to do what you love or do what pays.
It’s also discouraging when the public cares more about your Tik Tok (Douyin) videos than music, and really have a very hard time knowing when they hear music that is great unless it become famous…

After a long reflection and planning period, more new songs and videos are coming and the group is determined not to give up. Will they survive China’s perilous but promising industry? These are some of the most talented singers and musicians I have ever worked with in China. Let’s see what they can do.

More information and videos on their official website NUFU2R.com

In Chinese, 危机 (WEI JI) Means Crisis.
The word contains two characters:
危 Danger
机 Opportunities

So where are the opportunities?

• Health is a priority now, healthcare products on the rise
• E-Commerce is now the main business , offline just supports online
• Online is everything… working, dating, meeting, entertainment, shopping
• Online Education is booming, and it is just the beginning in China
• Chinese Startups are one of the only safe options for Global investors
• Meat alternatives and environmentally sound products will be huge
• Buying property overseas is the number one Chinese investment
• Strict and Disciplined action means much of Asia is back to business while the west “fights to maintain it’s freedoms” = opportunity in Asia

Some personal observations on everything going on during a crazy year:
The balance of the world economy and power is shifting. The natural order of life and balance is coming back to humanity by force, because all other subtle attempts have failed. And so should it at the start of a new decade.
Those industries and entities that have continually been given transplants and injections to stay alive and seem ‘healthy’ exhausted all options.
Covid-19 is probably the first of many such crisis needed to push humanity toward evolution and renaissance. A.I. is coming…

In a world desperately struggling with the idea of Unity, those who have accomplished it already (China represents 56 diverse ethnic groups), despite lacking the attractive banner ‘democracy’ are progressing.

The world’s second-biggest cinema chain Cineworld will close its U.K. and U.S. movie theatres this week, leaving as many as 45,000 workers unemployed.
Meanwhile, China’s box office hit $68 million this month, pushing it past America to the top film market in the world, and ByteDance says Tik Tok, the worlds most popular video app with over 2 billion downloads, has apparently created 36 million jobs.

My studio survived this year only because we diversified the type of work we do years ago and expanded to provide more of what the market needed.

The opportunity is there, as the old system collapses, will you take advantage of it? My next post is about one way I’m attempting to do that.