Hong Kong-based independent animator Neco Lo’s short film Private Antonio (1986/2019) documents the daily routine of the late contemporary artist Antonio Mak (1951–1994) at his Wai Chai Studio, including footage such as Mak practising Tai Chi. Their friendship began in the 1980s, when the two met through Mak’s younger brother. They quickly forged a connection based on a shared passion for old songs and films, despite their generational differences and distinct social circles. Whenever they met, they talked happily without inhibition.
With the popularisation of video recording, Lo began his video practice in the early 1980s. ‘I like filming my friends. Luckily, I’ve met some talented friends with unique perspectives, and video documentation helps more people get to know them,’ recounts Lo. Prior to making Private Antonio, Lo’s earlier work, Four Friends (1985), was about the friends he had met at the Film Culture Centre in Hong Kong and had a significant influence on shaping his creative vision.
After knowing Mak for several years, Lo was asked to make a film on Mak’s Mantis Fist master. Lo then took it as an opportunity to begin conceiving based on Mak. ‘Although Antonio was already somewhat known in Hong Kong’s art scene at that time, there was little information about him, let alone videos. I felt that it was something I could do.’ The resulting film captured Mak from a friend’s point of view, emphasising his hands as a sculptor and documenting his unique personal habits, such as eating roasted goose and drinking Qingdao beer only. ‘He was very accommodating and didn’t object to my filming at all, giving me free rein, all based on his trust in me,’ says Lo.
Private Antonio (1986) is screened at M+’s first ‘Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival’.
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