Just about a week ago, we join director and producer Hugo Liu in presenting his first short documentary, ‘Dead Center’.
It was five years ago when Hugo, then a curious film student in San Francisco, reached out to come on set in support of our production of ‘Breath’. With our parable short films being not-for-profit, it is the gathering and mentoring of young film creatives that is truly at the heart of our short film production sets.
Talented, Teachable, Team-savvy
Hugo’s all-rounded film talent was immediately evident and wowed us most of all with his teachability and team-savviness — invaluable qualities in film.
Originally from Hong Kong, he started his career in film working at a camera rental shop, and since then interned at Turner Broadcasting and accepted two Hong Kong International Film Festival selections before the age of 18.
After his BA in Motion Picture and Television, Hugo continued to produce and direct narratives, documentaries, and commercials spearheading multiple national and international festival selections and wins, while also serving on projects for clients such as AMC+, AppleTV, Google, eBay, and beyond.
In building our relationship with Hugo in the next few years, we learned more about his family in Hong Kong — where his parents’ tough faith is a source of inspiration for him; and his brother Aiko’s unprecedented bold journey in the world of bodybuilding is a source of encouragement for his own film career.
Not only has Hugo decided to plug himself into our church in SF since, he has remained very true to stewarding his talents by embarking on producing and directing this first short documentary as a fresh graduate out of film school.
A true labor of love that took Hugo almost two years to finish, ‘Dead Center’ tells the story of the man, the myth, the legend in USA bodybuilding: Kenneth ‘Flex’ Wheeler. Soulfully and uniquely told across continents and generations, a heartfelt story of how a legend held by his faith is still fighting to stand. And how a protege is still fighting to rise. Where heartbreak and heartfelt collide.
Watch a moving clip of Wheeler talking about his faith on our instagram here.
As a sports documentary producer for over a decade in my career, it is very meaningful to lend Hugo’s first short doc support as his Executive Producer and a joy to present the finished product with Hugo to our network and beyond. Head to Dead Center’s film page to learn all about this film project.
Watch the short doc on its film page and also on Aiko’s YouTube Channel.
