Filmmaker Zhao Liang has won several prizes for his documentaries such as Zhi Feiji (1997) and Zai Jiang Bian (2004). He has now scored another hit, winning Best Documentary at France’s Festival des Trois Continents for Crime and Punishment, a film detailing daily life in a police station. He talks to Renee Chen about his work.

With independent documentaries, a richer version of history can be recorded. If there was nobody doing this job in our generation, it would be a shame. I see it as my responsibility.

When there were only a few documentary makers, I focused on just recording people in a natural way. But recently I have tried to express myself more through the way I edit, because there is greater competition among filmmakers now.

I filmed some prostitutes when I was 26. They were crying about their relationships with clients and boyfriends. I asked myself “What am I doing? Should I keep doing this? What does this mean about me?” Not every minute in filmmaking is fun. Sometimes drinking with friends is more comfortable.

At times I feel like I’m stealing from the people I shoot. It’s their life that has given me the inspiration to create, and that’s why I feel guilty.

When I had no money to pay rent or shoot films, I wondered whether I could stick to my guns when it came to choosing what to film. But being an independent filmmaker is 100 percent personal for me. I avoid getting into business arrangements with others because that is the very thing that allows me to stay independent.

I was lucky with the prize money this year at The Festival Des Trois Continents. Best Movie and Best Documentary were combined, and the purse for the prize increased to 12,000 euros. Seems it will be a very comfortable winter.

The first thing I did was upgrade my equipment – it's all high-res now.

Getting along with people I shoot is very easy. Give them your honesty and in return they will let you into their life. People I documented ten years ago are close friends today. Doing any job should also be about conducting oneself in a dignified way. 

I try not to interrupt when I film, unless my subject faces a potentially fatal situation.

Art is always just decorative in rich people’s homes – it can never really change anything.

Contemporary art is so popular right now. But in the future, the standing of impoverished documentary filmmakers will be higher. 

I have to make a plan for my next day job, otherwise I’ll freak out by wasting time and doing nothing, I get nervous very easily.

I always carry a Leica 135 camera with me so I can shoot whatever interests me. But if I’m out drinking with friends I don’t dare take it because I worry I’ll lose it – and it wasn’t cheap. I’m always losing things. 

A strong will is both my strength and weakness. In my career I have always done things my own way and never regretted that. But sometimes I feel I’m just like a machine who acts too coldly towards my family and towards love. But if I feel lonely, when the thought has passed, it has passed.