What happens when a surgeon becomes an actor, a poet becomes a screen presence, and a filmmaker discovers his next talent somewhere he least expected to look?

Conroy Chan has spent decades moving between worlds — from modelling and acting to music and filmmaking — building a career that refuses to settle into a single definition. As the producer behind 852 Films, the Hong Kong-based company he co-founded with Josie Ho, he has continued to champion films that exist somewhere beyond the obvious, embracing genre, risk and stories with the potential to travel beyond their place of origin.

Iman Taheri arrived from an entirely different direction. A former surgeon and lifelong poet, the Iranian-Canadian artist entered Hong Kong cinema almost by accident, after meeting Chan and Ho through circumstances far removed from a film set. What began as a real-life encounter evolved into a creative collaboration, eventually making Taheri the first talent signed by 852 Films. His screen debut in The Mage, directed by the Pang Brothers, marks the beginning of a new chapter — one in which medicine, poetry and performance begin to occupy the same space. 

Their story speaks to something larger than reinvention. In an industry increasingly built around recognisable formulas, both have chosen movement over definition: between cultures, disciplines, identities and creative languages. Now, as The Mage carries a distinctly Hong Kong supernatural story into an increasingly international landscape, Chan and Taheri talk with Numéro Berlin about crossing borders, finding new creative identities, the freedom of being an outsider — and what happens when the most unexpected parts of a life become the material for something new. 

SB: Hong Kong has historically existed at a fascinating intersection of cultures — Chinese, Cantonese, colonial, international — and its cinema developed an identity that travelled far beyond the city itself. What does Hong Kong represent to you culturally today, and what part of that identity are you trying to preserve or reinvent through 852 Films?

Conroy Chan & Iman Taheri: I feel with the advent of mass transportation, the internet and the smartphone that culture has evolved and is not purely designated to one place or another. It’s funny when people ask me what 852 stands for; I just say call me! When we first started our journey we were finding ourselves and our identity but at the same time the driving motivation for 852 Films was always and forever be creativity and entertainment!

SB: Contemporary culture is increasingly shaped by algorithms, franchises and the pressure to be immediately legible. 852 Films has often moved in the opposite direction, towards genre, cult cinema and unconventional characters. Is being difficult to categorise becoming a form of cultural resistance?

CC&IT: At the start of our journey it was sort of like that but as you evolve you realise we are all one living under the same sun! The boundaries and borders slowly melts away! If anything it adds to the melting pot that is known as culture.

SB: Cult films often begin outside the mainstream and end up influencing it. When you make something deliberately unconventional, are you thinking about an audience at all — or does cultural relevance sometimes require ignoring what an audience supposedly wants?

CC&IT: We follow our instinct and creativity and try not to be bounded by the audience or any boundaries. If you build it they will come! Just don’t know how many though.. haha!

SB:  Through 24Herbs, you were also part of developing a distinctly Hong Kong expression of hip-hop. Hip-hop itself is a culture built on translation, localisation and resistance. What happens to hip-hop when it becomes Hong Kong music rather than an imported American form? And how do you look at the contemporary global Hip Hop culture right now?

CC: Haha! In the band we always say “ 好聽Clan “ Ho Tang Clan (riffing off Wu Tang Clan): “Sounds Good Clan. “ Doesn’t matter what genre, where or when as long as it sounds good! Love the vibes now, love seeing people doing their thing!

SB: Hong Kong cinema had an extraordinary global cultural influence in previous decades. Do you think a new generation of Hong Kong filmmakers feels the weight of that history, or is the more interesting question now how to escape it? What are other young filmmakers you are looking at right now? And what shapes their language and how is it different from yours?

CC&IT: I don’t think the newer generations feel the weight of history as they’re having a hella of a time trying to handle the “ Now “! Recently got to see “ Magic Farm “ by Amelia Ulman and “ Backrooms “ by Kane Parsons. I’m loving the more DIY culture now as there are more tools at your disposal! Love that creative force. Definitely the same spirit but now is at a more mature state. We had to experiment more as things weren’t as accessible as now!

SB: The Mage belongs to supernatural and horror cinema, but horror has historically been one of the most effective genres for talking about collective fears, trauma and social anxieties. What fear beneath the supernatural surface of The Mage interested each of you most?

CC&IT: That fear stems from humanity whether you are human or ghosts and that no matter how dark it seems there is always hope!

SB: Asian horror has profoundly influenced the global visual language of the genre. What do you think audiences outside Asia still misunderstand about the cultural or spiritual ideas behind Asian supernatural cinema?

CC&IT: The misunderstandings are far less now with so much information out there! It’s more to do with sifting through the information and misinformation to form your own opinion! It’s more about perspectives nowadays!

SB: Iman came into the 852 Films world through an extraordinary real-life encounter with Conroy before eventually becoming an actor. When you worked together on The Mage, did that history change the level of trust between you?