Swifty, Writing

More photos from my "Floating Sun" location scouting

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 04:49:15 PDT

I got myself a Blackmagic Cinema Camera recently for two TV shoots. (one of them is BUDDYZ Season 2, which is currently airing on Astro Ria every Wednesdays and Fridays at 8:55pm, each 5-minute episode is available on Youtube a few hours after it's on TV, here's episode 3)

One of the most convenient things about the camera is that I could just re-use my old camera lenses from my Canon 7D, even got myself a new Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 lens to help with wide shots. This morning, while doing some location scouting for my new short film Floating Sun, I managed to put the lens to good use.

Location scouting for my new short film "Floating Sun"

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:18:23 PDT

As I prepare to shoot my new short film "FLOATING SUN" at the end of June, I traveled early this morning for a round of location scouting with James Lee the producer, TK the production manager and Lesly the cinematographer.

Armed with my new phone, the Huawei Mate (technically, with its 6-inch screen, it's really a "phablet" and not a phone), I traversed into a place which was absolutely wonderful (and photogenic) for my film, taking some photos.

Immediately I knew I was going to shoot my film here.

Excerpt from my new short film, SPRINGTIME NOSTALGIA 残香

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 22:30:08 PDT

A new short film of mine, SPRINGTIME NOSTALGIA, is premiering at next week's Shanghai International Film Festival, followed by a screening at the Taipei International Film Festival in early July as part of an "in focus" program for actress/producer Kiki Sugino.

This Ikebana-themed short that was commissioned by Kao last year

The kind folks of Taipei International Film Festival posted a one-minute excerpt of the short film on Youtube which featured the three main cast members, Kiki Sugino (who did EXHALATION with me back in 2010), Qyoko Kudo (who did KINGYO with me back in 2009) and Eriko Ono (who was probably a baby when I collaborated with the aforementioned two actresses in my previous works).

I really liked the synopsis that they have written in Chinese.

喜歡花藝的男人說：「如果有天我消失了，你會找我嗎？」
他消失的那天，女人就失去了嗅覺。她來到花藝教室，老師看著女人的插花風格，大驚失色的問她是誰傳授的花藝，女人回憶起男子過往的談話心想：如果與男人再次相遇，他還記得甚麼⋯⋯。畫面繽紛艷麗，彷彿只有如此滿溢的色彩，才能隱藏失去的那塊記憶。

My (crappy) translation:

A man who loved Ikebana once asked: "If I were to disappear one day, will you look for me?"

After he disappeared, the woman loses her sense of smell. The woman goes to an Ikebana class, the teacher notices her flower arrangement and is shocked, she asks the woman who had taught her this arrangement.

The woman remembers the man and wonders: "If we were to meet again, what will he remember?"

Beautiful and poetic imagery, it is as if these vivid colours were trying to conceal a piece of missing memory.

Sometimes, I feel that these film festival synopses are cooler than my actual films.

Mieko Kanai 金井美恵子

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 10:36:35 PDT

You might not have heard of the Japanese writer Mieko Kanai (金井美恵子), but she wrote the short story "The Moon" that inspired my short film "LAST FRAGMENTS OF WINTER".

I stumbled upon her works by accident. It was September 2010. My uncle (father's younger brother) passed away suddenly, my parents, who were in Tokyo with me for my graduation ceremony, had to fly back to Malaysia immediately.

I was left alone in the hotel that my parents were supposed to stay for a few more days. Overwhelmed by solitude, I went to my favourite Aoyama Book Center in Roppongi, hoping to distract my mind with literature.

Going through the shelf, "THE WORD BOOK" by Mieko Kanai, a collection of her short stories, caught my eye. Maybe it was the cover. THE WORD BOOK came out in the 70s, but it only just got translated into English that year.

I flipped through the book, went through some stories, and found myself captivated by the imagery of her dream-like tales. I didn't buy the book immediately, but her words lingered. (I bought the book a few days later on Amazon)

This is the opening paragraph of "The Moon":

According to Mother, I was already old enough to go on errands all by myself, even at night. "The chicken butcher and the green grocer just in front of it, near the castle at the edge of the shopping area, should be open till nine, and I want you to get me a chicken and a package of mushrooms there, I'm sorry you have to go at night like this, but I couldn't say no. "Your older sister" - she had died at age six - "used to take a little wicker basket and go buy the enriched powdered milk she always drank," Father said, laughing good-naturedly; but Mother looked a bit sad. Then I went out into the town, where the last dim twilight had been swallowed up in night."

Another one:

Oddly enough, our accounts of our memories of the dead begin with the arrival of news of a sudden death. When this call comes, we are dazed, left speechless. Those who were close to the dead person may have the impression of things occurring in a dream whose meaning is out of reach. Like words heard in a dream - or rather, in a dream one was trying to recall while only half-awake..

What was sad, in what words? We have no idea. There are only traces of the raw reality of having been informed of something truly frightening. One's very irritation of being unable to recall the significance of words spoken in a dream feels like something that is happening in yet another dream, a nightmare. Thus, confronted with news of a sudden death, they (I) feel vertigo. Then they start to talk about you, who have already turned into a memory - about their memories of you, which are somehow lacking in reality. They emphasize the fact that you are no longer in this world as they speak of you, so the memories all become beautiful, taking on a tragic tone. Even the most boring memories are enveloped, in this place, in deep, tragic shadows.

And finally:

When I got home, I found everything just the way it had been when I left, with Mother lying on a rattan chaise-longue in her usual place in the sitting-room, listlessly reading a book with a russet cover. When she saw my face, she looked a bit angry and said, "Where were you off to, young man? I was afraid you'd been kidnapped and would never come back!" I started to open my mouth to explain what I had seen, but I was in the grip of a melancholic fretfulness and couldn't say a word. Then Father spoke: "You were looking at the moon, weren't you?"

I blinked and just said "Unh" in reply. father took the packages of good, saying, "It'll take thirty minutes to cook the chicken, so go take your bath, you're big enough to wash yourself now, but I'll wash your hair for you."

It was after that Mother died, though I don't know if it was a year after, or a month, or a week, or a day.

The story shifted from the point of view of a child, and then to an adult, I wasn't sure whether it was the same person, or whether it was told from the perspective of the child and his father.

A few months later, I made LAST FRAGMENTS OF WINTER, because I needed to get these images out of my system. It usually happens this way. (my earlier short films, LOVE SUICIDES and KINGYO, were loose adaptations of Yasunari Kawabata's short stories as well)

Retyping the words from "The Moon", I am mildly surprised by how faithful I had been to the source material.

Two years after that, right now, I became a part of James Lee's HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL: 3 DOORS OF HORROR omnibus, I find myself, once again, drawing from the Mieko Kanai pool of inspiration, this time, it's from the short story "The Boundary Line" (also from "THE WORD BOOK"), which revolves around a drowned female corpse. The other two directors, Ng Ken Kin and Leroy Low have finished their segments (Leroy finished his shoot just a few days ago), both will most probably be great, so I'm now preparing for my shoot (scheduled at the end of June). Yesterday, I have secured most of the key cast members for the film. Soon, I will continue revising the script to see what is there to fix. I usually work on my script until during the shoot itself.

Going through the "THE WORD BOOK" again, I realized that another Kanai book "INDIAN SUMMER" had just gotten translated earlier this year. This book review is written by Paul McCarthy (who was the translator of THE WORD BOOK!).

Through this review that I found out Mieko Kanai had been living in Mejiro for decades, the very same area that I've stayed in for the past five years.

The fact that she's in the neighbourhood made me wonder whether this is the reason her works resonated with me.

Q and A session for WOMAN ON FIRE LOOKS FOR WATER at CineMalaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 20:00:08 PDT

On the 30th of May, the screening of Woo Ming Jin's WOMAN ON FIRE LOOKS FOR WATER was held right after the screening of my short films at CineMalaysia Film Festival (a film festival for Malaysian films held in Tokyo).

Three years ago, the film had its Japanese premiere at the Fukuoka Asian Film Festival, but it only had its Tokyo premiere 3 years after that.

As producer of the film, I did a brief Q and A session after the film was done. It was already 11:20pm then, I was surprised most audiences chose to stick around. Japanese audiences are some of the most polite in the world.

Here's the video of the Q and A session.

Q & A session for my short films screening at CineMalaysia Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 09:23:43 PDT

I have just spent three nights in Tokyo to attend the CineMalaysia Film Festival シネ・マレーシア, a great film festival organized in Tokyo to show Malaysian films. This was its inaugural edition. The film festival ran from the 24th to the 31st of May. I was around for the last two days.

A number of my short films were invited for screening in this film festival. LOVE SUICIDES (2009), KINGYO (2009), EXHALATION (2010), INHALATION (2010), and LAST FRAGMENTS OF WINTER (2011).

In addition to that, two films I produced were at the festival too. One was WOMAN ON FIRE LOOKS FOR WATER (2009) by Woo Ming Jin, another was GIRL IN THE WATER (2012) by Woo Ming Jin and Jeppe Ronde.

I got to autograph the poster. Yay.

Here's a video of my Q and A session after the screening of my short films on the 30th of May. I was very surprised that the attendance was so good.

James Lee uploaded his entire 2009 feature film, CALL IF YOU NEED ME 黑夜行路 on Youtube

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sun, 26 May 2013 21:11:23 PDT

These days, the Malaysian director and independent film pioneer James Lee had been uploading his works on his Youtube channel Doghouse73pictures. Both short films and feature films, from his earliest to his latest.

Last month, in April, he uploaded his 2005 breakthrough film THE BEAUTIFUL WASHING MACHINE (one of the seminal films of the Malaysian New Wave) in its entirety.

Today, in conjunction with its screening at the CineMalaysia in Tokyo (a new film festival that is showing only Malaysian films), James has uploaded his 2009 gangster film CALL IF YOU NEED ME 黑夜行路 online for us all to see.

This film, which stars Pete Teo, Sunny Pang and Chua Thien See, won the Silver Digital Award at the Hong Kong Film Festival 2009. It chronicles the lives of two cousins and a woman who came between them.

The first time I saw it was around 2009, on an editing suite. An associate producer of the film was making DV copies of the film to submit to film festivals and had to make sure each copy was fine, it was tedious job, since she had to rewatch the film over and over again. So I agreed to liberate her from her pain by volunteering to help her "check" one of the tapes, which actually allowed me to catch the film.

Slightly different from the domestic dramas that James had been doing up until then, I was rather fascinated by some of the genre conventions that he had to work with when making this film. Of course, after that, James would actually cross over to more commercial, studio fares, like PETALING STREET WARRIORS, THE COLLECTOR and a few others, but this film, I find it interesting because there's something rather pure about it.

Anyway, James Lee and I will be collaborating on my next short film project, "FLOATING SUN", with me directing and James producing.

For now, go watch CALL IF YOU NEED ME.

Set photos from the Buddyz 2 TV shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Tue, 07 May 2013 21:32:19 PDT

(On the set of Buddyz 2, with the iconic kombi van and some yellow umbrellas. The guy in yellow and seated in the background is actor Shaheizy Sam, reading the script)

Last year, I made a passing mention that I was involved in a TV shoot for a series of 5-minute episodes called Buddyz. The series started airing last June.

In the past few weeks I have been preparing for Season 2 of Buddyz, which stars Alif Satar, Syed Ali, Eliza Razak and Wawa Zainal, including (numerous) special appearances from Shaheizy Sam (the guy is doing multiple roles, like Eddie Murphy in the 80s).

For this shoot (and many after that), I decided to use a Blackmagic Cinema Camera that I bought literally just a few days before :D

The shoot started on May 1st. Labour Day. Most were having a holiday while we started work.

This was the very first shot of the entire shoot.

May 2nd. Day 2. We were shooting around the Damansara Perdana area.

That was 3 days before General Elections. The sight of the flag made me feel a little patriotic.

I always wanted to try a Snorricam shot. I finally got to do it.

Once again, like the previous season, Elliza Razak and Shaheizy Sam shared the most screen time. Their chemistry is already there, as director, my job was to set up the scenes wonderfully for them to work their magic.

Day 3. Taman Tun Park.

I decided to scatter some yellow umbrellas around the park to make the scene more awesome.

Day 4... well, Day 4 was a hectic shoot where started from 7am to 7pm. There was a live audience. I'll just share some of their tweets.

(they even got to hang out with the cast members)

Jom sarapan dulu! #buddyz #BuddyzSam @putra87 @yayannnnb @fuzzhafira @annanuarr @shaheizy_sam @melakaboy twitter.com/DiGi_Youths/st…
— DiGi Youths (@DiGi_Youths) May 4, 2013

#buddyz shoot today with #BuddyzSam! @shaheizy_sam and casts are ridiculously fun and funny! =D twitter.com/kyension/statu…
— Kok Yen Staci Tan (@kyension) May 4, 2013

Not just there to give @shaheizy_sam moral support, #BuddyzSam got to join him on screen as well. Lucky!! twitter.com/kyension/statu…
— Kok Yen Staci Tan (@kyension) May 4, 2013

There were even (quite a lot of photos) posted on Facebook.

Tweets of those events had the hashtag #BuddyzSam

It's fascinating.

May 5th. We had a break. It was the 13th Malaysian General Elections. Mom and I went to vote. But that's a different story for another day. If ever.

May 6th. Back to work. No photos. Post-election fatigue.

May 7th. Yesterday. Day 6 of shoot.

Continued shooting in a kampung house. Sometimes, I'm really amazed by the generosity of our Malay brethren, they are always hospitable and agreeable when lending out their homes for film shoots.

Here's Alif Satar, Wawa Zainal and Elliza Razak, waiting for the next shot.

And then, Syed Ali and Elliza Razak in an emotionally intense scene.

Night came. It started raining heavily.

I had to put on the raincoat.

Slightly after midnight, we were finally done. Here's Wawa Zainal and Elliza Razak, shooting the last scene of the night.

Discussing the short film medium

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:12:55 PDT

Back in January, I was on Kenneth Chaw's The Star article "Short Films starting to appeal to a bigger audience", discussing about my thoughts on short films. Filmmaker James Lee and Youtube sensation Jinnyboy were interviewed too.

Prior to that, Kenneth had actually done a very lengthy email interview with me in preparation for his article. While a number of my quotes were in the final article, I thought I would like to share our entire discussion with everyone. I'm doing it now, with Kenneth's permission. (In truth, I have wanted to do this since January, but, ah, I never had the time.)

So, here we go.

Kenneth's questions are in bold.
My answers will just be... normal text.

Tell me about how you got your start in making short films. I read somewhere you started by video blogging at first? Is that true? How did you transition from that to short films? Did you learn to make short films on your own or enrolled in a course / diploma / degree?

Being a filmmaker is a lifelong dream, so even though I was pursuing a marketing degree in Perth back then, I was filming everything around me with a camcorder, and teaching myself how to edit them. Those videos were posted on my blog, so that was how I started "videoblogging", and these were my first lessons in the technical aspects of filmmaking.

After getting my degree, I did a one year course in filmmaking in Perth, came back to Malaysia in 2007, got into an assistant director job for a telemovie, met the director Woo Ming Jin after that. We began a creative partnership that lasted until now.

(By the way: I don't just direct short films, I am also the producer, co-writer and editor of some feature films and TV works by Woo Ming Jin)

You're currently based in Japan now. Are you freelancing there, working in a company, or you're running your own business?

I freelance. But I do come back to Malaysia a few times a year to work together on projects with Ming Jin (both of us run a production company called Greenlight Pictures)

Any particular reason as to why you chose to pursue making short films there instead of Malaysia?

I didn't. I alternated between doing short films in Malaysia ("Love Suicides" and "Inhalation") or Japan ("kingyo" and "Exhalation"), or even shot some in both countries (like my recent short film "Last Fragments of Winter"). Many of my films are considered Japanese-Malaysian co-productions, so no, I didn't exactly turn my back to Malaysia at all, just that ironically, Malaysia is the country that knows the least about my works.

How often do you produce short films?

2-3 times a year, I think. (I don't necessarily direct all these short films, being a producer as well)

What is it about making short films that attracts you so much to it?

I like the fact that short films demand the discipline to tell a story within a limited running time, so you must be precise and do as much as you can. I also don't have to commit too much of my time or money to make a short film, therefore my creativity is not limited by commercial considerations or any other desperate attempts to please the masses. There are more opportunities to explore the content and form of filmmaking.

Do you pursue making short films in the hopes of becoming a full-length feature films one day or are you making shorts just for the satisfaction you gain out of it?

I never treated short films as a stepping stone to making a feature-length film because such a mentality would have been insulting to short films as a medium. There is a lot of joy and passion in making short films because some stories are more suitable to be told in such a manner, however, and once I find the right story to be presented as a feature-length film, I will make it. As a filmmaker, my main priority is really just to tell a good story and immerse myself in this exciting world of filmmaking that I am passionate about. The rest is secondary.

James Lee, Tan Chui Mui, Amir Muhammad and a few others were some of the pioneers of the independent filmmaking movement back in early 2000s. I believe you came into the scene around 2007. Were you close to them? Did you learn from them?

Yes, I knew all of them rather well (Woo Ming Jin is actually part of this group of filmmakers involved in what foreign film academics have called "The Malaysian New Wave") as I attended some of the public screenings and seminars that they gave back in those days.

In fact, James acted in my very first short film, "Chicken Rice Mystery", while I got the idea for the film itself when I was hanging out at Tan Chui Mui and Liew Seng Tat's office and forcing them to listen to my list of my silly film ideas.

The idea for Chicken Rice Mystery was the only one that they didn't react negatively to. So I decided to make the film.

I think my current career would never have happened without them.

When you began making shorts, were there many of your friends who were doing the same? If not, how did it feel like then?

No. It was a rather lonely experience. Which makes those who were willing to work with me in my films so much more invaluable to me. Maybe that is why I cannot stop making films, because only in those moments would I get myself surrounded by people who share my passion.

Today, it seems there are short films all over. Why do you think people are attracted to watching short films?

Youtube and all kinds of social networking websites have a lot to do with it, in my opinion. Since many short films can be easily accessed by many people, it became a more communal experience to watch them and have discussions over them over the internet. That's probably one of my speculations.

What kind of target audience are your shorts catered to?

To tell you the truth, I don't really think of this that much. I don't approach the making of short films like a businessman. I just want to tell a story, or express my certain fascination with certain themes, and see whether what I do can connect or resonate with anyone. It's a difficult concept to explain. But I don't think I am being self-indulgent.

For some reason, a lot of short films we see are very abstract and often times, difficult to understand. Why do you think there is such a fascination for these kinds of shorts?

What is abstract or difficult to understand by some, is touching and emotional to others.

Films, if you look at it more than just a mere form of entertainment, but also as works of art like literature, can be interpreted differently by different people based on their own backgrounds. So I don't think people are attracted to some films merely because they are "abstract" or "difficult to understand". These are merely some terms that people throw at films that they cannot connect with. I find myself emotionally captivated by the works of Wong Kar Wai because its depiction of heartbreak and yearning resonate greatly with me,

I am also in love with the works of Andrei Tarkovsky because his works are complex and poetic.

Some people make dirty faces and accuse the names that I mentioned as pretentious bores, I cannot really do anything about that. I thought the beauty of film is the fact that they can be unique to different people, but perhaps i am wrong.

I realise you tend to explore a lot on abstract themes like these as well in your work. How did you come to decide that this was the kind of short films you wanted to do?

I didn't think my themes are abstract. Are stories of people overwhelmed by the feeling of loneliness really that abstract? Are these yearnings of connection really that abstract? All I can admit is that I don't necessarily go with the formula that directors go with if they solely want to entertain their audiences. Because I would rather make films that are closer to my own sensibilities and emotions. It's depressing then, that what means so much to me are considered "abstract" by some, but it is not up to me to tell people what to think.

Coincidentally, abstract short films are the ones that usually garner awards. Is that a motivation for you to make them too?

No. my main reward is being able to do what I love to do, while constantly improving the craft that I am dedicated to.

To make a film solely to chase awards is the most depressing thing that I can think of. I just want to make a good film. That is all. If the awards come, then they are bonuses, and I accept with gratitude, knowing that what my personal works were able to find audiences that they can connect with. But we live in a cynical society, so of course award-winning works are generally belittled as "abstract. emotionally obscure" works. It's just the way it is.

Would you say that short films are also used as a platform to raise controversial issues (i.e. things like homosexuality, corruption, etc)? Is this something you do in your shorts as well? Any examples from your shorts?

I'm not an overtly political filmmaker, there are certain sociopolitical issues that I explore, but only if they are in service of the plot. Kingyo was a meditation on grief that revolves around a college professor who has an adulterous affair with his student, it also shows the difficulty of communication and connection between modern urban folks.

Inhalation is about a Malaysian girl who smuggles herself to work in Japan, only to get deported again, and she goes through numerous reasons on why she wanted to leave Malaysia, listing out numerous violent and controversial episodes from our history that have affected our psyche.

I realise you don't post much of your shorts on Youtube. Is there a reason for this?

Maybe I'm a little reclusive. Or maybe I just like to keep an air of mystery.

(My Youtube channel contains mostly video diaries)

How then do viewers usually watch your short films? Through screenings?

Yes. Or they can just ask me.

Do you get comments from viewers on your short films? Also, do your viewers comment via online or during live Q & A sessions?

Yes. Yes and yes.

Are there boundaries on subjects that personally would not touch? I.e. sex, nudity, etc?

Hm, well, there are some that I'm not that interested in exploring now, but I might explore them in a different stage of my life, so I wouldn't like to shoot myself in the foot by listing them out now. Haha

On average, how much does it cost you to shoot a short film?

There's no average. I have made zero budget short films where I did everything by myself, or small short films with a crew of three to four people (including myself. And then, there are some bigger ones where I have a crew of 15-20 people. It varies. I don't like to limit myself.

Where do you get the funding to shoot these short films or are they self-funded?

It varies too. Some are commissioned works, some are self-funded, yeah.

Do your short films generate any profit at all?

Yup. (since some of them are... commissioned works) I know this is not the type of answer you want, or it might smack you as self-consciously pretentious, but sometimes they just open other opportunities. That's all I can say, I guess?

What are some projects you are currently working on?

Oh, just juggling a few projects. Am in the middle of a video shoot while replying to this email. Producing a feature film, just finished writing another film that I'm directing, there are also two other short film projects that I may be setting up for myself. It's quite a lot for a guy who is as disorganized as I am.

Where do you see yourself in the future as a filmmaker?

Hopefully, I'll just continue making films. As long as I can continue doing that, it's really enough.

The short film phenomena is at an all time high now. But what about the future? Do you think it's just a hype that will die down soon? Or do you think it has a potential to take over / compete with mainstream entertainment mediums? What do you think is the future for short films?

Short films had always been around throughout the history of cinema, just that they were available in different platforms. There will always be appreciation for this particular medium. Just that with the internet, there are more people who are exposed to short films, which make things great.

WATCH: James Lee's award-winning film, THE BEAUTIFUL WASHING MACHINE

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 07:00:02 PDT

The Malaysian director James Lee's Youtube channel, doghouse73pictures had become increasingly interesting recently. Not only is he uploading his short films online, both new and old, he's also uploading his full-length films online so that everyone can watch them.

Fittingly, the first feature film that he chose to upload is his 2004 breakthrough film, THE BEAUTIFUL WASHING MACHINE. The film won the Best ASEAN Film award and FIPRESCI prize at the Bangkok International Film Festival 2005. That was one of the earlier films of a movement that would soon be referred to as the "Malaysian New Wave". Its place in Malaysian cinema history should never be overlooked. This film, with its festival accolades and such, would pave the way for other new Malaysian directors like myself.

After I met James for the first time in 2005, he was kind enough to lend me a DVD of this film. So I immediately watched this film with my high school pal Woan Foong (she later became the regular composer for my short films like EXHALATION, INHALATION and LAST FRAGMENT OF WINTER). At first, we were unused to its languid pacing and oblique narrative, but gradually, we were intrigued and mesmerized by the story. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it was the first film from the "Malaysian New Wave" that I saw. (this, and James Lee's short films would then be followed by Tan Chui Mui's TREE AT TANJUNG MALIM and Yasmin Ahmad's SEPET)

Anyway, THE BEAUTIFUL WASHING MACHINE is about... a beautiful washing machine, or a washing machine that transformed into a woman. Or a time-traveling woman who used the washing machine as a time machine... my description may be wrong or may be right, it's up to you to figure it out yourself. :D

Now, go watch THE BEAUTIFUL WASHING MACHINE.

The surprisingly overwhelming response for the film on Youtube had caused James to write this post on the doghouse73pictures Facebook page.

First of all, thank you to all who had watched this movie online. Your support has given the movie a second life.

With the audiences now online and around the globe, I have finally found a more passionate reason to continue making independent films. As the cinemas and exhibitors around the world only screens big and lavish commercial films, which will be a continuing trend for a long time, independent films especially in Malaysia will have no space in the cinemas. Other than fighting for halls, independent films have to deal with powerful publicity and marketing machines of commercial films. This is the fact, and does that means independent films have no space in the industry?

So with your support, this crazy ambitious project of mine of building a platform for independent films will be a success. I always believe there are audiences out there looking for alternative films. This year I will be uploading some of my selected feature films online and the same time I will be churning out brand new short films, namely the first one Paper Crane Love will premiere in mid April. Other than that I'll be producing three horror shorts by young & new directors for the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival in August. And by year end, I'll release an original action comedy web feature After School Complex.

So please subscribes to this page or the YouTube channel for updates and also with enough audiences we'll continue to bring more quality films for you.

And hence now I have to really say goodbye to my beautiful washing machine.

首先，非常感谢您对影片的支持，让它获得新生命。

网际网路之便利让世界各地的观众联系起来，也让我最终找到了继续制作独立电影的热诚。各地影展主办单位和院线长期把重点放在大制作的华丽商业片，相信是长期的趋势，这让独立电影，特别是在马来西亚，被冷落在戏院之外。独立电影除了要争取院线支持，还要面对商业片的强大宣传和行销机制。这些眼前的事实，是否意味着独立电影在电影业内毫无立足之地？

我相信您的支持将成就我的疯狂点子——专属于独立电影的平台。我深信依然还有很多观众在寻找不一样的片子。今年我将陆续上载一些过去的长片，以及拍摄几部新的短片，第一部是将于四月中旬首映的《纸鹤之爱》。此外，配合八月份的中元节，我也会制作三部新晋年轻导演的恐怖短片，并在年底在网络推出原创动作喜剧片《After School Complex》。

欢迎加入独立电影平台，订阅这个专页或YouTube频道，以获取最新的资讯。有了您的支持，我们才能继续制作更多好电影。

而我也要对我美丽的洗衣机说再见了。

RIP Roger Ebert

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:22:28 PDT

I woke up to sad news of Roger Ebert's passing.

Growing up as a film lover was sometimes very lonely, because I found it difficult to have any long and in-depth discussions about cinema with those around me. Therefore, in order to cover up this void in my life, I decided to devour everything about films, reading film reviews, following news of the film industry, going through books about movie people, through this I could find the discussion of cinema that I so thoroughly craved.

Even as a child, Roger Ebert's writings had been a big part of my readings. Whether I have seen the film or not, I wanted to go through his film reviews to see what he thought about it, it was like hanging out with a wise uncle who knew a lot about films. I don't agree with all of his reviews, but I liked reading his writings, what he said, the glimpse of humanity that shone in his reviews, revealing more of himself than just the film that he was reviewing. He was, all in all, a film lover. (and oh, I enjoyed it so much whenever he ripped a film apart)

This is a video of him and his reviewing partner, the late Gene Siskel, on the nature of film criticism.

He was the first film critic that I really followed, and because of him, I started following other critics, those were the days before Rotten Tomatoes.

In recent years, despite cancer robbing his ability to speak, he was never silenced, in fact, to me, I felt that he became more prolific than before. His blog, which covered a wide range of topics beyond cinema, was a joy to read. He was active on Twitter and Facebook too, constantly sharing great essays and other useful links.

In 2011, he wrote a memoir called "LIFE ITSELF" which I, sadly, have yet to read. But he shared the opening pages of the book on his blog, and they were absolutely enthralling. The book was released on September 13, the birthday of my sister, and also someone else.

The opening paragraph:

"I was born inside the movie of my life. The visuals were before me, the audio surrounded me, the plot unfolded inevitably but not necessarily. I don't remember how I got into the movie, but it continues to entertain me. At first the frames flicker without connection, as they do in Bergman's Persona after the film breaks and begins again. I am flat on my stomach on the front sidewalk, my eyes an inch from a procession of ants. What these are I do not know. It is the only sidewalk in my life, in front of the only house. I have seen grasshoppers and ladybugs. My uncle Bob extends the business end of a fly swatter toward me, and I grasp it and try to walk toward him.

Hal Holmes has a red tricycle and I cry because I want it for my own. My parents curiously set tubes afire and blow smoke from their mouths. I don't want to eat, and my aunt Martha puts me on her lap and says she'll pinch me if I don't open my mouth. Gary Wikoff is sitting next to me in the kitchen. He asks me how old I am today, and I hold up three fingers. At Tot's Play School, I try to ride on the back of Mrs. Meadrow's dog, and it bites me on the cheek. I am taken to Mercy Hospital to be stitched up. Everyone there is shouting because the Panama Limited went off the rails north of town. People crowd around. Aunt Martha brings in Doctor Collins, her boss, who is a dentist. He tells my mother, Annabel, it's the same thing to put a few stitches on the outside of a cheek as on the inside. I start crying. Why is the thought of stitches outside my cheek more terrifying than stitches anywhere else?

The movie settles down. I live at 410 East Washington Street in Urbana, Illinois. My telephone number is 72611. I am never to forget those things. I run the length of the hallway from the living room to my bedroom, leaping into the air and landing on my bed. Daddy tells me to stop that or I'll break the bed boards. The basement smells like green onions. The light beside my bed is like a water pump, and the handle turns it on and off. I wear flannel shirts. My gloves are attached to a string through the sleeves because I am always losing them. My mother says today my father is going to teach me to tie my shoes for myself. "It can't be explained in words," he tells me. "Just follow my fingers." I still do. It cannot be explained in words.

I have a lot of lofty ambitions and fantasies as a filmmaker, and one of them, was actually to hope that one day, just one day, a film of mine that I painstakingly crafted, would be seen by Roger Ebert. Perhaps he would love it, perhaps he would hate it, either way would be fine. Yet now I know that this fantasy will remain mainly a fantasy.

Rest in peace.

I end this with another quote of his. (Ebert was full of great quotes)

“Life always has an unhappy ending, but you can have a lot of fun along the way, and everything doesn't have to be dripping in deep significance.”

Shibuya at dusk captivates me

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:20:31 PDT

I was in Shibuya yesterday evening before I headed off to Haneda Airport for my flight back to Malaysia.

Even though I have been in Tokyo for five years, I still find myself discovering something new all the time. And the joy and surprises of these tiny discoveries can sometimes accumulate into something wonderful.

For example, I don't think I've ever seen Shibuya at dusk looking like this.

The above photo was taken with my iPhone, but in the end, I decided to whip out my Canon 7D to get a few more shots.

I then found myself wandering through the Shibuya Crossing, a place I absolutely loathed and despised when depicted in cinema (seen it in too many student films of dubious quality, or films of Tokyo by foreign filmmakers of dubious quality), wondering whether I could just catch something interesting with my camera. I started snapping photos at people, at places, at faces, at lights, seeing whether anything would end up nicely. (in my deluded mind, I imagined I was doing something similar to what Simon Yam was doing in the movie "SPARROW", by Johnnie To)

I liked this photo. A woman lost amidst the Shibuya chaos, perhaps she is in a hurry, perhaps she is trying to run away from something, someone, from the gaze of my intrusive camera.

Meanwhile, above me, the Starbucks in Tsutaya was crowded as always. Five years in Tokyo and I think I have only managed to get a seat there once.

I saw someone holding tightly to her phone, I imagined that she was waiting for a phone call from someone, an important one. Or maybe she was just in the middle of a game of Candy Crush.

Where is she going?

Where was I going?

Where was I now? I had no idea. No idea at all. Where was this place? All that flashed into my eyes were the countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere. Again and again I called out for ________ from the dead center of this place that was no place.

Spring Snow in Sapporo

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 07:42:12 PDT

After my joyous Graduation ceremony, my family and I headed off to Sapporo, Hokkaido.

The last time I went to Sapporo was 6 months ago, for the Sapporo International Short Film Festival. I was honoured to receive the Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Award for my short film, LAST FRAGMENTS OF WINTER.

When I arrived at Sapporo, I was a little surprised that the place is still snowing. It's already the end of March, and in Tokyo, the cherry blossoms were already blooming.

So, 29th of March, at night, Sapporo started snowing. It wasn't part of the weather forecast. Dad was surprised.

Two days later. It snowed again. Mom and sister were delighted.

After that, I decided to visit some famous Sapporo tourist spots that I didn't have the time to visit before. Also, the last time I came was summer, I wasn't exactly in the mood to walk that much back then.

This time, despite spring having arrived in Tokyo, Sapporo is still 0 degrees.

First, there was the Sapporo TV Tower.

Then, I walked through the Odori Park, which was partially covered in snow.

The nice thing about Sapporo is that everything is within walking distance.

Nearby was the Sapporo Clock Tower, its inside had been converted into a museum.

After that, I went to the Former Hokkaido Government Building, which was also converted into a museum.

I think these pictures of my sister standing in front of these famous Sapporo places in various different poses are pretty amusing.

My speech at GITS Commencement & Graduation Reception (26.3.2013)

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:47:27 PDT

I just went through my graduation ceremony yesterday at Waseda University. For some odd reason, I managed to get myself a doctorate.

I'm sure my secondary school teachers would have been mortified.

In addition to that, I was even given the honour to present a speech on behalf of the doctoral students at the GITS (school of Global Information Telecommunications) Commencement & Graduation Ceremony.

Usually in order to prepare for a film, I would watch all sorts of great films that I needed to give me inspiration. Or pore through all kinds of great literary works. Researching plays a heavy role in my preparations.

So, for the speech, I went through a lot of great commencement speeches for research. It blew my mind.

Anyway, here's my speech.

Revisiting Cicerello's Fish & Chips restaurant (Fremantle)

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:30:00 PST

After visiting Fremantle Market, I headed off to Cicerello's.

Situated right on the Fishing Boat harbour in Fremantle, Cicerello's is my favourite Fish and Chips restaurant in the world. Perhaps mostly for sentimental reason. It was the first one that I went to when I came to Western Australia, thus I couldn't stop loving it (even though others swore to me that Joe's Shack or Kaili's Fish Market Cafe, the other two restaurants beside this one, are better)

I remember it as the place where I used to visit with groups of friends. But after that, it became more frequent that I came alone, just for a quick Fish and Chips meal while reading a book. Most of the time I would sit outside. Especially when the weather was cooler.

Once I was done, I would choose either to walk around in Fremantle, or just at the beach, for a view of the sunset. I wrote about this experience a bit more than six years ago. Some of these tiny little pleasures in life are hard to explain.

After I left Perth in 2006, I seldom had Fish and Chips. There's no point.

Revisiting Fremantle Markets

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 18:30:01 PST

I was in Perth from 2004 to 2006. The last time I visited the place was 2007 (for my graduation ceremony).

That was the time before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube. It was also the time before iPhone and Android phones. There were many things I experienced then that I could not instantly share, nor capture properly.

All I had was this blog. Which was created during my time there.

I used to carry a camcorder with me most of the time then, taking videos, editing them (yeah, my editing was self-taught), and carrying my laptop around to different houses hoping someone I know would watch the videos. Perth was probably the place where I picked up photography. Life was quite different back then.

Last Friday, my parents and I flew to Perth to visit my sister, who is currently studying there. We were supposed to celebrate Chap Goh Mei together (the 15th day of Chinese New Year).

On Saturday, I visited Fremantle. Some of my fondest memories of Perth were in Fremantle (technically, Fremantle is considered a different town in Western Australia). My solitary trips here had been to look for inspiration every time I felt crippled by loneliness. The Fremantle Market itself on Friday nights is a wonder, the CD shop, the live performances, the food. And the lights.

My final student film had a scene shot at Fremantle Beach. That was 2006.

In 2005, I also shot a video in Fremantle, when I was there having my farewell lunch with my friend Ying Zee, who was returning to Malaysia then. She was like a sister to me, and had just gotten married recently, great job!

There were more videos, but I've lost them.

Seven years have passed, during this visit to Fremantle, I had two camera phones with me (my Japanese iPhone and my Malaysian Android phone), and also my Canon 7D.

And you are looking at these Canon 7D photos (and videos) now. I wondered whether my eyes now are different from they were 5 years ago.

The first place I went to was Fremantle Market.

On weekend afternoons, the place is bustling with life. There is always a live performance at the Market Bar.

Meanwhile, there are, apparently, 150 shops for craftspeople, fashion designers and merchants at the historic Hall (historic because this place's been around since 1897, and had been entered onto the Register of Heritage Places).

I don't remember ever buying anything from the CD shop, but I liked hanging around sifting through the CDs, because the songs the vendor played were usually soothing. Especially at night, when he went for the jazz stuff.

Another of my favourites in the market was the famous Michele's Crepe Suzette. The place is an institution.

Next to Michele's Crepe Suzette was an unfamiliar sight. A ramen stall called Dosukoi. Established in 2007, a year after I have left Perth.

I also saw a sushi stall.

Heartened by the widening Japanese influences in the place, I approached the sushi stall and spoke to the two young women tending the stalls in Japanese, unfortunately, they couldn't understand what I said because they were Koreans.

Moving past the Hall, I arrived at the Yard area of the Market, which was for, mostly fresh food producers, food retailers, vegetable growers.

I walked out of the market, and stopped for a few moments when I saw a guy playing his guitar with sticks.

Rest in peace, Loh Yin San and Claudia Theophilus. This is their documentary TWELVE 11

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:49:18 PST

In 2007, I caught a documentary short called Twelve 11 by Loh Yin San and Claudia Theophilus about the Highland Towers tragedy. Immediately after that, I wrote:

"I was truly enthralled by the events documented by TWELVE 11 (a rarity, frankly), and was actually hoping that Loh Yin San would post her works on Youtube or somewhere just so that it could gain a much wider audience beyond festival circuits as she has had some difficulties trying to get TV stations to broadcast the documentary. I personally would try to help her spread the film around."

At the 3:19 minute mark of this video that I shot during the screening, you can see me discussing with Loh Yin San about uploading her work on Youtube for the sake of helping more people gain awareness about the problems recorded in her documentary.

And that was it.

In 2009, surprisingly, I received an email from Loh Yin San thanking me for what I wrote in my blog and asking me how one could rip and compress the video data from a DVD and then upload it online. So I replied with a fairly detailed email giving her a list of softwares and instructions on how she could do this. I said that once she was done, just inform me and I would tell my friends about her film.

She thanked me and told me that she was working on something else. She also said that hopefully we could keep in touch and catch up after Chinese New Year if I were to return from Tokyo. I said yes.

We never did. Those were our last emails to each other.

Almost exactly four years have passed since then.

It was only just now that I found out Loh Yin San had died of cancer last month.

And also, through a cruel twist of fate, Claudia Theophilus, the co-director of TWELVE 11, passed away a few weeks later. She was killed in Lebanon while on holiday with two friends. It was a firearm accident.

I wasn't aware that TWELVE 11 was already uploaded onto Vimeo Komas two years ago. I would like to honour what I promised Loh Yin San back then. Please share this too.

Rest in peace. Loh Yin San, Claudia Theophilus.

Twelve 11 from Pusat KOMAS on Vimeo.

Winner of 2006 FreedomFilmFest (FFF) human rights film competition organised by KOMAS, a human rights organisation based in Malaysia. For more FFF winning films, info on buying a dvd, or permission to screen, go to http://freedomfilmfest.komas.org

Director/Pengarah: Loh Yin San & Claudia Theophilus
Produced by KOMAS
Duration/Tempoh : 20 minutes
Language/Bahasa : English
Subtitles/Sarikata : English & BM

Local authority's negligence or the act of God? This groundbreaking documentary seeks to expose the truth behind the controversial Highland Towers tragedy.

A tragedy of a magnitude never before seen in Malaysia had claimed 48 lives and shocked a nation. In unraveling the mystery surrounding the incident, Twelve 11 questions whether the loss of life and property could have been avoided. The aim is also to expose a legal loophole that begs urgent action in the call for justice.

Twelve 11 won 'The Most Outstanding Human Rights Film' for FFF 2006.

James Lee, Jinnyboy and I talking about short films (The Star, 6th of January, 2013)

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:17:51 PST

Back in December, I did an interview with The Star's Kenneth Chaw for an article about the rising popularity of short films in Malaysia. The article came out exactly three weeks ago while I was still in Kanazawa. (I found out about that, naturally, from friends on Facebook.)

The other interviewees were filmmakers James Lee and Jin Lim (more popularly known as JinnyBoy), well, excuse ME for not having a name that starts with J.

Kenneth and I had a really long email interview, which never really made it to the final article, but I will be posting that later. For now, you can just have a look at the full article:

Short films are making waves at festivals and raking in millions of YouTube views, but little is known about this increasingly popular entertainment form.

THE short film seems to be everywhere these days. From entries in prestigious film festivals and corporate-sponsored competitions to a neverending stream of YouTube uploads, its profile is at an all-time high.

Even “aunties” have heard of the big names in short film. One lady in her 50s was overheard in a restaurant asking her son, “What is this Jinnyboy-Jinnyboy all about?”

Of course, JinnyboyTV is our local short film YouTube sensation, but this curious lady’s question just goes to show how widespread the phenomenon has become.

Why are millions of Malaysians tuning in to watch short films? When did this sudden fascination with short films begin? And who are these filmmakers who are redefining the way entertainment is produced and consumed?

Star2 spoke to some of the country’s best-known filmmakers – James Lee, Edmund Yeo and JinnyboyTV’s Jin Lim – to gain some insights.

The reel beginning

Director James Lee attributes the proliferation of short films to the advent of digital cinematography. The graphic designer turned filmmaker recalls making his first short film in 1999 using conventional filmmaking techniques.

“My first short film was a gangster flick called Ah Yu’s Story. Only production companies could afford filming equipment back then as it was so expensive – a film camera could fetch up to tens of thousands of ringgit. So I borrowed a friend’s camera and rented his studio to edit the film,” he says.

He described the editing process, using the linear video editing method, as tedious and painstaking. “The film was shot in just two days but it took a month and a half to edit the brief 10- to 15-minute long film,” Lee adds, joking that he has since destroyed all traces of the short film because of its poor quality.

Thankfully, the advent of digital cinematography around the turn of the millennium meant that motion pictures could now be shot and stored digitally, doing away with the heavy (and expensive) rolls of film involved in conventional filmmaking. What’s more, Lee welcomes the non-linear film editing system as it makes the editing process a breeze.

This newfound ease in shooting and editing films gave rise to a burgeoning crop of filmmakers called “The Malaysian New Wave”. Lee, along with Amir Muhammad, Tan Chui Mui, Liew Seng Tat, Woo Ming Jin, the late Yasmin Ahmad and other filmmakers pioneered this independent filmmaking movement whereby films – once produced only by established production houses – could now be made by self-taught filmmakers.

Fast-forward a few years, and the arrival of YouTube in 2005 accelerated the short film phenomenon. Not only were short films easy to produce, the video-sharing website now made them accessible to viewers all over the globe with just the click of a mouse.

JinnyboyTV’s Jin Lim is passionate about making humorous short films that inspire and uplift audiences.

The allure of short films

Lee suspects many young people have gone into making short films because it’s a great way to hone their skills as they try to break into the movie business. “It’s a good training ground for aspiring filmmakers as they get to mess around and experiment with various creative ideas without being bound by commercial pressures,” he opines.

“Twenty years ago when I said I wanted to become a filmmaker, it felt like such a far-fetched dream … Today, if you want to become a filmmaker, there’s no excuse not to try. You can just shoot it with a smartphone and edit it over the weekend,” he adds. (Lee has since gone on to become one of the country’s most prominent mainstream movie directors; his notable works include Histeria and Petaling Street Warriors.)

What attracted Japan-based Malaysian filmmaker Edmund Yeo to short films wasn’t the prospect of becoming a full-length feature film director one day. He considers the short film an art form in itself and is simply in love with it.

“There is a lot of joy and passion in making short films because some stories are more suitable to be told in such a manner,” says Yeo, who left for Tokyo in 2008 to pursue a Masters programme in film.

“I like the fact that short films demand the discipline to tell a story within a limited running time, so you must be precise and do as much as you can. I also don’t have to commit too much of my time or money to make a short film,” he continues.

Being cost and time efficient are certainly factors that attract many people to try their hand at short films, including JinnyboyTV’s Jin Lim. But besides that, the radio deejay-cum-filmmaker saw short films as a great medium to promote the Malaysian culture.

“To put Malaysia on the map and bridge the gap between Malaysia and the rest of the world. That is JinnyboyTV’s objective,” he says.

Lim came to the decision after witnessing a local band being booed off stage by their countrymen in favour of the night’s international act. As such, he believes in portraying typically Malaysian scenarios in his short films to help his compatriots embrace their identity, as evidenced in the slew of distinctly Malaysian-themed short films such as My Generasi and Only In Malaysia.

Though it seems the appeal of short films differs from one filmmaker to another, they all agree on one thing: the format’s ability to deal with topics that are seldom talked about in the mainstream television or film industry.

For instance, many characters in short films have to deal with prejudice and injustice in various forms. These are often conveyed through metaphors, allowing viewers to interpret what they will from the visuals.

There are good reasons, too, why many viewers like to watch short films. With an average running time of 10 to 15 minutes (sometimes even less), such bite-sized entertainment is perfect for viewers who generally have shorter attention spans these days.

And thanks to the Internet, short films are easily accessible and free of charge. Smartphone users can watch them on the go and if they like what they see, share them with their friends and family on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Ultimately, it is the sense of authenticity and rawness that draws viewers to watch short films.

“A lot of viewers find our short films very relatable because we don’t just make up stories. We make them as real as possible by using situations we’ve gone through before,” Lim shares.

A perplexing watch

The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences in the United States (the folks who run the Academy Awards) plainly defines a short film as “an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits.”

But it seems the short film genre – apart from being, well, short – has taken on another definition over the years.

Consider this example: the opening scene is an empty room with a curtain billowing in the breeze that’s coming through an open window. The focus on this delicate movement seems a great way to start the movie. A minute goes by, and then two, and three. Then it hits you: this is the movie.

Short films have somehow gained a reputation for being abstract and conceptual. In fact, many short films that go on to win awards in prestigious film festivals thrive on such avant-garde themes.

“In the 80s and 90s, the only place you could go to study film was overseas. Many students who went to New York, in particular, were exposed to the city’s artistic, experimental way of thinking, and this was reflected in their works when they returned,” Lee says, giving one possible reason for the start of the short film trend in Malaysia.

Yeo sees great beauty in experimental short films as they are open to interpretation. “Films, if you look at them as more than just a mere form of entertainment but also as works of art like literature, can be interpreted differently by different people based on their own backgrounds,” he says.

Yeo nabbed the Sonje Award, honouring directors with the best short films, at the 2010 Busan International Film Festival for his work Inhalation. He believes that short films which may seem abstract or difficult to understand should not be dismissively labelled as such, because they could be touching and emotional to others.

Lim, on the other hand, prefers to take a light-hearted, humorous approach to his short films owing to his cheerful personality. “I always wanted to do comedy. I’m very talkative, and I love cracking jokes and making fun of people,” he says.

JinnyboyTV’s funny flicks like Abuden?! and Ah Wing – Malaysia’s Number 1 Salesman have fetched around a million views each on YouTube. “We ultimately want viewers to feel happy when they watch our short films,” he concludes.

As such, there is truly no set definition of what makes a short film (besides the length, of course). They need not always be deep and philosophical. They can be funny, scary or simply out of this world and explore any genre that full-length commercial films or television shows would.

Creative boundaries

Short films are not subjected to the approval of censorship boards as they are usually either posted on the Internet or screened among small groups of people, giving filmmakers unbridled freedom. As such, it is not uncommon for viewers to find expletives or nudity when watching a short film.

However, Lee believes the public shouldn’t be too quick to take offence. “We must first understand why the expletives were used. Were they used to offend viewers or to add a sense of realness to the scene?” he says, adding that it would be odd to portray a char kuay teow seller, for example, who doesn’t mutter an expletive or two.

Nevertheless, Lee stresses that it is the responsibility of the filmmaker to warn potential viewers of the short film’s mature content.

Lim, on the other hand, avoids the use of profanity and subject matters relating to sex, drugs and alcohol. “We want JinnyboyTV to be a wholesome channel because we know kids are watching it,” he says of his YouTube channel that has more than 100,000 subscribers of various ages.

The next generation of entertainment?

Lee feels that short films in Malaysia have definitely come a long way, but he still sees room for improvement.

“The short films made by filmmakers today are of a higher quality than those made 10 years ago in terms of lighting, image quality and the angles captured. But filmmakers still need to work on ... aspects like storytelling, the script and the acting.”

All three filmmakers agree that the short film phenomenon will continue to exist and grow in the future, though it is unlikely that it will supplant traditional forms of entertainment.

Lim strongly believes that new media, notably video-sharing websites like YouTube, will be the new platform for people to consume what he sees as “the next generation of entertainment”.

Short films starting to appeal to a bigger audience

Here's my most recent short film, LAST FRAGMENTS OF WINTER. Uploaded by the folks at Rotterdam Film Fest onto their Youtube channel. It will be taken down in February.

If 24 minutes of my hard work is too much for you to stomach, you can always just check out James Lee's Youtube channel. It contains some of his older short films that he had been uploading recently (today he just uploaded his 2005 short film SOMETIMES LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL, which stars filmmaker Tan Chui Mui), trailers of his films, from the independent arthouse ones ("BEAUTIFUL WASHING MACHINE", "IF NOT NOW THEN WHEN?", "CALL IF YOU NEED ME" etc.) to the commercial ones ("THE COLLECTOR", "HISTERIA"). Here's a playlist of James Lee's short films and behind-the-scenes stuff.

To watch JinnyBoy's popular viral hits. Check out his Youtube channel. Here's a playlist of his shorts.

Solo adventures at Kanazawa (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 23:52:33 PST

I'll continue chronicling my Kanazawa trip from two weeks ago before it the tiny details slip out of my mind. Some of the anecdotes here were posted on Facebook, but I'll try to expand.

6th of January, 2013. After a nice sleep in my hotel, I checked out, left my luggage at the concierge, hopped onto a bus and went straight to the famous Higashi Chaya District. (Skipping breakfast)

Built during the edo period, this street is a row of tea houses which were frequented by geishas (which are still around, although I didn't see any during the trip. Alas) It was raining, but I didn't care.

I felt as if i have traveled in time.

Moments later, I saw a caretaker of an old temple shoveling snow at its entrance, so I stood there in a distance and filmed him.

Noticing me, he asked me to come into the temple and take photos of their famed rotating altar.

On the altar were Buddhist statues from Japan, India and China. Along with some (very) old scriptures.

As I was doing that, he asked me to try rotate the altar with him, so I did, and it gave off a strange high-pitched melodious sound.

"You will be happy from now on." He said, unexpectedly in English.

Later, he asked me to try to rotate the altar by myself while he tried to film me.

It was more difficult than I imagined.

I politely asked him to demonstrate it to me again. Just so I could catch it on video.

After that he asked whether I wanted to try my hand in snow shoveling on sacred grounds, I thought, why not? Never experienced it before anyway. And it would make a good photo too.

I continued my way through the geisha street.

Stopping and examining the famous Shima Tea House, which had been converted into a museum.

I realized that I forgot to withdraw any money, so it was impossible for me to pay for the entrance fee!

It was already afternoon and I felt rather hungry.

I went to check out a nice-looking traditional restaurant.

I was a little scandalized that they sold pizza (the ironically named "Original Pizza) too.

Kanazawa is the center of gold leaf production in Japan (used for "gilding"). I went into a few of those Hakuza stores in Higashi Chaya street. Tourists can learn to do their own gold leafing in these stores if they book in advance.

One of the stores was exhibiting the symbol of their pride, the "Ougon no Kura" (Storehouse of Gold). The walls were plastered by gold platinum leaf.

Did you know that oil absorbing tissues are sometimes made with gold leaf paper? I didn't.

After chatting to a nice shop attendant about Kanazawa delicacies (and recommended restaurants, it was 3pm and I had yet to have breakfast nor lunch), she frowned cutely thinking of a recommendation.

"I want to try a Jibuni dish." I said. Referring to the local Kanazawa dish where braised duck is cooked with vegetables.

"Aha!!! Go to Omicho market!" She said excitedly. "I love Jibuni too!"

Thanks but my name is not Jibuni. I thought. Anyway, I checked the location on Google map and realized that the place was only 2km away. The rain had stopped. Instead of hopping into a bus, I decided to walk through the snow. It was more romantic and adventurous.

Stepping out of Higashi Chaya district, and towards the Ume-no-bashi bridge, I paused briefly when I saw a playground covered entirely in snow.

I then resumed my walk by crossing the Ume-no-bashi bridge.

I wasn't too sure whether my Google Map was accurate. I was wandering in the snow, the ground was wet and slippery, and I was absolutely starving, having missed both breakfast and lunch.

There was a photo studio displaying photos of young women in kimono, preparing to celebrate Seijin no Hi (Coming of Age Day) on the 14th of January.

14th of January, of course, would be the day when Tokyo was hit by the heaviest snowfall in decades. Foreshadowing?

After half an hour, I was surprised to find myself standing in front of the Kenrokuen area, along with the Kanazawa castle next to it. For some reason I was back in where I was the day before. I figured I would need to visit the Kanazawa castle before the end of the trip, in case I couldn't see anything else anymore.

The castle was mostly destroyed by earthquake and fire in 1881, what remained were some gates, including the Ishikawa-mon gate, and a number of buildings, like the Tsurumarusoko Storehouse.

English language tours were offered for free, so I asked for one. The nice tour guide took me around the place explaining about its history and the Maeda family, which had lorded over Kanazawa for 14 generations. It all started with Toshiie Maeda, who had also been immortalized by Dynasty Warrior games.

"I know! I saw Maeda Toshiie's statue at Toyama Shrine! So... Who is the 14th Maeda lord in Kanazawa?"

She struggled to think of his name. Looking at Wikipedia, I now realize his name is Maeda Yoshiyasu (1830-1874), the last ruler. In fact, the Maeda family continues until today, the 18th family head is still alive, the youngest heir was born in 1993.

Atsuko Maeda, however, is not related to them.

I thanked her for the tour and had one last photo of myself taken in Kanazawa. The castle would end up being the last place I visited during my trip.

I managed to make my way back to Omichi to have my Jibuni dish.

It wasn't long before night fell upon Kanazawa.

I picked up my luggage again, and went to have some coffee while waiting for my midnight bus to return to Tokyo, just like how I had tea before I left Tokyo.

This time, it was easier to sleep in the bus.

I woke up briefly to check out one of the highway rest places.

Then I fell asleep again.

When I woke up. I was back in Shinjuku. It was 6 in the morning.

I took the train back to my place, when I stepped out of the station, the sun was rising.

I've never seen a snowfall like this in Tokyo before

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 07:07:23 PST

14th of January, 2013. When I woke up and looked out of my window, I was stunned to see this scenery.

There was a storm when I went to sleep, but I didn't expect it to become one of the heaviest snowfalls in decades at Tokyo! (The last time I saw anything like this was February 1, 2010, but looking at those photos again, I realized it's nothing close to what I saw today!) Snow in Tokyo is a rarity. I never would have thought that exactly one week after coming back from Kanazawa and Snow Country, I would witness even more snow here!

I wanted to know what other familiar places of Tokyo would look like in the snow, so I went out.

Down the slopes that I walk almost everyday. I almost slipped.

And past the Kanda river that I cross all the time. It had appeared in my short film, INHALATION before, during the cherry blossoms period.

To Waseda University.

And then, I looked at the statue of Shigenobu Okuma, founder of Waseda.

After that I headed towards nearby Ana Hachimangu shrine.

They were preparing for a festival. But those stalls were all swallowed by the snow.

Then I went to Roppongi. Once I was at Roppongi Hills, the winds were strong. I didn't wear any gloves (so I could operate the camera and iPhone properly), my hands were in pain.

The blizzards were so strong that I lost three umbrellas.

The sun was setting, everything was a white blur, I thought I could get a nice view of Tokyo Tower and the city landscape from Roppongi Hills, but I couldn't see anything.

In the end I was back in familiar Shinjuku. Of course, it looked alien with all the snow. But lovely at the same time.

Solo adventures at Kanazawa (part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 06:58:07 PST

This is how I would start my travelogue...

"The passing days and months are eternal travellers in time. The years that come and go are travellers too. Life itself is a journey; and as for those who spend their days upon the waters in ships and those who grow old leading horses, their very home is the open road. And some poets of old there were who died while travelling.
There came a day when the clouds drifting along with the wind aroused a wanderlust in me, and I set off on a journey to roam along the seashores. I returned to my hut on the riverbank last autumn, and by the time I had swept away the cobwebs, the year was over.
But when spring came with its misty skies, the god of temptation possessed me with a longing to pass the Barrier of Shirakawa, and road gods beckoned, and I could not set my mind to anything. So I mended my breeches, put new cords on my hat, and as I burned moxa on my knees to make them strong, I was already dreaming of the moon over Matsushima.
I sold my home and moved into Sampû’s guest house, but before I left my cottage I composed a verse and inscribed it on a poem strip which I hung upon a pillar:

This rude hermit cell
Will be different now, knowing Dolls’
Festival as well."

But alas, these words were already written, centuries earlier, by the poet Matsuo Basho, in his masterpiece "The Narrow Road in the Deep North".

Almost a week had gone by since I came back from Kanazawa. How would I chronicle such a trip then?

The trip was decided in very a spontaneous decision, I saw a beautiful photo of Kenroku-en Garden covered in snow, and so I decided to go to the place. It was 27th of December, 2012, when I booked a bus ticket online. I was dying for an adventure to start my new year. Last-minute decisions are more exciting, I could never ever plan a trip for months.

Friday night, 4th of January, the bus was a midnight bus that would leave at 11:30pm. Before hopping onto the bus, I sat in a nearby cafe, sipping milk tea.

The bus ride lasted for 7 hours. Every two hours it would stop at a highway rest place where food and beverage are sold. I sampled a stick of rice ball wrapped in meat. If I knew they would make stops at places like these throughout the way, I wouldn't need to prepare all those Black Thunder chocolate bars for my meal before I got onto the bus.

The problem about these overnight buses is that once the lights are out. Everyone is expected to sleep. It is pitch black. For courtesy, you cannot even use your phone. Thus I did nothing but stare into the darkness, I couldn't sleep. My mind perpetually wandered. It was only after the last 2 hours of the journey that I finally drifted into sleep.

When I woke up, I drew aside the blinds and looked out through the bus windows. I couldn't help but gasp when I saw that the entire place was covered in snow.

Kanazawa is located in Snow Country, but weather forecast never mentioned about the snow. I was rather delighted when I got off the bus and looked around the Kanazawa station.

Entering the station, finding a place for breakfast, and then coffee, I took out a piece of paper and wrote down a list of places that I wanted to visit.

After consulting the kind lady at the Tourist Information Center, I began my exploration. It was still too early for me to check into my hotel.

Kanazawa itself is not that big, most of the places are within walking distance. After nearly half an hour (the ground was slippery because of the snow! And I was dragging my luggage with me), I reached my first destination, the Oyama Shrine.

The courtyard of the shrine, along with its pond, was rather captivating.

I continued my way and walked past the famous 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. The modern avant-garde design of this glass building, like the train station, was a stark contrast to the rest of the rather traditional-looking Kanazawa.

I had no time to stop for any of the exhibitions. After all, the main purpose of my journey to Kanazawa was indeed to check out Kenroku-en Garden, one of the 3 Great Gardens of Japan.

Kenroku-en was developed from the 1620s to the 1840s by the Maeda clan, the daimyo who ruled the former Kaga Domain for 14 generations.

There were many entrances to the garden. It was fitting that I entered by the one closest to the Hisago-ike pond and the Midori waterfall. The development of this garden started around this area. You can also see the Kaiseki pagoda here, which was donated by Toyotomi Hidetoshi to the Maeda.

Many old people were taking photos of the place with their huge DLSRs and expensive lenses.

I continued walking.

The largest pond in the garden is the Kasumiga-ike Pond.

I was in the garden for a few hours, and as you can see in the photo above, I was holding my 7D camera, I was spending most of the time shooting videos than taking photos, hence the lack of photos.

Thinking of the garden again, I realized it was one of the loveliest sights I've ever witnessed in my life.

When I left the garden, the sun was already setting.

TINY PUPIL's 4-year-old actress wins best actress award at Yxine Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:04:47 PST

This happened last month, Chen Yu Ting, the (very young) lead actress of Teng Fei's TINY PUPIL (which I produced) had won the Best Female Performance award at the Yxine Film Festival.

None of us were able to attend the award ceremony in Hanoi on the 15th of December, so Chen Yu Ting accepted her award on video. She was 4 when the film was shot, 5 this year.

She also showed that her talent extended beyond just acting.

No wonder China is taking over the world, right?

TINY PUPIL was previously shown at the Nara Film Festival, there's also a video of me talking the film at the Q and A session.

Here's a video of Yxine Film Fest's award ceremony.

A Malaysian short film BREATHE also won an award for Best Editing. Congrats to Dave Singh and director Hyon-Le. :)

Countdown to New Year 2013 at Senso-ji Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 23:41:03 PST

It it unbelievable that I was having my fifth New Year countdown in Japan already.

You can immediately watch the video here if you are too lazy to read what I have to say.

On December 31, 2008, overwhelmed by crippling feeling of loneliness, I hopped onto a train to go to the Kansai region, stopped by Kyoto and went to Nara for the countdown. I even went to Kobe harbour to look at the sunrise. The first sunrise that I could see in 2009. That solo adventure would end up sparking my artistic soul, as I would start making a few short films shortly after that, like KINGYO and EXHALATION.

December 31, 2009 and 2010, I was invited to Maiko the Producer's house by her parents. Both years, I had the greatest sukiyaki meal I have ever had, and watch the Kohaku singing contest, then have Osechi for breakfast. Very traditional. Very unforgettable.

December 31, 2011, I went to Sojo-ji for the balloon-release countdown ceremony. The sight of thousands of balloons floating in the air was one of the most spectacular that I have ever seen. I was very lucky, this balloon release ceremony had been canceled this year, which means that I might have actually attended its very last event.

As for December 31, 2012, I decided to go to the Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa.

It's the earliest Japanese temple that I can remember because I went there during one of my first trips in Japan as a child. I have written about this temple a few times over the years. I was in the area for the famous Sumida fireworks in July 2008, returned in December 2008 and realized that it wasn't open for Christmas, checked out the Sanja Matsuri in May 2009, and the Hozuku Ichii ("Cherry Pod Fair") in July 2009. Would return again in May 2010 when Professor Ando brought Ming Jin around for a walk. July 2011 I was again in the area for the Shitamachi Tanabata Matsuri ("The Downtown Star Festival") at the Kappabashi-Hondori street just a block or two away from the temple.

Therefore, I have lots of nice memories of the place.

When I first arrived, the Asakusa area was relatively quiet.

But as I entered the temple, there were already several food stalls around. One of the most endearing traits of a festival in a Japanese temple.

People were already lining up in front of the main hall. The doors were to open up once the clock strikes twelve.

The temple bell would ring 108 times during the arrival of a new year.

The moon was beautiful. I wondered whether it looked the same in countries across the sea.

The cops were there to maintain order.

They reminded me of something from a militaristic dystopian world in a science fiction story.

The countdown happened swiftly, just a group of people yelling out, and then everyone cheering. No fireworks, very simple.

That was when the temple doors were open for everyone to go in for their Hatsumode, making their first new year's prayers.

As I left the temple, there were crowds of people arriving. More cops maintaining order in an epic manner.

And thus I got the very first 2013 photo of myself taken. In front of them.

Mannequins of Ginza

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:33:59 PST

This will be the last video I put together for 2012.

Of Mannequins in Ginza.

In truth, it's more like my impressions of Ginza.

Ginza might actually be one of the earlier Tokyo districts that I knew of, before Shinjuku or Shibuya, because I was stayed there during one of my first few trips in Japan when I was a child.

Since I moved to Tokyo, I haven't actually been to Ginza that much because I live closer to the Shinjuku area.

It was until a recent video shoot at Ginza on the day when the world was supposed to end that I found myself falling rather in love with the place again.

I even took some photos during the video shoot.

The photo of the mannequin prompted me to have a discussion with a lady friend, we both shared a childhood fascination for mannequins, they were either disturbing or intriguing to me.

"They are such melancholic creatures dessyo?" She said.

I agreed.

Especially when they are taken apart for cleaning or maintenance, and that lifeless smile remain upon their faces.

I returned to Ginza again two days ago, trying to check out the problems with my iPhone. My iPhone was incurable, I may have to get a new one.

On the other hand, I also couldn't stop myself from looking at the mannequins in Ginza.

This time, I also had my 7D with me.

This will be my last post of 2012.

Happy new year, everyone.

[VIDEO] Train Ride to Otaru with Dad

noreply@blogger.com (Edmund Yeo) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:48:48 PST

The year is about to end.

There is less than 24 hours left in the year 2012 for me. I wish to end the year the way I wanted to start the next. Just to keep on doing what I love to do, working on my craft, seeing more things.

This is a video that I shot in September 13th, 2012 (my sister's birthday!) when Dad and I took a train to the town of Otaru in Hokkaido. At that time, we were in Hokkaido for the Sapporo Short Film Festival where my short film LAST FRAGMENTS OF WINTER was screening. (I would later pick up an award from the festival)

The footages I shot were left in my hard disk for quite a few months, I decided to finally cut them together.

I wrote more extensively about our Otaru day trip here.