Last 'Eksyen' Hero

Last weekend saw me going for meetings for two movies which I'll be doing in the coming months.

* * *

The first movie I'll be doing is called 'The Flowers Beneath My Skin', directed by relative newcomer Kit Ong. It's a twisted love anthology of sorts; the theme running throughout will be the extreme sacrifices people make in the name of love. It will predominantly be shot in Chinese (2 dialects), my story will be the only one in English. I play a lesbian with a fetish for ancient Chinese foot binding.

A sweet petite lady called Elaine will play my girlfriend. We are using her friend's condominium as the location for the shoot. It's been newly renovated solely for rental purposes. Kit has a penchant for incorporating a lot of symbolic meaning in his films, so he loves how scant the place still looks. There will be no script (dialogue will be ad hoc), and no additional lighting will be used apart from what the apartment already provides. The film will be shot entirely in black and white on High Definition Video. Kit could have invested in another car for the amount he spent on the new camcorder.

Shooting will commence this coming Friday, and will carry on every weekend til November.

We did a test shoot on location on Saturday.

On the way to the condo


Elaine was supervising a painter when we arrived.


View from the window


L-R: Vincent 1 (Director of Photography), Kit, Jill and Jien (playing lovers for one of the stories)


Elaine, Vincent 2 (actor), Kit and Vincent checking out Kit's new toy


Rosheen plays a kindred spirit in the film.


Our shooting location from the outside


Kit treated us to a hearty lunch afterwards.


Kit has high hopes of premiering 'The Flowers Beneath My Skin' at a Singaporean film festival early next year. He'll be using the funds generated from it to shoot his next baby, a film based on the aftermath of last year's tsunami disaster.

* * *

The second feature-length digital film which I'll be doing has been in preparatory stages since Summer 2004, so it's been keeping me in a buzz for quite a while already. The cast and crew are awaiting the return of the director & scriptwriter, Arivind Abraham, from his studies in England. The movie's working title, 'Never Let Go', has been recently reconsidered and the new one is yet to be confirmed.

The Malaysian coming-of-age story will focus on five friends making life choices and finding their identity in a multicutural society. I portray Sze Huey, a girl who faces the trials and tribulations of being in an inter-racial relationship.

Since the cast was confirmed last year, Arivind has been keeping in close contact with all of us to guide the development of our characters. In the meantime, Bahir the producer has been helping us out on a more geographically accessible basis whenever issues surface.

My fellow castmates - Azimy, Angeline, Derek and Jayaram - are fantastic people; our chemistry is close to explosive. We haven't been able to meet up together as often as expected due to conflicting work schedules, but after our weekend meeting, we have decided to gang up at Azimy's house for weekly informal script run-throughs before the actual rehearsals begin in December. Shooting starts in January next year, with a tentative Spring 2006 release.

The cast and crew had a phone conference with Arivind on Friday.

Angeline plays Tehmina


Zimy plays Bahir


Derek plays Tsu Yang


Jayaram plays Ravin and court jester.


Syaril is Director of Photography


Derek chats with Arivind, Angeline tucks into her nasi lemak, Bahir hovers around


Jay, a big kahuna?...


...Now that's funny.


Fwens Fowever


The two movies will be maiden productions for their respective film companies. Everyone involved is new to the business of creating something for the silver screen. The things that are driving both projects are enthusiasm, anticipation, and the craving to make a statement through art, as boldy and innovatively as we can.

It hasn't hit me that I'm going to be an extremely busy kid from here on in. The real work has barely started, yet the "Don't forget me when you're famous" quote is already a standard remark amongst friends. I don't see myself as lucky, neither do I see myself as an avid go-getter nor bigshot celebrity in the making. My hobby just happens to involve a lot of public exposure, and I'm fortunate enough to meet people who can help me with what I like doing. I'll still pick up and eat Doritos which I've dropped on the floor, I'll still walk around in my notoriously fragrant New Balance sneakers, I'll still pledge loyalty to those who have courageously fought the temptation to cut friendship ties immediately after witnessing my acts of mass mental destruction.

Heck, being a retard has gotten me this far. Why stop now?