The Lying Theory

The Lying Theory, written/directed by Lauren Teo. Picture: Julie Tan

I was roped in for the minor role of the philandering father less than a day before the shoot, as I didn't put myself forward for it and I swear I don't have any experience in that department. But together with the lovely Sharon Hoo, who played the role of the mistress, we managed to pull it off, culminating with the mother  (Karen Tan) dropping the cake, beating the mistress up and young Claire's (Kyra Cheung) childhood bliss for a trusting father broken forever..

It was one of the many times I have acted with Karen and my first with Sharon and Kyra, and at that time didn't know that the older Claire would be played by Julie Tan, whom I later acted with in the movie "That Girl in Pinafore". Then, Julie was a student in NAFA, before her foray into mainstream acting at Mediacorp TV.

I didn't have any expectations from this film besides knowing what I had to do in the scene and that it is about  a cute 'Lying Theory'. So it is a pleasant surprise to watch it today and discover the more inspiring bigger picture.

If only more people realise that lies no matter how well hidden emit different energies and thought forms than truth does. Lies also compound matters into bigger unexpected ones, often with undesirable results. We can spot a lie by the weaker tone of the voice, the unnecessary longer pauses in between the speech, the defensive body language and the inconsistencies of data that follow. Sometimes, it would be just the inexplicable hunch that something is amissed.  If only everyone has Claire's clairvoyant abilities, then perhaps less people will lie and the world would be a simpler place without the myriad of falsehoods criss-crossing our lives and making them more complicated .

Post scriptum:

"The Lying Theory" is nominated for Best Script in the 5th Singapore Short Film Awards 2014.

 

Film Review - Firestorm

At a film festival recently, Hong Kong actor Andy Lau said in jest that he is expensive because he is worth it. This is also why I feel "Firestorm" is worth watching. However overall, the movie fails to lead the audience into a believable action-thriller..

But after accepting some excesses and fantasies, I felt that I  need to draw a line at some point in the movie.

In a nutshell, the plot capitalises on the bad guys' superiority in the robberies and consistently keeping a few steps ahead of the game. They are better than the police in ground intelligence, technologies and  firepower, and moreover are a dab hand at shooting on target at the police, while they themselves would miraculously escape death and bullets. This despite being widely exposed to gunfire most of the time  - well, not until the very end when they too get gunned down.. But the real thorn in the eye is not the above-mentioned visual gimmicks, but the other logical contradictions that stand in the way. 

For instance, why didn't the police use their ability to trace IP addresses and GPS locations of the baddies; or simply arrest the crane operator that lifted the police armour car? Wouldn't that be easier than searching the myriad of CCTV footages from the cameras dotted around the city?

Okay,  I am no party-pooper, as afterall, movies are fantasies and we all need some. I did enjoy the great escapism that are expected of such movies - the gun fights; the grenade blasts;  the fist fights that fall several floors down and yet hit the ground running (pun intended).

What stands out in this movie is also the computer graphics (CGI) of the colossal damages by the bombs and blasts - very impressive by Asian cinematic standards.

I would consider "Firestorm" to be a big budget visual action-thriller rather than one that is character driven and inspirational.  If you go with such expectations, then you will probably be more forgiving and not be disappointed.

Comchest : Gift

With Jon and Daniel.

This is one of my favourite short films. It is produced by The Creative Room, directed by Daniel Yam, for the Singapore Community Chest (Comchest). Comchest initially wanted a corporate video style of presentation, but Daniel sold them  this compelling short story instead.

During the audition, Daniel asked for a monologue with my (imaginary) son going through his growing pains, his delinquency and consequential jail sentence. Next, Daniel asked for the contrary, that I celebrate this (imaginary) son's jail term and urge him to make the most out it - to test how far my emotions can stretch and my ability to take directions. 

The script was one of the more challenging ones as it required  me to be in a cheerful disposition, but with an underlying sadness that culminated into sheer dispondence. This, when he realised that he will miss out seeing his son again in his final moments.  I guess there may be many people that too live through such situations, given that it is common for one to leave their hometown for cities to etch out a career. So this is some food for thought. I can relate to some of that personally. In addition, I also learn that I ought to smile more in my own life off-reel, as it does make life feel a lot happier.

This was the first time that I have acted as a clown. It was energy sapping to deliver extreme expressions continuously to entertain. A clown cannot let his guard down for even one moment, as all eyes are constantly on him to deliver the comic. 

And so I wonder, "Can a clown be truly happy inside?"

Though I was exhausted and stretched by the broad range of emotions in this production, I really enjoy and treasure the experience. I am satisfied with the result as it tells a story that both entertain and inspire.

Post scriptum:

The scenes at the old folks home and children's home reminded me of my student days in the Polytechnic. Then, we visited and served the homes every weekend. It was also the time when I performed sobbing stories on stage to encourage freshmen to become volunteers to serve the underprivileged. Those were truly happy days. Happy, because we gave.

Detour

Written/Directed by Michael Kam
Produced by Mabelyn Ow
Shot by Amandi Wong
Edited by Alicia Lim

"Detour" has been selected in October 2013, for the 23rd edition of the Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival – Curta Cinema 2013 in Brazil (http://curtacinema.com.br/) International Competition programme.

I played the role of the impatient taxi-driver father who on a steamy hot day ferrying his boys around unwittingly led them into the unexpected. 

The dialogue is in the Southern Chinese Fujian dialect of Hokkien, which the boys didn't know how to speak and had to learn it during the rehearsals. I think they do brilliantly well as two loving but yet squabbling brothers, who in their hearts of hearts, want to care for each other.

Here is the trailer...

Post Scriptum:

DETOUR won the Best Short Film Award of the International Short Films Competition, at the

32sd IFF of Uruguay (2014)

"Detour" won 4 categories of the 5th Singapore Short Film Awards - Best Fiction, Best Director, Best Performance (Michael Chua, Presley Lim & Yolby Low) and Best Script. The full schedule and details of screenings for the nominated films should probably be up soon at The Substation's website (www.substation.org).

"Detour" screened at the 13th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short & Animation Films over in India from 3 to 9 Feb '14. (http://miff.in)

Dinner - 180 Short Film Competition - Frontliners - Winner of Open Category

Producer/Director/Writer : Lim Heng Le. 
Camera: Rudyanto Akil.

This two-minute film took two evenings to make in the suburbs of Tampines and along the corridors of Temasek Polytechnic. It was an enjoyable production that went smoothly and one of many that I have worked with Kelly and my second with Ezekiel. The first with Ezekiel was just the day before (for  Comchest), though he couldn't quite recognise me with certainty at first as I was heavily made-up as a clown. :)

This is the fourth film that I have acted in that have won a competition/award within the last three years (excluding "ilo ilo", that won an award at Cannes, but one which I only played a minor role in).

Thank you everyone for your support and for believing in the work I have been in. For more details, click here.

Note:

The "180 Short Film Competition" was conceptualised to heighten the appreciation and encourage respect for frontline workers in the Cleaning, Security, Landscape, Floristry and Social Service sectors, and the important role they play in society.

Organised by the Singapore Media Academy (SMA) and supported by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) together with other industry sponsors.
See http://www.180shortfilm.com/

Hired & Fired, episode 2

With Wendy Toh 

Watch me as I morph into a nasty boss in:

"Hired & Fired"

Monday 18th November 2013, 10pm

Mediacorp Channel 5

This is a docu-drama series that portrays the malpractices that occur in the workplace. This episode educates viewers about the prejudice against pregnant women and the reluctance of companies to incur the overheads of maternity leave and benefits.

The office scene was at Golden Mile Shopping Centre, some called "Little Bangkok" (of Singapore) with delicious Thai curry and retail shops. We chanced upon a friendly garment shop next door that was kind enough to lend us some extra clothes as costumes for the actresses. Thank you so much.

Stop Press:
After the broadcast of episode 1, Mediacorp has decided to take the series off-air.

 

Surreality in the Act.

There are times when the story gets surprisingly surreal -  stories so close to my life that I get into character in an instance. But to have the story appearing right next to me is another matter and outright ridiculous. Here are some surprising coincidents:

Story One: Right next to the apartment where I played the role of the Karung-guni man (rag-and-bone man), is an apartment where an old man stored the house with mountains of junk right up to his living room. He is more than likely a real Karung-guni man!

Story Two: In a video about "Pandemic", I acted as a hawker who persisted to cook and prepare food despite being sick. In between the takes in the scene where my character sneezes and turns dizzy under the weather, I found a real life cook next to me preparing the day's food moaning about how he has to work despite being sick.

"Why are you not at home resting," I asked. "Nobody else here knows how to prepare the dishes," said he.

Well...

With Wendy Toh.

Story Three: In a TV docu-drama about unfair dismissal and draconian bosses, in the office where we used as location, there was a prominent slogan on the wall that speaks to the effect of:

"If you do not work hard today, you will be working hard to find a job tomorrow."

It is arguable if the slogan is meant to be motivational. My guess is that a truly motivational environment needn't be explicitly reminding their folks with such intimidating slogans. What do you think? 

But,... all is good! It goes to show that they got the stories right and that some people really need to be educated on some issues.