This Too Shall Pass @14th Pusan International Film Festival

I know, this notice is way way late...

Probably filmmakers are sending in their entries to the 15th PIFF... and what, i am talking about the 14th PIFF?

Well, you can then realise, how busy i was last year.

It was exciting to be picked for screening beyond Singapore's shores.

"This Too Shall Pass" was rejected by Yamagata Documentary Film Festival last year, but picked by 14th Pusan International Film Festival to screen as part of its Wide Angle Section program.

I was procrastinating whether to attend the festival when "Whew!", before i can have second thoughts, i was hit by wave after wave of work and demands...

When i finally have time to recover, it was already December 2009.

But I am happy to note that, during the period when the film was screened in PIFF, I received a text message from a feature film producer who was attending the Pusan Film Market.

He was surprised to see my name on a documentary and he couldn't get a ticket to the show.

WOW! no tickets?

Maybe because the other film that was screened at the same time with my documentary is really hot... lah...

:)

I would never know the answer.

But in the quiet darkness of the cinema hall, I imagined, someone, a Korean maybe, would have made some emotional connections with Uncle and his story.

Pure magic.

And hey, Busan is a fishing port, and Uncle has been a fishmonger for almost his entire life.

Am i drawing too many parallels? Maybe.

But then, it has always been the context which always makes a film more interesting and relevant.

Isn't it？

cheers!

Boxing Behind Bars & Hong Kong To the World

Conceptualised in 2005, and telecast in 2008, "Boxing Behind Bars" has earned a "Bronze World Medal" under Biography/Profiles in the 2010 New York TV and Film Awards.

Check out page 10 of this link
http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/res/pdf/2010TVFWinners.pdf

Any thank you speech? Err... Not really.

It was a great experience and i wished the lives of the two boxers did change. I can't speak Thai and so, i didn't have the chance to check back on them... (i know, kind of lame excuse...)

With the current political turmoil in Bangkok, and the mess it created, there are times i wondered, maybe inside the prison, the inmates need to deal with a lot less...

And so, moving on...

For those of you who happened to be based in Hong Kong, you have the chance to
participate in similar kind of "grand" documentaries. Check out Hong Kong To the World,
as Natgeo will act as supervising producers to a slew of documentaries to be commissioned in the next few years.

There are links to some videos which supervising producers share what they are looking out for.
A great learning platform for those who hope to take an inside peek to the minds of supervising producers.

Pitches are fun, I kinda missed those sessions. :)

Enjoy!

About the future of SIFF

News has it that the two new directors from SIFF has quitted.

Comes as a shock to me and i think most people in the film community.

There was a quote from ST from one of the founders of SIFF, vaguely goes "they want to fly before they can walk."

Well, this may be a sign of internal bickering and i shall not speculate.

But what some of us may be wondering is what is to become of SIFF? A festival that has cultivated the sense and spirit of independent film making among so many of us.

It was my inspiration as a schooling student in varsity days and it is still an important event for local filmmakers to gather and showcase our works.

SIFF has fought against censorship ruling and funding woes, and survived till today. Today it has to compete with the many other local film events and i thought this year, with the film awards, it signaled a wish to stand for something different.

But for now, its future is left hanging by the thread again.

Will there be a 23rd?

God knows......

"This Too Shall Pass" sindieonly review

I am flattered by kind words. When i was reading through this review, i was waiting for the jab to surface.

Well, it never did and if any, the reviewer is gentle with his words. (much appreciated!)

an extract of the review

Death is an easy issue to deal with in films. It is easy to evoke an emotion from the death of a fellow human being. This is especially so if the character is undeserving of the pain and suffering he or she has to go through. In the documentary genre however, it is amplified more so. Ang was able to make use of this emotion to create and honest piece of work that was in no way egoistic. Although it did play on the cliche of human emotion to send its message across, it did so effectively. Ang was the vessel through which the Lees told their story and his ability to let go of a directors control and build a rapport with a family he barely knew and allow them to tell their story is definitely commendable.

(From Singapore Independent Films Only blogspot, SINdie)


For the complete review.

This Too Shall Pass_Post screening Q & A

Warning:
Spoilers ahead in the you tube clips! For those of you who haven't yet watch the film. Don't watch the clips yet!


SIFF 2009 This Too Shall Pass Q&A by Director Ang Aik Heng and Guest Ellen Lee. Moderated by Leonard Lai 1/5


SIFF 2009 This Too Shall Pass Q&A by Director Ang Aik Heng and Guest Ellen Lee. Moderated by Leonard Lai 2/5


well, i could continue to put up the rest of the three links, but for those of you who are familiar with youtube, you will be able to find the rest.

Enjoy!

This Too Shall_An Online Review

The following is just an excerpt of an online review on "Twitch"

...You’ll feel some emotional pangs when watching the film, especially toward the end, and I’m sure you would also have a mental run down of the decision you will make should you be in the same shoes some time, especially when it deals with the dilemma of debating whether it be best to pull the plug to end the suffering, or to persevere on in artificially prolonging one’s life, even though you’re somewhat certain of the immense physical pain that comes with it. And I admire how Ang stays a respectable distance when the situation calls for it, preferring not to intrude further into personal space as already graciously granted by the family.

It’s a heartfelt local documentary that I recommend, and going by the lineup at the Singapore Panorama during this year’s Singapore International Film Festival, it seems the documentaries are the ones that are blazing a trail for local film offerings.

I thanked the review Stefan for the encouragement and hopefully if fate allows, the film will have another run in the near future.

Sent the docu to Yamagata and Pusan to try my luck, fingers crossed...

Creating buzz_IS Magazine

"This Too Shall Pass" is creating some anticipation, to my surprise.

I was flipping through IS magazine just days ago and i chanced upon two mentions.



You will need to scroll right down to the article or you can checked out the "reproduced" comments...

" What local films are film buffs checking out at this year’s SIFF?

Mabel Tay, 40s, brand consultant
Quite a few local films: A Big Road directed by Alec Tok, because the complex plot appeals to me. Also 12 Lotus, directed by Royston Tan, because I’ve always enjoyed his works; 18 Grams of Love directed by Han Yew Kwang, because this film won an award at the 13th Lyon Asian Film Festival, so it must be pretty engaging; The Days, directed by Boi Kwong, because my friends directed and produced it; Lucky 7, directed by seven filmmakers, because it’s different and could be an interesting approach to story telling; and Hush Baby, directed by Tan Wei Keong, because I’d like to see for myself the depth and quality of local animation.

Victoria Bay, 29, sales and marketing manager
This Too Shall Pass—as sad as the film might be, I think it would be interesting to see how the patriarch of a typical Singaporean family fulfils his familial responsibilities right up to the very end. I’m also looking forward to Invisible Children with Karen Tan. Aside from being a Karen Tan fan, I have always enjoyed local films that explore the themes of alienation and the search for a sense of belonging, from Eric Khoo’s 12 Storeys to Kelvin Tong’s Eating Air. The films dare to articulate what many of us grin and tolerate, and I am hoping this will be no different.”

Sharon Wong, PR manager
Shingaporu Monogatari. I’ve seen documentaries of the war with recounts from old Chinese women, Japanese etc, but it would be interesting to hear it from a Malay man. No one’s really asked the Malay community. I suppose the emotions and experience might seem similar, but his narrative would be interesting, if done right. Also A Month of Hungry Ghosts directed by American Tony Kern. It will be interesting to see if there’s been a Western spin put on this topic, or if it’s been made into even more of a cultural clichè.

Yong Shu Chiang, marketing manager
I’m really looking forward to A Big Road by Alec Tok and Hashi by Sherman Ong, both of which touch on the lives of women—across generations and circumstances—and tackle stories from outside of the local milieu. I am also intrigued by This Too Shall Pass by Ang Aik Heng, a seemingly small, intimate film about dealing with impending death, and Invisible Children, by Brian Gothong Tan, whose exploits in theater and visual art I’m aware of, but whose foray into film could mean something special and fresh."

Now, I am really looking forward to what the reviewers have to say after watching the docu.

Interesting.