Perfect Rivals: Not At All Perfect

You know the whole star-crossed lover deal. Boy and girl from rival families fall in love with each other and eventually end up being torn apart, the eventual separation their inevitable moira. When you transpose this premise to a romantic comedy, of course, the star-crossed lovers are not so tragically fated after all; they always magically end up together. This premise is not at all uncommon, and Han Yew Kwang's latest film Perfect Rivals borrows that concept for the basis of its narrative conflicts.

Touted as his first foray into commercial cinema(though 18 Grams Of Love and From Hainan Meets Teochew were also pretty commercial films in my opinion, perhaps only sufferring from limited screening), Perfect Rivals revolves around two rivalling families in the bak kwa business, one headed by Zeng Mei Mei (Irene Ang) and the other by Chen Hao (Ha Yu). The two have some history to them, being lovers in their youth as well as sharing the same mentor. Mei Mei's business is burgeoning, however, and her life happens to look glitzy at first glance: she has a modern looking shop, a beautiful home and two very beautiful daughters. Chen Hao is portrayed as a man down on his luck. Bitter and angry about his business' ailing sales, his only (self) consolation comes from the pride derived from his better tasting bak kwa. He has two children whom he sees as a disgrace to him: an autistic child who constantly imagines himself as superman (Stanlyn Hsu) and a drunkard good-for-nothing son (Josh Lai).

With a bak kwa tournament looming ahead, Mei Mei, worried that Chen Hao may claim the crown of King of Bak Kwa with his secret recipe, decides to send her slightly boyish looking young daughter Yuan Yuan (Mindee Ong) to spy on him, under the guise of working for him. Of course, that is where things start to get messy, with both Mei Mei's daughters very fortuitously - and somewhat bizarrely - falling in love with Chen Hao's two sons. The ending will come as a surprise to none.

Han's quirky visual flair shines through in one of the early scenes, where the members of the two rival families were introduced in brilliant fashion, as the two families were trying to outdo one another with their different business tactics. A favourite filmic device of his is going balls out wacky with the surreal scenes, and clear examples would be the aforementioned 18 Grams of Love and From Hainan Meets Teochew. In this film, the flashback scenes of Mei Mei and Chen Hao provide the outlet for Han to put his stamp onto the otherwise insipid and lacklustre A.I. Pictures outing.

The film struggles to deliver the laughs. One may criticize many local comedies (e.g. those directed by Jack Neo) for never evolving, often sticking to the same slapstick schtick and familiar gags to up the humour quotient, but at least most of the time those films have an anarchic energy throughout their course that gives a constant sense of fun and adventure. Perfect Rivals suffers from very inconsistent pacing; some scenes are over-the-top fun, like the massage scene with both Mei Mei and Chen Hao trying to spite each other, but many others feel flat. Fortunately, many otherwise lacklustre scenes are buoyed by the spirited performance of Mindee Ong, who plays Yuan Yuan with much verve, and her scenes are some of the funniest in the film. Ha Yu, being the veteran that he is, turns up a solid performance too, but the same can't be said of the two playing his children. Stanlyn Hsu and Josh Lai turned in absolutely dull, lifeless, and at parts even annoying performances that are occasionally cringe worthy. The usually ebullient Irene Ang is muted down somewhat for this role, and her performance appears contrived at times, perhaps due to her lack of comfort with the mother tongue.

More worrying though, is the revelation that both Mei Mei's daughters may have been fathered by Chen Hao. This development may at first seem to suggest both of them has a deeper bond than we had expected, but it also throws an otherwise innocent family film into incestuous territory. That the children get coupled along the way so coincidentally is already bizarre in itself; but when the curveball is dropped along the way that the children of Mei Mei and Chen Hao may in fact be siblings, there is a disturbing incestuous tone underscoring the remainder of the film. The film does not try to sort out details of the relationship between the couples; it is solely focused on the relationship between Mei Mei and Chen hao, and of course the film ends on a good note when both of them get back together. This plot development (Yuan Yuan realizing she may be Chen Hao's daughter) is probably meant as a mechanism for Mei Mei's children to understand her past history with Chen Hao and also to push her to reconciliation with him, but it reduces the supporting characters to mere peripherals as it essentially trivializes their relationships, since their blood relations will no longer render them romantic lovers.

Entertained by the film, I sure was, but to say that Perfect Rivals is less than perfect would be an understatement.

Production Talk - 'Perfect Rivals' by Fly Entertainment

Perfect Rivals 美好冤家 trailer

Based on the urban legend of 2 rival bak kwa stores, the movie is a heart-warming story about two feuding families and how their relationships become funnily complicated because of an event that happened 28 years ago...

We speak to director Han Yew Kwang for a scoop behind the scenes

*****

Hi Yew Kwang, what was the inspiration behind Perfect Rivals?
Perfect Rivals is actually Irene’s concept. She wanted to do a comedy about bak kwa with a strong family theme, so she got me to write the story and direct the film.

What can we anticipate from this film?
The chemistry between veteran actor Xiayu and Irene is very good. Irene’s role is very different from her previous ones. In fact, she is the serious one in this film. Mindee’s role is very unique and I really hope she leaves a strong impression on the audience. All her previous roles often left a mark. In this film, Pamelyn’s role uttered some really nasty and sarcastic words. I’m eager to find out how the audience will react to this!

Bak Kwa is the main ingredient in Perfect Rivals but chinese new year is over. How are you marketing or positioning it so that it does not feel like it's off season?
Actually, we did not emphasize Chinese new year in the film. When we originally wanted to release it during it CNY, we build on the feel good factor that will bring happiness to the audience. Now that CNY is over, I think the film still works as a stand-alone comedy.


Why the decision to shoot the entire film in Penang instead of Singapore?
We wanted to build in a strong sense of 怀旧风味 into the film. The sceneries and buildings in Penang fit the film very well.

Do share some interesting experiences you had doing this in Penang?
I look forward to having good food in Penang. Everyone has been telling me about Penang laksa. Ironically, I didn’t have a chance to eat or even think of Penang laksa when I was there. I was so busy that I basically stuff food into my mouth without really caring about what I was eating.

If there was a Yew Kwang 'brand of comedy', what would it be? And how is it expressed in Perfect Rivals?
In fact, the comedy style in Perfect Rivals is very different from my previous films. I would say it is a family comedy more than a quirky comedy. But of course there are still a few scenes which are quirkily funny, especially the shower scene which involves Mindee and the rat scene which involves Irene and Xiayu. I should not reveal too much ;)

I am curious. Irene Ang cast as a big-haired, rather glam looking towkay? Was this role made for her? What can the audience expect from her?
Well, we wanted to bring her age up so that she matches the veteran Xiayu better. The big hair helps. Yes, I wanted to create a quiet role for her. She used to play loud roles like PCK’s Rosie. So for a change, I thought the audience will be surprised to see a quiet and “pretentious” Irene.

Perfect Rivals features a stellar cast of international actors. How was it working with this very experienced cast as compared to your previous films?
Well, the international cast are very professional. They are very serious even during rehearsals. During rehearsals, it is basically about trying new things with them, getting the right “choices”.
Whereas when I shoot “When Hainan Meets Teochew”, I focus on getting the right and comfortable performance from the 2 non-actors, communicating and explaining to them the scene and why and how their characters should react.

Can we expect veteran Hong Kong actor, Ha Yu, to speak Singlish?
Haha, he can’t but he tried. He said one line “I don’t know what the you say!” It is not exactly Singlish but it has the comic effect of Singlish. I laughed on set when he said this and also while editing the scene.

What were the biggest challenges making this film?
Time constraint. The script is a little long and we needed to shoot a lot of stuff within 21 days. Due to the cast’s tight schedule, we only had 1 off day and we had to spend that off day doing recce! Phew, it was extremely tiring.

What is the total budget for the film? And was it difficult raising the funds for this film?
I think it is between 700-800K. SFC funded half the film and the rest of the funding came from Fly entertainment and a few Malaysian distribution and production companies. Basically, Fly entertainment did all the fund raising.

Any last words you'd like to share on Perfect Rivals?
Well, I’m eager to see how the mainstream audiences and followers of my previous films would react to this film. I think I’ve made a different film and it is important for my journey as a filmmaker. Finally, I hope that lots of people would buy a ticket to catch this film! ☺


Perfect Rivals is now showing in theaters

More tidbits on their facebook!

Images courtesy of Fly Entertainment

Perfect Rivals:A Star Studded Press Conference and Starstruck night!

At The Press Conference

"Does this reminds you of a Fashion Show in a way or another?"

Veteran Actor Ha Yu and the pot of ornament flower(I guess)

The 3 "Heavyweight" actors in the cast of the film.

Later in the day,AT the GALA PREMIERE

Avid fans await for the arrival of Stanley Hsu,thus the placards.
(There seems to be a common trend that fans like to cover their face with the placards on hand these days. Isn't it so?)
The Cast making their appearance by the Red Carpet

The Spectacular View of the Red Carpet Ceremony...hordes of FANS crowding the stage area!

PERFECT RIVALS Open on 17 March 2011 IN ALL MAJOR CINEMAS


Photo Courtesy of Fly Entertainment

"Wish I was there,or I could have written more on the event!"

ShoutOUT!: When Hainan Meets Teochew IS BACK!!!

Feature length Film When Hainan Meets Teochew from homegrown
director Han Yew Kwang will return for more screenings in Jan 2011!

The un-romantic comedy, about a mismatched couple who meet because of a missing brassiere is the debut film from Han Yew Kwang's production company, 18g Pictures. It was first screened for 3 weeks from 3 - 19 Dec 2010 at The Arts House and Sinema Old School.


Due to popular demand, the film will run for one more week at The Arts House from 13 Jan 2011.

The second run aims to reach out to those who have yet to hear about the film, to those who failed to catch it the first time round, and also to those who want to see it again.

When Hainan Meets Teochew is mostly in Mandarin and English, with some dialogue in
Hainanese, Teochew and Tamil as well to give it a unique Singaporean identity. The film is rated
NC-16 for mature theme and some sexual reference.

IT WILL RESUME SCREENINGS AT The Arts House ON 13 Jan 2011.

Sessions are as follows: 7:30pm nightly (except for Sunday). Additional 3:30pm sessions on Sat & Sun; additional 6pm session on Sun.

Tickets priced at $10 ($8 concession for students, senior citizens, NSF and The Arts House members) are on sale now from The Arts House

"I am so going for that again...BE SURE TO CATCH IT! "

Unpretentious fun in 'When Hainan Meets Teochew' by Han Yew Kwang

Han Yew Kwang returns from the triumph of "18 Grams of Love" with his third feature film, "From Hainan Meets Teochew", a charmingly vivacious "anti-romantic comedy" (as he calls it in an interview with the Straits Times) about two people from disparate backgrounds falling in love? (and it is a question mark here) with each other.

The Hainan character (Lee Chau Min) is a manly woman (MW); the Teochew (Tan Hong Chye) an effeminate man(EM). They get off on a bad note, but by a fortuitous turn of events, become confidantes to one another, perhaps sensing in each other a kindred spirit. The ebullient, slightly off-kilter ex-girlfriend of MW, played by Yeo Yann Yann, appears suddenly and her re-emergence serves as a catalyst to propel the narrative, leading MW and EM to confront their (very ambiguous) feelings for each other.

As far as humour goes, "From Hainan Meets Teochew" goes the slapstick route, opting to elicit laughs using some crude and kitschy elements: the tussle between MW and EM over a bra in the early moments of the film gives you an idea of what to expect for the rest of the movie. There are also some stagey moments such as the little one liners delivered acapella style by an office mob. Having said that, this sort of humour still goes well with local audiences, and I believe Han Yew Kwang was adopting this approach to make a film more palatable to a local audience because of its already controversial subject nature. However, audiences with a thing for wit might find the overwrought nature of the comedy here less digestible.

I thought the cinematography for most of the parts was rather plain; the camera angles were rather orthodox and camerawork was relatively static. The colour of the shots did not seem overly desaturated and did not over-romanticize the HDB landscape. Juxtaposed against the relative simplicity of such shots, the surreal sequences really shone through and made an impact. They were gorgeously filmed and laugh-out-loud hilarious, with MW in manly attire of a shirt and suspenders, and EM in full drag. The editing also helped lend the film some gravitas; it constantly oscillated between the hilarious snippets to the tender moments, keeping the film from either descending into pure farce or sagging into melodrama.

The film is competent in both its funny moments and more somber, affective ones. However, I thought choosing such extreme examples to subvert gender conventions actually worked against its effectiveness in its romantic ambitions; by employing these caricatures in a romantic comedy, the film works to bring audiences' attention to the social implications of the quixotic relationship because the emphasis is on their other-ness. I for the most part saw their relationship as a support system for each other in their journey to overcome their own respective struggles; I never really saw it as a bona fide courtship. (Although Han Yew Kwang's interview with the Straits Times was enlightening. In it he mentioned that the film is antiromantic in the sense he "has turned the idea of love between a man and a woman on its head" and that "they do not fall in love in the traditional man-woman sense but come to an accommodation that resembles it".)

Another small gripe is that the Teochew-Hainan interplay element seemed to pale in comparison to the playing of gender conventions, existing only as part of the plot's embellishment. For a film with such a title, one will definitely be expecting more cross-cultural comedy.

The film is unpretentious in its blatant aim to entertain and tickle audiences; it seldom takes itself seriously as opposed to local queer cinema, being almost whimsical in its treatment of gender other-ness but never once being denigrating. Not quite a thoughtful meditation on cross cultural relationships nor a groundbreaking work in queer cinema, it is nonetheless warm, light-hearted entertainment that is thoroughly enjoyable if one is looking for a good laugh.

'Taking it all off and out' for comedy - soundbites from the preview of 'When Hainan Meets Teochew'

What a treat it is to be invited to a cozy private screening of a new local film, yet to be seen by a significant number of others (evil laugh). Discounting the flight of stairs up to Sinema Old School, it was an unpretentious gathering of familiar faces, as unpretentious as 'boy-next-door' Yew Kwang himself. The film did conjure a few surprises which led to my eager fishing of quotes from the actors.


Chau Min, the lead actress shares about having to 'take it off' for a scene.


Lead actor Hong Chai shares about the challenge of doing the important kiss.


Blogger from A Nutshell Review Stefan Shih shares his thoughts about the film.


FM100.3 DJ Lin Weidong shares his thoughts about the film.

Ultimate National Day Video Wish List Part 2

As we have launched the 1st installation of the video 3 days ago...

Let's move on to see what other filmmakers and creative writers have to say about their "dream" National Day Video!

If you like the video,Do share this video out to everyone and Anyone!!!

Enjoy!

Production Talk - 'When Hainan Meets Teochew' by Han Yew Kwang

The director who brought you 18 grams of love now brings you a new unromantic film...

When Hainan Meets Teochew

An unromantic comedy between a ‘womanly’ man and a ‘manly’ woman. A white bra is what first brings them together. What follows involves a deceased sibling, a musical landlord, a crazy ex-girlfriend, a porn DVD, a dumbbell, a headful of blood and a jar of Hainanese kaya.

*****

Grace (G): Why Hainan and Teochew?
Yew Kwang (YK): This story is based on true characters. I happened to have a friend who is a ‘womanly’ man and another friend, a ‘manly’ woman. When I asked them what is the chance of them falling in love with each other, they said 1%. So I decided to make “When Hainan Meets Teochew”, and get them to play Hainan and Teochew respectively.

Jeremy (J): So.. what are the distinguishing traits between Hainanese and Teochews?
YK: Not distinguishing traits. But there is a saying that the Hainanese make good husbands, as most of them are caring and can cook well. There is also a saying that if you want to eat a fish, eat a kind of Teochew fish. If you want to get a wife, get a Teochew wife, as most of them are pretty.

G: What is your dialect then?
YK: I am a Hainanese!


G: What can fans of "18 grams of love" look forward/expect from this film?
YK: This film is the opposite of “18 Grams of Love”. No beautiful sets. No beautiful cast. No beautiful dialogues. In fact, it is full of “shitty” dialogue. We’re basically trying to challenge the “romantic comedy” genre, and see if it is still an interesting film to watch if all the beautiful elements are missing. Therefore, we’re creating this “unromantic comedy” genre. But both “Hainan” and “18 Grams” have one thing in common – quirkiness.

G: How long did you take to make this film from the time pre-production started?
YK: The process from pre-pro to production took about a little over 2 months - once the key cast agreed to the film, the process involved scripting, deciding the rest of the cast and crew, discussing logistic matters like budget, schedules, props, wardrobes, locations, etc. The production process has been longer - about 7 months.

J:You have an interesting way to share this production with people - I notice you are like doing 'belated-blogging'. Can you explain the reason behind doing this?
YK:One thing that Chee Nien, the film’s producer wanted to do was to document the entire filming process. Unfortunately, when he came up with the idea and time to do so, we were already way ahead on the filming process. Thus the ‘belated-blogging‘ with the dates indicating what happened when.

G: Tell us more about the casting. I understand that the 2 mains are both non-professional actors.
YK: Yes, Lee Chau Min plays Hainan and Tan Hong Chye plays Teochew. They are good friends of ours. Lee is a production manager and Tan is a stylist. We have worked together on lots of projects. And they are really nice and funny! Lee acted in most of my films as a supporting actress, whereas Tan is a first-time actor.

J: Why is it unromantic? Is it the characters? Or the language? Or the premise?
YK: Everything about this film is unromantic. They two characters meet under the most unromantic circumstance, become enemies then friends under the most unromantic situations. Lastly, they talk and behave in the most unromantic manner.

G: What was the biggest challenge faced while producing this film?
YK: Limited (almost no) budget and scheduling.

G: Any interesting anecdote during production?
YK: There seems to be construction going on whenever and wherever we shoot. We are so fed up that we actually incorporated the noise into the script. One character will say “Hey, can you speak louder, can’t you hear there’s construction going on?” Then the other character will shout to reply in order to cover the noise.

G: What are your views on the film industry here in Singapore?
YK: Lack of commercial films & commercial film directors. Only Jack Neo and Kelvin Tong are constantly making commercial films. We need more commercial films for the industry to grow. It can be indie films but it has to be entertaining and have commercial elements. Most filmmakers are making art-house or personal films, myself included.

Look out for the film's release either in the middle or later part of 2010.

Follow the crew and casts' production journey on facebook

Who's Shooting What in 2010? Han Yew Kwang

Name of Project: When Hainan meets Teochew

Brief Description of Project: 

What happens when a girly man and a manly woman falls in love?

Project Tagline:

The most unromantic romantic comedy of 2010

LUNCHBOX 1 - Han Yew Kwang

This lovely piece of photoart is created by Li, one of our bloggers.

LUNCHBOX is the beginning of a long journey to know our local filmmakers like people and not just filmmakers. I believe, and I did hear it from somewhere else too, that before making films, we, as filmmakers, must also live life. So SINdie wants to get into bed with them, know when they had their first kiss or maybe even what their parents think.

Cross-dressing started at an early age for Yew Kwang

Monday 29 June

7.30 pm
Elfe, Li and I were sitting in Dome Café wondering the Mac could record sound, if our ‘Lunchbox’ could be more presentable, if we would be chased out for taking photos with Li’s big camera.

Then he walks in the preppy looking ‘ter-qua’ red (liver red) vest making me wonder if he thinks this is a formal interview. Here he comes….

Who inspires you in your life?
My father is the first one by bringing me to watch movies. Cos he has his own intention by bringing me to the cinema. I’m the quiet type. I would definitely not make noise, won't make it difficult for him and he does not need to bring me elsewhere, where he needs to spend a lot of time. Cinema is the best as he needs to rest. The best activity to kill time is this manner. From there on, I became interested in watching movies. Along the way, people gave me advice, people who inspires me.

What inspires you to be a film maker?
Middle of 1998, where I am trying to make a decision on whether to continue as a writer or to take up a film course and try other things. So after watching this movie, then I took up the course with Ngee Ann and Kelvin Tong inspires me quite a lot. It’s like someone who I look up to, not only because he is creative. He is also able to take care of the business side of things, which I am really bad at. Whenever I see him talk to producers, I am quite impressed.
Another person is Mr. Man Shu Sum. He used to be the director of MDA and he was head of channel U. Formerly. He keeps tekan me, keep asking me to redo, redo, but he has his own stand. He always asks me to redo something one, but he will put it nicely. End of the day, he will say “do you know why I am asking you to redo? Because I know you can do it". His very smart, whenever he says me, he forces me to improve things and his very funny. When he gives me a lot of opportunities. One thing good about Mr. Man is that, he will give chances to new comers, but you will really have to work very hard. (So he so called trained you a lot la) but now I think of it, it’s like army la, when you are going through it, its shit ah. But when you are out of it, you think back, of course you won't want to go through it again ah.

How old are you?
I’m 34

What’s the funniest rumor/remark about you?
When I was in Primary Six when we were about to leave after PSLE, a friend of mine wrote something on a piece of paper of a clown/joker that says Class Clown. But I don’t find myself funny at that time. I seldom talk.

Do you think you’re a funny person because your films are funny?
Maybe at times not 24/7. I take a longer time to open up to new people. Only those who are close to me knows the real me. Otherwise, I’m just like that.

What is the one other thing you must do during your rest time besides filming?
I will not think of work when I watch 2 kinds of programmers. Even though I watch dramas I do think of work. But when I watch Taiwanese/Hong Kong/Japanese variety shows I don’t think of work. The other one would be soccer. I’m a soccer fan. I love watching soccer matches.

Would you ever do a film about soccer?
Unless I can find something interesting/different.

Now you’re a film-maker, is there anything else in your mind that you want to complete?
I hope when I’m old I can actually be an author. Write a book somewhere in an isolated place and have someone send food over. I’ll still go out like Parkway Parade, meet up with friends.

What kind of books?
Probably about myself through things like I’m interested in like jogging/soccer. I don’t know if there’s such a book. Will write it in Chinese. I’m more comfortable in Chinese. I enjoy writing ever since primary school especially composition.

Elfe, posing difficult questions while Jeremy is looking difficult

What is your greatest fear in life?
Actually on and off I do have this fear of my parents falling sick. I’m just afraid I’m unable to take care of them
My dad is 67 and my mom is 59. That’s my only worry.
I’m also worried that I might run out of ideas of what to write/shoot.

Confronting fears takes time

Does that happen to you sometimes?
Right now not really because I work for the TV industry and we’re force to come up with an idea even though it is crap. It’s better to type the first draft

Tea leaves and memories...

What were the best childhood memories and which memory is a product of who you are now?
When I was a kid, I wasn’t 100% introvert though I kept to myself a lot. I had only one close friend who was my neighbor and we were of the same age. My dad would bring me along to watch movies at Shaw Brothers and because of those movies I wanted to be an actor. I didn’t know there was such a thing as a director. For me it was all about actors. I was really inspired to be an actor. There were some memorable moments that I would love to shoot on film.
One of the scene which I would love to shoot – sometimes our parents didn’t allow us to leave the house to play so my neighbor and I would communicate through the rubbish chute. We could stuck our heads in and talk to each other. My neighbor moved to a new neighborhood and we lost contact. Only in 2005 we got in contact again.

We were staying at Marine Parade, three room flat. It was quite spacious. When I was in primary five, my neighbor moved and I was forced to make new friends/talk to people when I was in primary six. My neighbor was called Boy Boy and he called me Kong Kong. When Boy Boy left am force to make new friends. That’s when I made a new group of friends who started this act in school where we volunteered to perform on stage for Teacher’s Day/Children’s Day. We had the same interest to perform. Whenever we meet up for gatherings we always mention about it – it’s called ji Kong. We would love to do that play again if we can now – something about the old, modern/current and future ji Kong coming together and creating mishaps. That’s when I became more outgoing. Q: What is the darkest moment in your life?
I remember there were a lot of missing children here and there. But the most famous one was, the brothers. That time there were many cases. There was once where, I was actually. I went to the market with my parents, but I actually decided to go alone, then that was when I met this, Indian lady. If I could film this scene, it is also good la. This Indian lady at the void deck, then there are a lot of empty glasses lying around, not sure whether she was drinking, and she as holding on to one, and she was asking me to come over and I just walked past her. And I just act blur. And I just said, oh the time now is what, nine plus. And she said, why don't you come over? Then I did something. I, actually my parents are not near, but I just pretend, they were nearby, looking somewhere, then she ask me, oh your parents in there ah? Okay never mind. So I am not sure if I go over what would happen ah. Maybe she just wants me to sit, I don't know. Or she just wants to talk to me cause she is lonely and.

Would you starve for the sake of art?
Starve ah? I don't think so leh. Starve as in not really starve la, because I have some family expenses to contribute. If only I out of debt ah. If there is something that I am pursing which is quite, then it’s okay. Save at cheaper food or wear.

Do you have any side kick or buddies to help you? I have a long term producer, (Chee Nien) that’s the good thing about going to film school. You get to know friends that are like minded friends, where probably where you would end up working with them closely. Chee Nien is one of them ah. He made quite a bit of sacrifice overall. Cause he is the director also. When we graduated, I actually need a producer for one project, so I got him in. and its like, since when have you been doing the producer role? We have been working since Ngee Ann days. But its quite fun. During poly days, he was my actor, I have done a couple of short films with him and he had to do a lot of sacrifices one. Shave his head in front of the camera, then, I hope he will stay ah.

What has been the most memorable thing that happened since you started filmmaking?
There are moments here and there la but I have to say there is one interesting moment; it was when we were filming The Call Home. There was one scene, whereby the lead actor, Karsi, where there is a scene where he has to walk into the crowd of foreign workers and they are watching a big screen cinema in little India. So I remember it was like, we were saying how to shoot this scene, they will definitely turn around and look at the camera, and we were like going out of 'cans already' , and we went as early as five o'clock to set up, so as to wait for the right moment. Just to hope that we can have this one pic where nobody will look back and look at the camera and we only have one take, because, that one take was almost perfect.

We set up everything, and when it was time to shot right, we just rolled it, Karsi actually walks into the crowd, and I don't know why, at that moment, the film that they are watching is very important, none of them turn back to look at the camera. They were suppose to because there were lights everywhere, cameras, and the cameras were very big, and, those behind us were watching us, those in front were watching the movies. They are engage in the movie and when Karsi walks in, some turn around to look at him. Subsequently when we say cut, it rains heavily. We thought this kind of moment, only happen in movies, but it happened in real life, so we quickly pack up, we were soaked but we were really happy. Everything was so right, and then we walked out in the rain, things like that, but we have to protect the camera first la.

'My fingers can do plenty of things.'

So we will always remember that. It’s like only when you are in this business that you will have moments like that la. But, it’s like moments when we die, we will remember. That is the most worrying scene, we can't screw up. We actually thought of dropping that scene if we actually can't get it right la. When we were in little India, we were quite naive, trying to shot him walking on the streets, they (foreign workers) will actually stare straight into the camera and one big gang of them, they will look directly. So we don't know how to handle that scene. So we actually ask the Indian friends to come on set to tell them to not look at the camera. We really get them organized. So ask them to actually help us instead. Like action, we will ask A group to walk and don't look at the camera, and when you are done, the IC at the other side will ask them to walk back. But they will still look into the camera. Where when they walk here ah, they won't wait for the IC, they will just walk and turn and it is captured into the shot. So after the first day, the crowd scene was not going to work. So somebody tried to walk on the rooftop of the building. The owners allowed us, quite friendly. Even then we do it quite quietly, if not they will yaw....

So is there a possibility of you doing something controversial movie, what would it be?
It’s not for me. Its not that I am trying to avoid, but when I think of stories, there are a bit kooky but it would not be a political or sex show. I did not try to avoid. Maybe I am just not into it. I did one, but not that controversial. But one of the most sexual films, to date, where Chee Nien is the actor, my producer, that was in school, where we were allowed to experiment.

So we were experimenting, we had a story, where we had a scene involve in the mannequin, when we were in Ngee Ann. so Chee Nien has a thing for the mannequin. So he brought it home, he has to shave his head, and drill a hole in the mannequin. So it has a vagina, so he can stick his hair into the pubic areas, not very disturbing, but it was quite funny. It was my idea, just wanted to make something really funny, something cheap and it happened to have this mannequin in Ngee Ann and quite good looking. One of the chio bu among the mannequin end of the day he destroyed the mannequin, he was a crazy guy la.

Han Yew Kwang Essential Facts

Jim Carrey has a obsession with the number 23 in the movie, what’s yours?
Probably bra. I always think bra is a very good tool for story telling. My characters are weird but not in a weirdo way. funny wear. I thought of. Bra is something that you want to, for ladies, close to them, and yet it can be something that can be removed. Can, where this girl/ guy whose close to the girl. The best thing that you can have is a bra. Because I look back at... a dress or a necklace or a spec or bracelet. But nothing special. But when the idea of the bra came out, the entire scene came out. It was auto pilot. So it was a wonderful tool. We will shoot something in September.

Yew Kwang holding up Li's masterpiece for the farewell shot!

Check out these Han Yew Kwang films!

18 Grams of Love

Unarmed Combat

The Call Home

Singapore's Funniest Home Video (not sure where to get!)

Incidentally, there is a feature on him on Life in Straits Times as he has just received the NAC Young Artists Award together with fellow filmmakers Boo Junfeng, Anthony Chen and Ho Tzu Nyen.