Waseda Festival 2011

It's Sunday. Thought it would be a nice and quiet day for me to head to the editing lab and continue editing my top secret one-minute long epic project.

When I woke up, I finished watching the first episode of Torchwood that I dozed off watching the night before (nothing to do with the quality of the show, I was tired). There was a power outage at my place scheduled from 10am to 3pm, figured it was a good time to leave once the power went out.

Video: KIKI SUGINO: MUSE OF THE ASIAN INDIE CINEMA press conference

Was at the KIKI SUGINO: MUSE OF THE ASIAN INDIE CINEMA press conference yesterday. I'm part of the session with Kiki and BREATHLESS filmmaker Yang Ik June (who acted in Lim Kah Wai's MAGIC AND LOSS and was involved in the omnibus film where Kiki made her acting debut)

The entire video is here.

Introducing EXHALATION with actress/producer Kiki Sugino before its Tokyo International Film Fest screening

My short film EXHALATION was screened on the 23rd of October, Sunday at the Tokyo International Film Festival. I was considered an 'opening act' for Lim Kah Wai's feature film MAGIC AND LOSS. This is me, trying to act like a rock star.

Jackie Chan and Japanese PM

After walking the lengthy green carpet, we finally entered the Roppongi Hills cinema for the opening ceremony. (the green carpet event lasted for 2 hours, a blessing, actually, without the delay from the rain, it would have been 4 hours! So after walking the carpet, I still had time to head off to a quickie lunch nearby before attending the ceremony)

I was surprised that Jackie Chan was here!

Walking the green carpet at Tokyo International Film Festival 2011

Yesterday afternoon was the opening of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2011.

Like last year, I got to walk the green carpet again. Awesome!

Death of an old classmate

A few days ago, I noticed a Facebook status of an ex-secondary school classmate.

He wrote (in Chinese):
'Missing a good friend, Yan Chee Seong'

I suddenly realized that it's exactly been ten years since a classmate of mine died in a horrendous car accident when I was in Form 5. That was my last year in secondary school. It was just a month before SPM (to non-Malaysian readers: that's the final government exams we had to take to finish secondary school).

For some people, ten years can feel like yesterday, but for me, more and more, time is turning into something more languid, even ten months ago felt like years, thus ten years felt like an entire lifetime ago. Yet I remembered some details.

EXHALATION screening at Malaysian Shorts (Oct 19, Help University)

Yep, Malaysian audiences can finally check out my short film, EXHALATION, exactly a week before its screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

EXHALATION will be one of the ten short films screened on the Oct 17th edition of Malaysian Shorts in Help University.

More info about the line-up:

Karayuki-san: The forgotten Japanese prostitution era

Been in seclusion the past week to write my screenplay. It's not an easy one to write, so it's been taking a lot of my energies. I have kinda cut myself away from the rest of the world, spending almost every night in McDonald's.

There's no point telling you all that much about it since it's still in its infancy.

Sometimes, I do some heavy researches while I prepare a script (or a shoot). Do a film marathon that could help inspire me, go through books, scour through the net, do some email interviews etc. A lot of excavation is needed.

Back in July, when I started developing the idea for my screenplay, I suddenly stumbled upon a piece of information that actually rocked my world.

The death of a great American bookstore

I read this CNN article, 'The death and life of a great American bookstore' two weeks ago (it's a eulogy for Borders). These few paragraphs summed up best how I feel about a bookstore.

New trailer for EXHALATION

I think its upcoming screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival will signal the gradual end of EXHALATION's run in the festival circuit. The short film has had a good run ever since its world premiere in Dubai last December, much better than I could have imagined. The film was shot in late 2009, (check out the production photos from Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 of the shoot) and went through a non-stop 40-hour marathon editing session.

It's almost two years ago, but it felt much longer than that. Many of the people from the team had since went on with their lives, going to different places. That's the thing about film shoots, they always feel like a distant dream, fading away as I watch its end results.

For the cast and crew who had helped me so much, the film would never been to all these places without them. So I decided to cut together a new trailer for the film yesterday, perhaps as a way to signify some sort of closing of a chapter.

My short film, EXHALATION, screening at Tokyo International Film Festival

On the day that Tokyo was hit by a massive typhoon, the Tokyo International Film Festival (Oct 22-30) announced its full line-up.

My short, EXHALATION, will be screened at the festival as part of the SUGINO KIKI: MUSE OF THE ASIAN INDIE CINEMA program.

Babes of Tokyo Game Show 2011

The more I tried to run, the more I got sucked back in again, into the dark underbelly of the human psyche.

Yes, dear readers, once again I returned to the annual labyrinth of depravity known as the Tokyo Game Show 2011. From BABES OF TOKYO GAME SHOW 2008 and BABES OF TOKYO GAME SHOW 2010, you know the agony I felt whenever I was forced to interact with the beautiful booth babes of Tokyo Game Show.

AFTERNOON RIVER, EVENING SKY screening at Malaysian Shorts (Sept 19, Help University)

My short film, AFTERNOON RIVER, EVENING SKY, will be one of the 8 shorts films screening at the next edition of Malaysian Shorts in Help University on the 19th of September (Monday), 8 - 10pm.

Celebrating Mid-autumn Festival 2011 at Tsukuba Science City

The last time I wrote about the Mid-autumn Festival (or Mooncake Festival) was in 2006.

It's pretty unbelievable that half a decade had gone by. I was in Perth then. On that day, I was shooting my final student film, GIRL DISCONNECTED. So confident with my talents back then, that I thought I was shooting THE definitive Mid-autumn Festival short film.

It was a fantastical tale of a girl who took a train to the moon to seek her love (whom she met on the internet), accompanied by a friend who secretly loved her. Mooncakes appeared in the film. So did Chang-er, and other mythological beings of the moon.

"I want sensuality and sheer sexiness!"

Hopefully you've seen Kenny's photos of my latest film shoot that I posted last night. If not, go see it now!

Now, my own photos of the shoot... (not that many, of course, when you're directing, you only whip out your iPhone occasionally to capture magic)

Photos from my latest film shoot

Returned to Tokyo last night. Prior to that, I was, as usual, in a two-day film shoot on the 4th and 5th of September. (yes, I'm always shooting something in Malaysia just before I return to Tokyo, this sense of urgency adds more to my desperation, and desperation leads to more creativity). Assistant cinematographer Kenny Chua had posted a number of great stills of our epic production.

These are our three main actresses.

Was in Hong Kong for the InDpanda International Short Film Festival 2011

I was in Hong Kong from the 24th to the 28th of August for the InDpanda International Short Film Festival, where my short films, INHALATION and EXHALATION, were part of the opening and closing programs. Here's me with the festival founders Henry Chan and Jonathan Hung.

My short film AFTERNOON RIVER, EVENING SKY screening at Thai Short Film & Video Festival 2011

My rarely-seen short film AFTERNOON RIVER, EVENING SKY will be screening at the Thai Short Film and Video Festival in Bangkok next week, on the 23rd and 27th of August.

VCinema interviews Kiki Sugino. She thinks I should be an actor. (for my looks, I guess)

VCinema had just posted up Marc Saint-Cyr's interview with Kiki Sugino (actress and producer of my short film Exhalation) regarding both our collaboration and also HOSPITALITE by Koji Fukada, which she also produced and acted.

Editing GIRL IN WATER, the Danish-Malaysian short film co-production

Back in June, I was involved in a Danish-Malaysian short film co-production tentatively titled GIRL IN THE WATER. (read about the film shoot here and here)