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)

83-year-old Yut Kee Coffee Shop

One of the icons of Kuala Lumpur that I probably never heard of until yesterday (yes, I'm embarrassed). I have returned briefly from Japan, my high school friends, Woan Foong (she's the composer of my short films, notably Inhalation and Exhalation, based in the States for the past few years), and Yuan Yue (based in Singapore since 3 months ago), were also back in Malaysia for a short while, so we went to the Yut Kee Coffee Shop for lunch.

The conversation prior to lunch was like this:

Moments in RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES that lingered

Yes, I'm still slightly shocked, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is actually pretty good. Possibly one of the best of the year.

WU XIA is a remake of some film by some Canadian director...

A day before I saw Peter Chan's Wu Xia last Sunday, I was having dinner with a bunch of other filmmakers. AT THE END OF DAYBREAK director Ho Yuhang, who had seen the film, said this:

"Wu Xia is sort of like a remake of a famous film by a Canadian director, but I won't tell you which one since it'll spoil you."

NOW - Short film I did for Prada

Almost a year ago, I mentioned about shooting a 1-minute epic here and here, and ended this:

We finished the shoot almost by midnight. By having such a long and ardous shoot with a child actress, it's most possible I'll be accused of child labour. In fact, because it's supposed to be an epic compressed into a single minute, it was one of the toughest and most challenging shoots I've ever endured.

Yet I soldiered on, and the end product is most probably awesome.

If it's really awesome, you'll be seeing it soon.

If not, well, I'll probably just pretend that this shoot never happened.

My short films INHALATION and EXHALATION are opening and closing films of InDPanda Short Film Festival

The InDPanda International Short Film Festival in Hong Kong is happening from the 5th to the 25th of August. My short film, INHALATION (last screened at the Guanajuato International Film Festival in Mexico few days ago. You may remember that I wrote a message about the Bersih 2.0 rally to the audiences) will be part of its opening program on the 5th of August.

Attending a high school play triggers a flood of memories (... again)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to Chung Hwa International High School on Friday evening to attend a high school play starring TIGER FACTORY lead actress Moon Lai's younger brother, Jack. You don't get invited to high school plays everyday.

An empty high school canteen, a basketball court, and the passing of time.

It's not everyday that you get invited to attend a high school play, so when Moon Lai (THE TIGER FACTORY's lead actress) told me about her younger brother's musical play, I was intrigued to go. (I will write about the play in my next post.)

"... So, I finally bought edmundyeo.com"

It took me a while, but I bought the edmundyeo.com domain three days ago. The blog has finally completed its transition to this new domain few moments earlier, so I thought it's time to make this official announcement.

My favourite moment in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

I saw this a few days ago.

I'll write about the series in its entirety when I'm free enough. After all, the Harry Potter film series was something I viewed with cynicism at first, before becoming something I gradually loved. (I stopped reading the books after Book 5) Perhaps because it's finally ended, its inevitable absence makes the heart grows fonder.

Anyway, I thought that Snape's flashback was the highlight of the film. Alan Rickman's sublime performance, for his unforgettable character, it was a great way to send him off.

And the following exchange was my favourite moment in my favourite scene of the entire film.

Dumbledore: Lily... after all this time?

Snape: Always.

Somehow the exchange lingered in my mind. Perhaps it was the context, or the performance, the haunting music, the way Rickman enunciated his lines as Snape, perhaps it was the previous shot of Snape holding a dead Lily Potter in his arms crying, perhaps it was a little bit of everything. Perhaps I'm just a softie.

My message about the July 9th BERSIH rally to the Guanajuato International Film Festival

My short film INHALATION is now playing at the Guanajuato International Film Festival in Mexico. (film page here.)



Due to the fact that I was unable to make my trip to Mexico, the festival staff members asked whether I would like them to help me pass a message to the audience after the screening of my film. So I wrote them the following:

Last thoughts on Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival 2011

I've already returned to Tokyo yesterday afternoon.

Ultimately, Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PIFAN) 2011 had been a fun festival for me, to be able to hang out with old friends, and then meeting up with new ones. Great food, interesting films and the like.

Video: Seru (Resurrection) Q & A session with Woo Ming Jin at Puchon International Fantastic Film Fest

Aside for the NETWORK OF ASIAN FANTASTIC FILMS project market that Ming Jin and I was attending. Ming Jin was also at Puchon International Film Fest for the screening of the film SERU (known as RESURRECTION outside Malaysia), which was making its second festival screening after Udine Far East Film Festival back in April.

Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival 2011 Day 1

Yesterday, I took a morning flight to Seoul to attend the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival. Ming Jin's new project THE FORGIVEN has been selected for this edition's NAFF (Network of Asian Fantastic Films). NAFF is a project market, like Hong Kong's HAF, which selects projects in development by filmmakers and allow them to pitch to possible co-producers and financiers in one-on-one meetings. I'm attached to the project as producer.

As usual, I didn't sleep the night before because it's a morning flight and I had to take a 5am train to the Tokyo City Air Terminal to catch a bus to Narita Airport. The journey to Narita, as usual, is always more soul-sapping than the flight.

The flight, however, was wondrous since I got bumped up to business class.

Japanese director Masahiro Kobayashi's live gig at Manda-la 2

Yesterday evening, I headed to Manda=la 2 at Kichijoji to catch Japanese director Masahiro Kobayashi's live gig.

Revisiting "The Downtown Star Festival" (Shitamachi Tanabata Matsuri) at Kappabashi-Hondori

Back on Thursday, I visited the Kappabashi-Hondori with a friend to check out the Downtown Star Festival (Shitamachi Tanabata Matsuri). We were both struck by how quiet it was, and wondered why people were actually still preparing the decorations in the evening.

Goodbye, Yao Ming

Aside from the Bersih Rally, another big news I got this morning that sort of sadden me a little was NBA Superstar Yao Ming's retirement. He's 30, went through some bad injuries 3 years ago, I kinda knew it was the end then.

BERSIH Rally

Most of my blog readers are not from Malaysia. Many are from Japan, or perhaps people interested in Japan. Unsurprising, considering that I'm in Tokyo.

Therefore, I find a need to create awareness of the Bersih ("clean" in Malay) Rally happening right now, yes, RIGHT NOW, in Malaysia.

And mass arrests are happening. Our ever-diligent police had set up road blocks, deployed trucks mounted with water cannons, seal off parts of the capital Kuala Lumpur, in an attempt to prevent this banned rally. (While I am writing this, a couple of people I know have tweeted that they've gotten tear gases in their eye)

You can read more about it here.

Quote a few paragraphs from the article to give you some context.