Who's Shooting What? 2011: Kelvin Sng

Filmmaker Kelvin Sng shares with us what he have in mind for his work in the making in 2011!





Name of project: "Fairytales 童话"


Brief description of project:

For centuries, fairytales have been written and told to children to help them gain an innocent and fantasized understanding of the world they live in, while shielding them from the cruelty and harm of the real world.

In this age of technology, however, kids no longer need to search very hard to learn what the world is about. Information is poured to them via electronic devices that permeate every aspect of their lives, in school, at home, even in the streets. The veil that used to hide the world behind a shade of mystery is gone, and fairytales are no longer called upon to induct the kids to their world.

Inspired by the recent teenage gang-related slashing incidents, "Fairytales" is a film that aims to present what the kids of today are facing, in a manner that is as real as it can get, through the kids' own spontaneous view and voice.

When parents are out at work, busily pursuing what their career and materialistic desire demand of them, what exactly are our kids seeing, learning and doing? Are they doing what we think they are doing? Do we really know? Do we really care?

Have parents created a fairytale for themselves believing that their kids are inside?

Viewpoint from a filmmaker - Kelvin Sng

We continue with a series of responses from local filmmakers on the current regulation and/or censorship system in Singapore. This is an ongoing project initiated by a group of students from LASALLE. Discussions and exchange of views are encouraged between members of the public and arts practitioners on the regulatory issue of films in Singapore. View our previous interviews here.

We find out what local filmmaker, Kelvin Sng has to say:

1. During the process of making a film, have you ever felt restricted by any regulatory boundaries set by MDA? If yes, in what ways?
Not really. I usually just go ahead and not let these regulations restrict my creativity.

2. If for artistic purposes, would you make a film which you know might attract censors or cuts but still continue to do it anyway? Why?
Yes I will still do it, reason being if we can't even be honest with the film we are making, how can we expect the audience to be moved by it?

3. In the Arts Community Position Paper, it is suggested that regulation should be implemented in place of censorship, as the former involves objective classification that is not politically-motivated. What is your view?
Totally for it. It is time for us to grow up and stop being treated like Singapore is made up of 16-year-olds and below!

4. Two of MDA’s guiding principles behind its regulatory work are to uphold community values and to safeguard national and public interest. What is your view?

What's new? Been hearing things like "national and public interest" from government-connected bodies for the longest time.

5. Have you participated in any discussion programmes or feedback consultations with regards to content regulation initiated by MDA? Would you participate in future? Why?

Not yet. I will in future. For the love of our industry and the passion for filmmaking.

6. What do you have to say about the censoring/banning of content in films screened in local theatres which are still obtainable on the Internet?

Perfect example of the power of internet, which is something hard to control. Never underestimate the world wide web as a powerful distribution channel, whether you ban a film or not, you can somehow still search or even able to 'buy' it by downloading via the internet.

Want to add your 2 cents worth? Join us in an open discussion on facebook

Gala Nights 2 : 'The Gang' Bang

For some reason, Maia resembles Roxie Hart from 'Chicago' the musical.

'My Gawd, I can't believe they invited these people!'

SINdie is part of 'industry' and not 'friends'...lol
Aishah from Substation gives a cheeky look, 'Blood Ties' director Chai Yee Wei looking like a secondary school student behind.

'Say cheese!' the photographer instructs the cast, who have not met all in the team until tonight because they appear in different scenes.

Grace and Jeremy take the quintessential photo with 'The Man' behind everything, Kelvin Sng (middle)

Notice the tattoo on her left arm. Could 'The Gang' spark off a comeback trend of full-body tattoos?

The Cathay Cineplex was awash with starsgazers. Two local movies were premiering at the same time - Kelvin Sng's 'The Gang' and Harry Yap's 'Happy Go Lucky'. It was nauseating trying to decipher where the stargazers were gazing. Of course, when Fann Wong made an appearance with a kooky-looking Christopher Lee, people flocked to them like bees to honey. But for the rest of the occasion, 'The Gang' maintained its glory with an event that reached new heights of grandiosity for short films. I (Jeremy) was getting a little worried for Kelvin for if the film itself would not live up to the hype (almost circus-like)in the run up to the screening. But thankfully, the film left most of the audience with nothing to say except words of congratulations in their different configurations.

Singapore Short Film Awards - Cashless by Derek Tan & Melinda Tan

'Cashless' the film opens up almost with a signboard that says 'tried and tested' or 'quality control'. In more benign terms, it is 'entertainment guaranteed'. The steady actors, the agreeably safe (with ingenious touches occasionally) direction and crisp editing make it look like all the ingredients of a formula were present. Danny Jow, for instance, a trained actor and actor trainer, anchors the film well. A pleasant surprise was he is much more controlled in his craft than his usual exuberant self. There were the smart-ass moments when Danny looked to his toys for inspiration for excuses for turning up late for work, or when his buddy plotted one Ah Beng gang against one Ah Seng gang. It was a film fit for loosening your defenses, sitting back and just enjoying the snappy plot and the 'no room for error' jokes.

A number of filmmakers have been observed to be making feature-shorts or short-features. My guess is that they are either pitching it for future funding for a real feature or they cannot scale down their ideas. Another much-talked about mini-feature is Kelvin Sng's 'The Gang'. These cast & crew-of-thousands efforts are at worst being labelled as naive, self-important and convoluted. But why should we be judging them this way when we are talking about breaking the mould, beating the parameters of the short film convention? They can be gems in their own scheme of things. Unless, of course the run the risk of not knowing how to end their oevrgrown plots.In 'Cashless', it suffered on this point. While Danny was getting too caught up in his mission to recover his lost $5000, the screenwriters (great job on the dialogues!) might have decided they needed to end the film to keep within the 30min convention of a short film. So perhaps, that's when the lead had a sudden warm fuzzy longing for his mum in the midst of a riot between the gangs. And in a flash, money was no longer important. I hope Derek and Melinda do decide to expand the film somehow. But for now, it seemed the well orchestrated concerto the film has taken a sudden turn into a sonata.

Who's Shooting What in 2010? Kelvin Sng

Name of project: Untitled Maia Lee Music Video (her very first!)
Brief description of project: 
See Maia crooning in Mandarin and kicking ass as a Muay Thai boxer in the MV!
Project Tagline: If it's painful, you know you are in love.

Production Talk - 'The Gang' by Kelvin Sng

"My film is a 30-min prelude to my upcoming feature film, MORE THAN WORDS （千言万语）about secret societies in 1970's Singapore. Entitled THE GANG （私会党), it is like a prequel to the story in the feature and also serves as a pilot to my feature." - Kelvin Sng

Film maker's statement

Singapore has yet to produce a film with a powerful love story set against the backdrop of 1970’s underworld, which was a very real problem for the government back then. By blending two of the most popular genres, Romance and Crime, the audience will be transported back in time to a world they never knew existed in Singapore, alongside the social and political development during that time in order to inject a sense of realism into the film.

It is hoped that this film will change the way people look at Singapore films, which are usually dark, gloomy and too close to real life to be of entertainment value to the average moviegoer.

Taken from http://www.morethanwords.ksp.sg/

*****



Grace (G): Hi Kelvin. Tell us more, why 'the gang'?
Kelvin (K): I am a great fan of mafia or gangster films, and being a history person, I wonder, how come Singapore has such a long history of secret societies and no one has actually made a film about it in its heyday? 50's to 70's are the worst period. So I did a research on the history for the last 3 years. The big picture is actually MORE THAN WORDS, The Gang is just its pilot and prelude, but also stands alone as a short film running at around 30 mins long

G: I understand that it was one of the most expensive short film made locally
K: Yes, close to 100k

G: What was the reason for making this prelude compared to just making MORE THAN WORDS?
K: Firstly, we want to use the prelude to generate publicity and create awareness even outside the filmmaking circle, as in the general public. It is also easier to show all our investors what we are capable of doing by showing them the prelude, as a picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to pitching and part of the funding comes from investors themselves and we want to assure them that the prelude will also be part of the feature, hence so much was spent as it will be recouped at the box office later. We also hope to send the film to major international festivals and that will also increase the confidence of our investors as the budget is close to 2 million, we need a prelude to pitch!

G: What can the audience look forward to?
K: A great cast consisting of known names like Andie Chen (FIGHTING SPIDERS, LITTLE NONYA), Louis Wu (BLOOD TIES), Emma Yong (BLUE MANSION), VINCENT TEE (BLOOD TIES), SUNNY PANG (PERTH, LUCKY SEVEN), ADELE WONG (THE DAYS), Keely Wee (female champion of campus superstar 2008) and of course Maia Lee. It is a very unique combination with such a diverse cast. And not forgetting, the intriguing drama, intense story with action and lastly, there will be blood.

G: Mmm... bloood. How will 'the gang' stand out from other 'gangster' films previously made?
K: The only "gangster" films i know of locally are 15 and THE DAYS. To me, they are not gangster films, they are Ah Beng films. In the 70's, secret societies operate like an organisation. Everything was done with an objective and function like an organisation; be it a simple gesture, or a gang fight, there are real organsiations and brotherhood was strictly adhered to, unlike these days... Ah beng you look at me, i look at you, buay song, then we fight. That will be a joke to those real gang members of yesteryears. If Hollywood can make THE GODFATHER, HK can make INFERNAL AFFAIRS all in the form of a trilogy, given Singapore's rich history and culture, why can't we make our very own definitive gangster film?

Jeremy (J): Do you have a violence-fetish? Especially with 'Kichiro' and now 'The Gang'.
K: Damn. Not really a fetish. I would say i see beauty in violence. Don't be misunderstood, I'm ANTI-VIOLENCE. I use violence in films to go against violence.

J: Your trailer looks scarily violent!
K: (laughs) You ain't seen nothing yet. In fact, MORE THAN WORDS has already been conceptualized as a trilogy.
J: *bites fingers*
K: (laughs) The trailer is a raw cut, only 20% done.

G: One scene that really caught my attention was someone in the cage, thrown around.
K: (laughs) Maia Lee in the cage

G: How did you manage to think up of these shots? Were they inspired by real events?
K: No, it was a pure creative idea as a result from working with my stunt director, not from real events. I was thinking... you know last time when women were caught in adultery, they were wrapped inside baskets like pigs. So we thought, 'hmmm.. let's do it like SAW'. Instead of baskets, we use sharp barb wires.

G: You mean that actually happened here in Singapore?!
K: Yes! It was real torture. Last time gangsters were really VIOLENT. NO JOKE JOKE KIND

G: Where were you in the 70's?
K: Hmmm.... I was born in mid 70's. So the sights and sounds of yesteryears are still vivid in my memory. As well as the smell of chinatown... (laughs)

G: What were some of the challenges faced while producing 'The Gang'?
K: Budget and lots of logistical issues because there were many extras needed. And because of its large-scale, we realised that the budget kept increasing as there were many things which did not surface in the planning stage until it happened... Then we realised, shit, more money again. And we overrun by 2 days. Action sequences are a real challenge - that torture scene took 2 full days to shoot

G: How did Maia take it?
K: She was very professional. She wanted to give her best for the project and everyone was impressed with her. She is not what she seems to be as portrayed by the media.

G: Could you illustrate what is the most important tool in creating 'The Gang'? (can be anything!)

K: my brains


Join 'The Gang' on facebook or click here to find out more.

Look out for the release of 'The Gang' in Jan 2010, Gala premier at Grand Cathay.