Be original and have fun, Asian film-makers urged

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Lim Kah Wai

THE world of film is mysterious and fascinating, especially for viewers.

Film has the ability to take a viewer into a different world of sight and sound, and maybe in the future, even the rest of the five senses, but how do film directors feel the emotions they feel, and consequently, translate them into film to touch those who watch?

thesundaypost had the opportunity to delve deeper into the minds of film directors Tetsuya Mariko, 33, from Tokyo, and Lim Kah Wai, 42, from Kuala Lumpur, when they were in Kuching to give a talk on film-making at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas).

“A lot of film-makers start out with short films and I think short films, especially the first one, can represent the later works they make,” Lim explained on the inspiration behind his films.

“For example, most of the motifs and themes that appeared in my first short film were also in my first feature film I shot in Beijing about an outsider wandering in a society that was unfamiliar and these themes translated into my later works as well.”

Lim, bespectacled and sporting wavy, chin-length hair, added that this theme of being an outsider was possibly translated from his own personal feelings.

“My position is quite complicated compared to other film-makers. Even though I am Malaysian, I have not shot any films in Malaysia. I studied electronic engineering in Japan and also enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy in China. I made films in Japan, China and Hong Kong — these places are not my home country.

“No matter where I make my films, I always feel like an outsider — like I’m never a person based there. I’m just one of the others, drifting from one place to another, and I think this is reflected in my films on how I view life,” he said, citing an interest in human beings and emotions as the turning point for him to immerse himself in the film-making industry.

Different perspective

Mariko, through the help of interpreter Kyoko from the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur, agreed with his counterpart but added that various elements also inspired his film-making.

“Other students’ films in my university (the Tokyo University of Arts) inspired me to make my short films — ‘Far East Apartment’ and ‘Mariko’s 30 Pirates’, and in the case of the film ‘Funfair’, it was based on the feeling I got when I filmed in Malaysia and saw things normal to the locals but so foreign to me. I think lately I’ve been making my films based on that feeling.”

Asked if he tried to provoke a feeling from his audience or leave them with random thoughts after watching his films, Mariko mused for a while before saying he always tried to lend some fun to the audience.

“Not everyone who watches my films may understand the question I’m asking or find the answer but at least by having something fun and interesting, something is delivered to the audience so they can feel something when watching.

“For example, in my short film ‘Mariko’s 30 Pirates’, I shot it at a time when 8mm film was being replaced by digital. Moreover, on my campus, the Student Association Hall was going to be replaced by a new building so I was trying to show the contrast between the old and new and also questioning if the old and new could co-exist.

“I understood we had to choose one or the other but there were good points in both and I was wondering if we could incorporate the good points of the old into the new,” Mariko added.

Tetsuya Mariko

Facing the challenges

Lim cited the different controls over expressions in the independent and commercial film industry as one of the biggest challenges he had faced so far.

“My first feature film — I didn’t want it to be in the commercial film industry, so I went independent. I asked friends and whoever I knew to help me but it was totally self-financed. When I made those films, I had a lot of freedom to do what I wanted but after the first feature film, the next few were almost in the commercial industry system — so the freedom over expressions changed to a whole different level.

“It doesn’t mean I compromised completely but where I could be really crazy or experimental, I had to tone it down and make it more accessible to more people,” he said, adding that funding for a film was something that needed to be considered as film-makers could not always pay for themselves.

“Trying to get money from investors or film companies – that’s not an easy process. It really depends on what kind of work you create and whether you can get it screened at a film festival, and even if it does get screened, if the audience does not associate with it, it will be hard to get funding for the next one,” Lim stressed.

For Mariko, one of the greater challenges for him was to break into the industry.

“This year, I’m going to shoot my first feature film. The industry in Japan is extremely tough, especially for newcomers who want to make a feature-length film because they normally have to base a film on a novel.

“In Japan, a lot of films are created based on big novels, so it is really challenging for original stories or fresh stories. I hope my first feature film will be something special for me,” he said.

Trust is the key

Asked what attributes they felt a film-maker ought to have, both of them agreed on trustworthiness.

“A film director needs to be someone people can trust. Even if he or she has selfish intentions or may be like even crazy – no other word to put it — so long as the cast and crew can trust him, he will make a good film director,” Mariko said while Lim nodded in agreement.

“Trust is very important — regardless of staff, actors, producers or investors. They have to be able to trust you, the film director. If you can make people trust you, even if you are lying, you’re a good director,” Lim said.

Mariko also urged budding film-makers in Asia to have fun.

“There are times when you think too much until you cannot do anything but it’s important to keep having fun. As for keeping films fresh and different from other films, I personally find I have to be the first person who should be interested in my own work. As long as I devote myself to this, it will be apparent to others and they will feel it,” he said.

Lim urged Asian film-makers to use the strength of culture and history in their films.

“The history and culture of Asia are totally different from the west, and in the past 20 years, I feel Asian films have been getting stronger and stronger. People may be used to the style of western films but they find something different in Asian films. I think this is a strength and as Asian film-makers, we should keep this strength and identity — not just copying Hollywood but creating our own Asian stories,” he concluded.