Filmmakers Anonymous 14
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We are in support of the local filmmakers. That’s why when we heard about the upcoming Filmmakers Anonymous (FA) 14, our team is overly excited to check out what are some of the new and emerging films mushrooming in the industry. While we invite you to join us for this event, we also would like to introduce some of the filmmakers who will be showing their films this FA14.

Glorious Bastards / 9 mins / by Giri

What’s your shorties about?
My shortie is about a drug dealer, a hit man, a cop and a junkie. The combination of all these characters leads to a mess where everyone’s lives are at steak. The question is who will come out top in this game of cat mouse game?

What inspires you to produce/direct/write this short film?
Actually I had nothing to do and I had 3 of my friends with me and I just said, shall we make a film. Plus my parents were away too, so I could use my house as a location. We were on our way to Ipoh for a short trip. But the criteria were we had to finish it in 24 hours because my friends had to go back to KL. So this movie was shot in 24 hours. There was no script, no storyboard, nothing. It was just shot on the fly. We did not even know how to end it till got to the part.

What are the core values/message you intend to share through your shorties?
This particular shortie is just to inspire all filmmakers out there that you can shoot a movie with hardly any budget. We spent a total of RM9 on the movie. It just requires creativity and friends who will act for free. The movie itself basically says if you are involved in criminal activities – you will be shot at, at some point. Actually we did not think of any message, it’s just for entertainment.

Like Toy Dolls / 4.5 mins / by Yihwen

What’s your shorties about?
Like Toy Dolls is a mockumentary about the baby dumping issue in Malaysia.

What inspires you to produce/direct/write this short film?
The initial idea was to do a camera test for an upcoming short film competition which I joined. Then my editor suggested that we shoot a short film on baby dumping and enter it for BMW Shorties – last year’s theme was “Zero Percent Wastage.” I think as filmmakers, we need to be socially aware. We all have read about the rampant reports of baby dumping in the media but seeing it visually and graphically has a whole different impact altogether.
As I was doing my research, someone shared with me a true story about how his tenants found what looked like a badly decomposed baby while unclogging their blocked sewage. No one said anything and just disposed “it”, because making a police report would be “troublesome.” I was appalled at how people could treat a human life like it was worth nothing. How could you just throw away a life like it was garbage?

What are the challenges you face during the production of the film?
We couldn’t use real human babies, of course. And I didn’t know anyone who would actually lend me their baby, haha. So, I decided to use toy dolls because it has the closest resemblance to a human baby. And the whole idea of the doll being just a lifeless toy, which is how I wanted to portray the abandoned babies. One of the challenges independent filmmakers commonly face is budget/ financial support. I only had a budget of less than RM200 to work with, so my art director had to recreate at 7-9 different “looks” between three dolls. I also didn’t know anyone who would lend us a equipment so I built my own dolly with PVC pipe tracks from scrap metal and wood which I found at my uncle’s factory, which worked fine.

We shot in pretty “harsh” and “hostile” environment – an abandoned flat which was filled with mosquitoes, broken nails and glasses; and we also had to climb down a big monsoon drain without proper abseiling equipment for one of the scenes.

Fly Me To The Moon / 20 mins / Fikri

What’s your shorties about?
Fly Me to the Moon is about a strained relationship between two brothers. They don’t have much to begin with, but when one is forced to take care of the other, things becomes a bit more dramatic.

What are the core values/message you intend to share through your shorties?
I do not believe in sticking to a single message across many films. Different stories have different meanings and intentions, and as such deserve different treatments of storytelling.

What expectations do you have from the public, the audience and the people every time your film is aired for all to watch?
I don’t have any particular expectations in mind. I just hope that people are able to watch my film, and any film, for that matter, with an open mind and heart.

What are your future projects that we can look forward to?
Currently, I am helping to produce a project called the Monash Anthology. It is largely a series of short films made by Monash University students. This project should be done by the end of July, so keep an eye out for that. As for me personally, I hope to have directed a feature film by the year’s end; after all, 2012 is just around the corner…

FA 14 takes place this Friday, 1st April 2011, at Annexe Gallery (Central Market). Find out more about Filmmakers Anonymous at http://filmmakersanonymous.blogspot.com/ or RSVP for FA 14 at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=163431900377505

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