Chile (Part 6): Rediscovering Santiago And The Meaning of Film Festivals

Note: It's better for you to read

• Swifty in Chile (Part 1)
• Swifty in Chile (Part 2)
• Swifty in Chile (Part 3)
• Swifty in Chile (Part 4)
• Swifty in Chile (Part 5): Visiting Pablo Neruda's House - La Chascona And Learning Spanish

before you start reading this entry:

---

19th of August. It was still Day 6.

A moment stretched to infinity ended with a postcard written in two Spanish lines. And then a line in Chinese, its meaning forever a mystery to its recipient, in contrary to the layers of meaning intended by the writer himself.

A smile of surprise and gratitude, a swift peck in the cheek, a warm embrace, traces of those left me as I left the hotel and embarked upon a solo tour to PLAZA DE ARMAS, the main square of Santiago. If I had only a day left in the city, I thought I would see as many sights of the city as I could, drinking its images, framing them into memory, just so I could lessen the remorse I would return with.

After a twenty minute ride in the commuter train, I emerged from the metro station of Plaza De Armas, confronted by the sight of a massive structure.

An ancient cathedral which I would know later as the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral.

Immediately, I snapped photos.

Chile (Part 5): Visiting Pablo Neruda's House - La Chascona And Learning Spanish

Note: It's better for you to read
Swifty in Chile (Part 1)
Swifty in Chile (Part 2)
Swifty in Chile (Part 3)
Swifty in Chile (Part 4)
before you start reading this entry:

Day 5. 18th of August, 2007.

A photo I took from my hotel room when I woke up early in the morning:

Chile (Part 4): THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA screening at SANFIC

Note: It's better for you to read
Swifty in Chile (Part 1)
Swifty in Chile (Part 2)
Swifty in Chile (Part 3)
before you start reading this entry:

---

Day 4. 17th of August, 2007.

2 hours away from the screening of 'The Elephant and The Sea'.

I sat in the Guest Office, surfing the Net. Finally got the chance to update my blog with two consecutive posts about my first two days in Chile. It was 2pm (2am in Malaysia), some people on my MSN list were online.

I wasn't nervous, just excited. So excited that I needed to vent, needed to come in terms with the act that I was representing Malaysian cinema like an ambassador of sorts, to be present when many of the Latin American audiences will be watching a Malaysian film for the very first time in their lives.

Me, of all people, speaking to audiences half a world away about Malaysian cinema and filmmaking?

Felt like a dream.

Sifow - Love Spell

Sifow.

Second album.

Love Spell.

It was released about a week ago; I just went to Shibuya and bought it.

I know I said I'd given up reviewing music, but what the hell.

Chile (Part 3): Hu Shu goes missing before his I WANT TO DANCE screening

(Go to Swifty in Chile (Part 1) or Swifty in Chile (Part 2))

16th of August, 2007.

A van came at 11:45am and brought me to the Hoyts La Reina multiplex were the WORK IN PROGRESS event was held. I saw the New Yorker director Jay Frisk and his wife, Veronica (whom I mentioned in the first entry) waiting outside the cineplex, I approached them and they looked sympathetic, the news of my screening's cancellation the night before had spread to even the festival invitees.

Chile (Part 2): THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA screening got canceled!

(Originally written: 17th of August, 2007)

Go read Swifty in Chile (Part 1) if you haven't.

'The Elephant and the Sea', the film I represent as producer, was to be screened at 8:30pm, during my second day in Santiago, Chile. The strange sense of loneliness described at the end of the previous entry was decimated by absolutely delicious breakfast.

I needed to go online before that. And the only way to do so was to bring my laptop to the SANFIC Guest Office.

Chile (Part 1): Arriving at the Santiago International Film Festival, meeting Leonor Varela!

With Chilean actress Leonor Varela, of Blade 2 and Arrested Development fame

(Originally written: 16th of August, 2007)

I am currently a film producer in the production company, GREENLIGHT PICTURES. I was invited to the Santiago International Film Festival (SANFIC) nearly two months ago, as the producer of the local film 'THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA' directed by Woo Ming Jin. THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA is going to compete under the International Competition against eight other films from different countries.

RUSH HOUR 3 is not the best film in the series

This is what my sister had to say about RUSH HOUR 3 after we saw it yesterday morning:

"That's it? The climax didn't even feel like a climax at all!"

'Vertical Distance' Screening at Malaysian Shorts (August 2007 Edition). I can't attend :(

a screenshot from Vertical Distance

Hi folks, got this email from Amir Muhammad at the Malaysian Cinema mailing list

'Vertical Distance' Screened at Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2007

the Cast and Crew of Vertical Distance + Justin, May 2006

My short film, VERTICAL DISTANCE, was just shown at the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2007, under their 'LIGHT OF ASIA' programme. The festival was held at Yogyakarta from the 29th of July to the 2nd of August, and my short film was screened on the 30th of July and 1st of August.

Have to say that I'm tremendously honoured to be part of this new and exciting film festival. VERTICAL DISTANCE is the first of the two short films I made last year (the other being GIRL DISCONNECTED) and was my first attempt in filmmaking WITH A CREW (it was an all-female crew, I felt like Bill Murray in Charlie's Angels) It was also the first short film I've written by myself.

The film, to me, is important in a sense that it helped me discover my own filmmaking voice, I guess, which helped me embark upon something much more ambitious like GIRL DISCONNECTED (a film that would never have existed without VERTICAL DISTANCE).

VERTICAL DISTANCE can be viewed here.

Tags: vertical distance, Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2007, short film, youtube, video, filmmaker, edmund yeo

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE

I actually saw this more than a week ago, but haven't had a chance to review it due to this TV movie production I'm involved in.

Flash Point 导火线

I didn't have high hopes for Flash Point when I first saw its trailer months ago (when I went to see the French rom-com, Hors de Prix). The lady friend I was with was more excited about it than I was.

R.I.P. Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni

Legendary filmmakers Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni had just passed away on the same day. Ingmar was 89, Antonioni was 94.