A stroll through Ginkakuji Temple and the Philosopher's Path

By the time this is posted on the blog, I am a few hours away from flying back to Malaysia.

On Saturday, I got sidetracked by cheerleaders and cosplayers at Heian Temple, and then by a great art exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, when I was on my way to Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺, the Temple of Silver Pavilion. By the time I reached Ginkaku-ji in the evening, I was already closed.

Therefore, Sunday, my final day in Kyoto, I decided to rectify this regret of mine by heading straight to Ginkaku-ji right after lunch.

To experience the place for myself.

So I entered Ginkakuji (which is officially known as Jisho-ji 慈照寺).

GLORIA & LEON, a video installation by Miwa Yanagi

The original plan yesterday was to visit Ginkakuji and walk the Philosopher's Path, but my plans were foiled by a sudden afternoon rain.

So I took shelter at the National Museum of Modern Arts, Kyoto, and also bought a ticket to check out their "Reading Cinema, Finding Words: Art after Marcel Broodthaers" exhibition.

This is how the exhibition was described on the Museum website:

Cheerleaders and Cosplayers at Heian Shrine, Kyoto

I've been in Kyoto the past few days because I was invited to screen my short films and give a talk at Kyoto University on the 6th of September.


The following day, I decided to explore Kyoto. (my last visit in Kyoto was December 31, 2008, and chronicled on this epic video, that's a lifetime ago) My first thought was to go to the Philosopher's Path and the legendary Ginkaku-ji for a leisurely stroll. My last visit there was in 1999-2000, my memories of that place were entirely hazy.

After lunch, I hopped onto a bus, heading towards my intended destination.

However, when I passed by Heian Shrine 平安神宮, a few things caught my eye:

WATCH: Video of the 3 DOORS OF HORRORS world premiere

I mentioned that 3 DOORS OF HORRORS (which features my new short film FLOATING SUN) has been uploaded on Youtube last Saturday. But prior to that, we actually had two great physical screenings of the omnibus film.

WATCH: 3 DOORS OF HORRORS 鬼節:三重門, a 45-minute horror omnibus film (featuring my new short film FLOATING SUN)

3 DOORS OF HORRORS 鬼節:三重門, which my new short film FLOATING SUN is a part of, was uploaded on Youtube a week ago.

Directing 101 with Edmund Yeo

Another four more days and everyone will get to watch 3 DOORS OF HORRORS on Youtube, the omnibus film that my new short film FLOATING SUN is part of.

FLOATING SUN features a floating corpse, and it wasn't easy to tell my actress how to not just act as a floating corpse, but to become one.

Luckily, produce James Lee had managed to snap a few important shots of my efforts in directing these challenging scenes, and he had posted this on Facebook, which cracked me up.

Introducing Ng Ken Kin and Leroy Low (the other two directors of the "3 Doors of Horrors" omnibus)

I first met Ng Ken Kin and Leroy Low, the other two directors of "3 DOORS OF HORRORS" in March, when James Lee gathered us all for a meeting about the omnibus project. Each of us has vastly different backgrounds, Ken Kin is a veteran in the film and TV industry who had done quite a lot of short films and TV programs. Leroy is a young music video director who had done a few music videos with some of the most popular Chinese pop stars in the country during the last two years.

"3 Doors of Horrors" (omnibus with my latest short film) on The Hollywood Reporter

August 17th, exactly a week from now, my new short film FLOATING SUN, which is part of the "3 DOORS OF HORRORS" omnibus horror will be launched online.

It's great to see this being covered by The Hollywood Reporter yesterday.

Jia Zhangke's PLATFORM, Fatih Akin's EDGE OF HEAVEN... and Cucurrucucu Paloma

The preparation of a new screenplay is filled with challenges, and tiny little joys.

The past two days, in order to get into the right mood to write a new story, I was watching films that are relevant to what I intend to do.

Two days ago, I finally caught Jia Zhangke's monumental PLATFORM (2000). I was overwhelmed by its ambition and scope, its execution and style reminded me of the earlier works of Theo Angelopoulos (THE TRAVELLING PLAYERS and ALEXANDER THE GREAT came to mind, I think Angelopoulos shifted styles after VOYAGE OF CYTHERA as his stories became more intimate and more focused on one protagonist).

I realized I have never seen that many of Jia Zhangke's works. A few of his short films, and maybe just his later film, THE WORLD (2004). But I still keep this 2010 photo of myself with his muse (now his wife) Zhao Tao because of the Jia Zhangke photobomb.


Now that I look at it, the year 2000 was an amazing year for Chinese cinema. Wong Kar Wai's IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, Edward Yang's YI YI, Jia Zhangke's PLATFORM, Ang Lee's CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON etc. Regardless of what you think of these films, they have all left a mark in history, influencing filmmakers and the film business in ways beyond description.

Pondering the Importance of Being Prolific

Now that I am utterly sure that no one reads this blog anymore, I think I can try to revert it back to what it was when I started this 9 years ago.

A journal for my own thoughts.

Autumn Di Hatiku ended today.

Today marks the beginning of August, and also the end of the web series "Autumn Di Hatiku" (watch it here) which I co-produced, co-wrote and co-directed.

Reception had been more than I imagined. The media coverage was amazing. The stars of the Autumn Di Hatiku were almost ubiquitous, appearing in newspapers, magazines, TV shows etc.

When it comes to the film and TV business, creativity is one thing (and the fact that we were given full creative freedom by Tonton for this show was a rarity that fills me with gratitude), being backed by a team that trusted us entirely and did so much when it came to promoting the show, the whole experience was quite joyous.


To mark the final day of Autumn Di Hatiku, Tonton and Gua organized a "chat with the fans" session with Autumn Di Hatiku stars JS Kim (the titular Autumn) and Anas Ridzuan (the morally ambiguous Kai) this afternoon.