RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS Tweetstorms

I've been trying to find the term for this. A series of tweets in a row about the same thing, usually to alleviate the 140-character limit.

Multi-tweet essay? Multiple-tweets?

Apparently it's called a Tweetstorm.

Since RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS' premiere in Tokyo last October, the film has gotten some Tweetstorm from viewers in Japan. Their thoughts had been very insightful and invaluable, so I always wanted to put them here. To help myself remember.

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS goes to CAAMFest, San Francisco

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS continues its festival tour. This time making its way to San Francisco!

My birthday celebration 2015

My birthday was two days ago.

Unlike last year, where turning 30 made me reflect upon the past decade that I had, this so-called "twenties" that I doesn't belong to myself anymore.

This birthday started out more or less like a few birthdays I had before, I was working by attending a production meeting for an upcoming documentary shoot.

The fun started after the meeting, when Hanae decided to prepare a present for Uncle Edmund!

Of course, we had such a conversation before that:

Me: It's Uncle Edmund's birthday!
Hanae: Whaaaat? Are you joking?
Me: No, I'm not! It's my birthday!
Hanae: But there are no balloons! And cakes! And presents
Me: Uncle Edmund is a big boy, he doesn't need a party! Are you going to give Uncle Edmund a present?
Hanae: Okay.

And so she made me those presents.

Four of my short films played on Astro A-List channel on February

As February is about to end, I would also like to thank Astro A-List (channel 450) for playing four of my old short films, KINGYO (2009), EXHALATION (2010), INHALATION (2010) and LAST FRAGMENTS OF WINTER (2011) throughout the entire month.

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS and SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES on the front page of Daily Tiger @ Rotterdam

One of the most surprising parts of the Rotterdam Film Fest is being on the front page of the Daily Tiger! Very honoured!

Post by River of Exploding Durians 榴莲忘返.

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS and SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES photos @ International Film Festival Rotterdam 2015

Thanks to being suddenly overwhelmed by numerous film projects (webseries, TV series, documentary, feature film) and the ongoing Chinese New Year, I realized that I haven't updated this blog for more than a month! Not since I went to Rotterdam!

If I still don't update anything by tomorrow, this will mark the first time in its 10-year existence that the blog isn't updated in an entire month. Not exactly something I want to do!

So here are the (very much postponed) photos from the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the premieres of both the film I directed, RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS, and the film I produced, SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES.

Both films had their European premieres exactly a month ago. On Jan 27. And had 3 more screenings from Jan 28 to Jan 30.

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS and THE SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES @ International Film Festival Rotterdam 2015

I'm actually at the airport now, waiting to fly off to Rotterdam within the next two hours.

On the 27th, RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS will be having its European premiere there. So is Woo Ming Jin's SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES (which I produced and co-wrote). I guess both films are linked in many ways, so it's unsurprising that they will both have their European premieres on the same day.

Ode to KLIA 2

The Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA 2) opened in May 2014. Since then, it became the place I always had to go to whenever I fly to Tokyo. I have been there a couple of times, flying to Bangkok, Busan, Phnom Penh etc.

A stroll through Yanaka Ginza

I've returned from Tokyo yesterday.

Once of them most pleasant experiences I had was visiting the Yanaka Ginza Shopping District 谷中銀座商店街 after having afternoon tea with a friend. The street made me feel as if i were transported to the Edo period, as if I were worlds away from hypermodern areas of Shinjuku and Shinuya.

It was my first time there. That's the beauty of Tokyo, I have lived there for 5 years, yet there's always something new to discover.

SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES 偷·情 trailer

The SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES 偷·情 trailer is up!

The film, which I produced, co-wrote and edited, were screened at the Busan International Film Festival and the Singapore International Film Festival. It will be making its European premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam later this month.

How I celebrated New Year in Japan

First post of 2015!

My New Years of 2010 and 2011 were spent with Maiko the Producer (she's a Director in NHK now) and her family. Which I have written about in detail, and taken great photos, here and here.

The years after that, I have gone to Zojo-ji Temple in 2012 (where people released thousands of balloons in the air after countdown) and the familiar Senso-ji Temple in 2013. Last year, I had to shoot RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS and had a production meeting on New Year's Day, so it was the first New Year in six years that was spent in Malaysia.

This year, I got to return to Maiko's house for New Year Countdown.

Fragments from the last few days of 2014

I'm flying to Tokyo soon. I intend to end 2014 there, just like how I've been doing it from 2008 to 2012. But for now, I'm just going to post up Facebook posts, instagram photos from me, about me, etc. On how I spent the last few days of 2014. Just so I can remember.

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES made me feel old

Because of my love for the Lord of the Rings trilogy (to me, it was the Star Wars of my generation), and the conclusion of The Hobbit has marked the end of a particular moviegoing chapter of my life (... unless The Silmarillion gets adapted too), I decided to post my thoughts on The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies on Facebook.

WATCH THIS: 3 DOORS OF HORRORS 2014, three microbudget horror short films

A couple of days ago, I attended the premiere of the 2014 edition of 3 DOORS OF HORRORS held at the MBO Cinemas in Citta Mall.

DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN: CAMBODIA'S LOST ROCK AND ROLL

I've been back from Cambodia for nearly a week, but due to a ghastly (and HUGE) blister on my foot, it was nigh impossible to calm myself down enough to do some writing!

Anyway, the doctor has popped the blister three nights ago, and I can finally continue writing again, especially about a particular film I caught at the Cambodia International Film Festival.

One of the gems of the festival, to me, was John Pirozzi's documentary, DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN: CAMBODIA'S LOST ROCK AND ROLL. A very comprehensive, feature-length documentary that the director spent nearly a year on. It's about a "golden period" from Cambodia's independence, to just before the country was rocked by civil war and the murderous Khmer Rouge regime.

Films directed by Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk

Yesterday, I caught the screening of a documentary called DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN: CAMBODIA'S LOST ROCK AND ROLL by John Pirozzi (I'll write more on the film in another post). And through this film, I became very intrigued by the late King Norodom Sihanouk, whose love for music helped create the golden rock & roll era in Cambodia. Yes, he played the saxophone and the piano.

There are lots of videos of the King, on Youtube, singing. Here's an entire playlist of videos. Of the king. Singing.

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS 1st screening @ Cambodia International Film Festival + Nguyễn Võ Nghiêm Minh's NUOC 2030

(Screenshot of NUOC 2030, NOT River of Exploding Durians!)

Yesterday was the Cambodian premiere of RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS.

I took the Tuk Tuk to the Platinum Cinema in Sorya Shopping Center. Taking a Tuk Tuk to a film festival screening? I don't think I've ever done it before. What an interesting experience!

Post by Edmund Yeo.

Sadly, these were the only photos I took that are related to the screening. :(

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS @ Cambodia International Film Festival + Kulikar Sotho's THE LAST REEL + Opening Ceremony

I'm currently hanging out at my hotel room in Phnom Penh. In a few hours, RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS will be screening. Technically, this is the first film festival for DURIANS after Tokyo International Film Festival, I'm pretty thrilled, this is my first time in Cambodia.

Photos (and videos) from the MASYA ALISYA shoot

Two days after I came back from Copenhagen, I immediately headed off to a TV movie shoot that I was co-directing. Here are some photos from the Masya Alisya set.

Happy 10th Anniversary, Blog

Yesterday, I realized that this blog has existed for more than 10 years.

In an era of social media sites, the idea of keeping a blog is so passé, yet it remains.

And so, this blog has accompanied me for a decade, from my time as a directionless university student in Perth, to the gradual realization of my childhood dreams of becoming a filmmaker.

In truth, I cannot really remember how did I end up starting this blog. The first ever post of this blog was me giving a progress update on a novel that I was working on. But who was I addressing? I can't remember anymore. Perhaps the blog was started so that I could update a small circle of friends about what I was doing in Perth.

The first blog post was, in fact, pretty much what would have been a Facebook status update, or a Tweet. My oft-used online pseudonym then was "Swifty", I wanted to update people about my "writings", so the original URL of this blog was swiftywriting.blogspot.com

In 2005, I would then start writing about things I liked, video games, the latest films I saw, the latest books I read etc. Armed with a camcorder, I started making "films" with friends in university, I posted photos of these shoots, writing my thoughts about the experience, proclaiming my excitement and love for doing what I've been dreaming of doing. While making allusions to events of an unrequited love that until today, never had any closure.

3rd screening of RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS 破裂するドリアンの河の記憶 @ Tokyo International Film Festival

So, here I am, a weeks since I have returned from Copenhagen, and 5 days into a TV movie shoot.

It's been a month since the world premiere of RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS at the Tokyo International Film Festival. And three weeks since the third (last) screening of the film at the festival.

I have written about the first screening and the second screening of the film, so I figured I'll wrap things up. I'm writing all these mostly to help myself remember.

THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA is devastatingly beautiful

Pirjo Honkasalo's THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA (2004) is one of the few films I caught in CPH:DOX at Copenhagen last week.


I walked into the cinema with high expectations, since the CPH:LAB booklet I was given had recommended us lab people to go to the film, calling it one of the greatest documentaries ever made.

Despite the expectations, I was indeed mesmerized by what I saw, with numerous images haunting me long after I left the theaters. The film reminded me that non-fiction cinema can indeed be made with sheer artistry and poetry. I was reminded of Tarkovskian films of yore, even assuming that it was a film made in that time period. I was surprised that it was done merely a decade ago. Perhaps it was shocking to me, to see such things happening so recently.

My photos of Copenhagen during the CPH:LAB and CPH:DOX

The CPH:DOX international documentary film festival, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, is one of the most prestigious and well-known documentary festivals around.

Every year, as part of the festival, the CPH:LAB (formerly known as DOX:LAB) is held where 20 directors around the world are invited to attend workshops and classes. These 20 directors are paired up so that they can make an audiovisual project together, it can be a feature-length film, a short film, a documentary, a video installation etc.

This year, I was one of the 20 directors who was given the opportunity to participate in this. (and I'm paired up with the Croatian director Sonja Tarokic)

2nd screening of RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS 破裂するドリアンの河の記憶 @ Tokyo International Film Festival

25th of Oct, a day after the RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS world premiere, I had two "free days" before the next screening.

Video of RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS press conference @ Tokyo International Film Festival

This is the video from the Oct 24 press conference of RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS, just a couple of hours before its world premiere.

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS 破裂するドリアンの河の記憶 red carpet and world premiere @ Tokyo International Film Festival

I finally got back from Tokyo.

The Tokyo International Film Festival in the past 10 days had been absolutely emotional, and inspiring. I will now take the time to update the blog with Facebook posts (not just mine, but others too) of the wondrous journey RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS had taken during its world premiere in this grand, prestigious festival. It all felt like a dream.

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS trailer 【榴梿忘返】 预告片

This is the trailer of RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS. 破裂するドリアンの河の記憶

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS media coverage

Ever since the announcement of its nomination in the Main Competition section of Tokyo International Film Festival late last month, the local media had been very generous with their coverage of RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS. For that, I am very grateful.

I was on TV to talk about RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS (Agenda Awani)

A week from now, I'll be flying off to Tokyo for the Tokyo Film Festival, where RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS will be making its world premiere.

Two weeks ago, before going off to Busan, I was on Agenda Awani to talk about my film. It was a great chat with host Kamarul Bahrin Haron. Thanks for having me there, Astro Awani.

Breast Cancer Awareness video I made

Two weeks ago, I posted about shooting a Breast Cancer Awareness video for Pink October, it featured the interviews with breast cancer survivors like my friend Claire Khoo, and family or friends of those who were touched by breast cancer.

The video was uploaded a couple of days ago while I was in Busan. Please please share this around.

THE SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES at Busan International Film Festival 2014

Just got back from Busan.

Ming Jin's new film SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES, which I produced, co-wrote and edited, had its world premiere at the Busan Film Fest.

I was there from Oct 5 to Oct 10.

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS in Tokyo International Film Fest main competition

The Tokyo International Film Festival announced its line-up yesterday. So it's official, RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS is going to the main competition section. (In fact, I already received the messages from friends at the moment of the press conference, the age of social media is awesome. And so fast!)

Photos from a breast cancer awareness video shoot

I was in Bangkok doing the post-production for RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS when I saw an old acquaintance of mine, Claire Khoo, asking on Facebook whether anyone would be able to help her do a video about breast cancer awareness.

Claire, of course, was known as Minishorts back in the day and had a very popular blog. I've even done some guest posts for her. Those were almost 9 years ago. An eternity.

She is a breast cancer survivor too.

I decided to join the cause. Assembled a team to do a video where breast cancer survivors like Claire and many others, along with their friends and family, could share their stories. There are those who didn't survive, so their family members could tell their stories too.

Promotional short film for GST Expo 'IN TIME OF TEST'

Joseph Germani staring at the sun, contemplating.

Sarah Lian contemplates too.

Last month, I wrote about doing a promotional short film for October's GST Expo.

The short film "In Time of Test", which stars popular Youtuber Joseph Germani and renowned TV personality Sarah Lian, was uploaded last week. You can watch it here.

Finishing up the RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS post-production in Bangkok

Teacher Lim (Zhu Zhi-Ying) and her merry band of student protesters

I have spent the last 12 days in Bangkok for the post-production of both films, Woo Ming Jin's SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES (which I produced and co-wrote) and RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS (which I directed), at White Light Post.

I wrote about the experience with SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES here.

Once Ming Jin left, they started work on RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS.

10 books that stayed with me in some way

Posted this on Facebook a few days ago.

Post by Edmund Yeo.

(So I will post it here too, but with amendments. And links to previous blog posts related to these books. To help me remember.)

15 movies that will always stay with me

Recently, there had been a couple of memes spreading around on Facebook where people challenge one another to name 15 films that will always stay with them, within 15 minutes. (other iterations of this meme include literature, video games etc. which I will post some other time)

For now, I will elaborate upon the 15 films that I named off the top of my head.

Finishing up the SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES post-production in Bangkok

I came to Bangkok almost a week ago to finish up the post-production for both SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES (which I produced, co-wrote and edited) and RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS (which I directed).

Woo Ming Jin's SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES (I co-wrote and produced) is going to Busan International Film Festival 2014

The Busan International Film Fest lineup came out yesterday. So I can announce it now. Woo Ming Jin's new film SECOND LIFE OF THIEVES, which I co-wrote and produced (and, of course, edited) will be having its world premiere there. Quite an honour, being one of the three Malaysian films there. The others being Liew Seng Tat's LELAKI HARAPAN DUNIA (which just premiered in Locarno and will go to Toronto in a few days) and Bradley Liew's (no relation) short film XING.

就在这里跟大家分享好消息吧！

由本地导演胡明进执导， 杨毅恒（我）编剧／制片，本资深演员钟国强，联同李承运Berg Lee、陈美君MayJune Tan、林佩琦Emily Lim Pey Chi、丁仕匀JiYun Teng、叶良财Steve Yap主演的剧情片 Second Life of Thieves《偷.情》 成功入围第19届釜山影展“亚洲电影之窗”( A Window on Asian Cinema)观摩单元。

电影讲述村长陈叔接连遭遇妻子和老友赖叔忽然失踪、村里外劳离奇死亡的连串打击，在与赖叔女儿Sandy一同追查至亲下落的同时，却揭露了彼此埋藏已久的伤疤，被迫重新省思什么是爱与悔……

Photos from a promo short film I was shooting

Two weeks ago, I got a sudden phone call from an old high schoolmate (primary school as well), asking me to help shoot a little promotional short film for an event his company is organizing in October.

I swiftly put together the production, the short film stars Joseph Germani and Sarah Lian and it's tentatively titled THE WAY OF THE FUTURE.

Post by Edmund Yeo.

"... And to all Malaysians, welcome home."

Today is national mourning day for the victims of the ill-fated MH17. Their remains have been brought back to Malaysia. The country is united in grief.

A friend of mine, Shuba, was on the plane, with her husband and her young daughter. Back in May, when we ended our last conversation on Facebook, we spoke about meeting up for coffee after her return from her Europe trip (and I from Tokyo).

Rest in peace, Robin Williams

I woke up this morning at 8am and realized that my mother has forwarded the news of Robin Williams' death to my phone.

Suffering from severe depression, he had taken his own life.

Goldfrapp's TALES OF US short films

Recently, I was asked to make a music video.

Although nothing's really confirmed, I had been watching quite a number of other music videos for inspiration.

Remembering the greatness of Philip Seymour Hoffman

It's still quite saddening to remember that Philip Seymour Hoffman had died earlier this year in February.

Post by Edmund Yeo.

Guardians of the Galaxy

(Wrote my thoughts on GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY on Facebook just now, I'll post it here too, with slight revisions)

The Kirishima Thing (桐島部活やめるってよ)

Once in a while, when I have witnessed something brilliant, I need to post it on this blog just to help myself remember.

THE KIRISHIMA THING (桐島部活やめるってよ) is a film that I've been curious about for a rather long time. Last year, my professor, Ando-sensei, told me that this was one of his favourite Japanese films of the year. It ended up winning both the Best Director and Best Film awards at the Japan Academy Awards.

After missing its screening at last September's Japanese Film Festival (a festival for Japanese films had been held annually in Malaysia for the past decade), I finally got to watch the film yesterday.

反堕胎短片 (a list of anti-abortion short films to cheer myself up...?)

(This post will be in Chinese. Many friends of mine in the industry had been making anti-abortion short films in the last few weeks for a competition, I'm sharing some of their works, but there are no English subtitles. Though I think some films below CAN be watched without subtitles...)

最近， 好多电影圈里的朋友们都参与了这个以“选择； 生命”为主题的华语微电影比赛， 主要都是拍一些反堕胎的短片。

以下的，都是他们的作品！

Lost a friend on MH17

Yesterday, a Malaysian Airlines plane crashed in Ukraine. It was shot by a missile.

298 people were killed.

Just now, I found out that I someone I know was actually on the plane.

Her full name was Shubashini Jeyaratnam, but I knew her only as Shuba (Shuba Jaya was her stage name). She was on the plane with her husband Paul and her baby daughter Kaela.

My memories of World Cup matches

The World Cup finals ended two days ago, and I finally got a good night's sleep. I can finally say goodbye to the days when I have to wake up at 4am with dad to catch a match, and go back to my normal routine (... of sleeping at 4am instead)

After a nice World Cup-less night of sleep, I woke up and read some articles on Grantland (it's one of my favourite daily reads these days). Ever since my mom discontinued subscription to The Star newspapers earlier this year, the internet became my replacement for "things to read while having breakfast", after all, it's hard to kick off a routine that I had for more than twenty years.

What caught my eye today was Brian Phillips' article, Full Time: Fading Images of the World Cup, which has one of the most beautiful paragraphs ever about sports-watching.

Watching sports is, among other things, a special way of experiencing time. Sport is like music or fiction or film in that, for a predetermined duration, it asks you to give it control over your emotions, to feel what it makes you feel. Unlike (most) forms of art, though, a game has no foreordained plan or plot or intention. The rules of a game impose a certain kind of order, but it’s different from the order of an artwork. A movie knows where it wants to take you; no one can say in advance where a game will go. All of its beauty, ugliness, boredom, and excitement, all of its rage and sadness emerge spontaneously out of the players’ competing desires to win. For however long the clock runs, your feelings are at the mercy of chance. This happens and then this happens and then this happens. You’re experiencing, in a contained and intensified way, something like the everyday movement of life.

Post by Edmund Yeo.

I guess this is one of the main reasons I have been following the NBA for more than two decades, the relationship with time is apparent, watching players arrive, grow and then retire, being replaced by other younger players, it's a cycle that is both beautiful and horrifying, just like life. As a child, these NBA players are larger-than-life Greek gods, performing superheroic feats in a battle for eternal glory, as I grow older, I started noticing that the players are becoming younger and younger, and players I have watched in my teens are gone, one by one, some disappearing, some becoming coaches, I recognize some names, either from memories of watching them in rare telecasts during weekends, or through the NBA Live games that I used to play on the Playstation.

Rediscovering productions photos from CHICKEN RICE MYSTERY, my first ever short film in 2008

In the last few months when I worked on my debut feature RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS, I couldn't help but remember my own experiences of six years ago, when I was shooting my first ever short film, CHICKEN RICE MYSTERY, in 2008.

It's been six years, and I've done countless projects since then. But the fresh feeling of working with a professional cast and crew for the very first time continues to linger in my mind. Nothing makes me feel more excited than a film shoot, and it's a good thing that nothing has changed in these six years.

Post by Edmund Yeo.