Brief visit at Toho Studios, and foreshadowing Tsuyoshi Kusanagi's arrest

So yes, I've totally buried myself into the post-production of my film, KINGYO, in the past week, managing to find my stride again, rediscovering the excitement I had for the project through editing (hate to find that spark when you were separated from it for so long!), experimenting more with the possibilities of split screens.

Back in Tokyo, back to editing KINGYO

I've returned to Tokyo since Sunday night. It's been a hectic few days. I actually had a film shoot in Klang on Saturday and had managed to do another quick short film with the help of Lesly and Han, that film was an experiment with the Nikon D90, which I saw Ming Jin and Lesly used for their short film, THAT DAY WE WOKE UP. To be able to complete another short film, what a joy!

LOVE SUICIDES goes to Paris (Paris Cinema International Film Festival)

Arika Lee in LOVE SUICIDES

Today was like an emotional roller coaster.

I woke up and saw a MSN message from Fei Ling, telling me that she couldn't do my short film, EXHALATION, due to the fact that she's swamped with work (girl has a day job). I've intended to shoot the short on Thursday, with Lesly's D90, and with Ming Jin producing, but of course, since the screenplay's tailor-made for her, once she can't do it, I can't really get a replacement. So I called it off, and was in some sort of melancholic funk, despite trying very valiantly to suppress such feelings.

Afternoon came, I remained busy editing WOMAN ON FIRE LOOKS FOR WATER, while my mind wandered. I was supposed to go to Klang with Lesly on Saturday (I'm returning to Tokyo on Sunday), check out the locations, shoot the places for an upcoming project in August. Then I thought... what happens if I try to immediately shoot a short film while we're looking at the locations! And voila, I felt better!

And then I received an email from the Paris Cinema International Film Festival telling me that my short film, LOVE SUICIDES, had been selected for presentation at the international competition this July. My jaw dropped open.

LOVE SUICIDES write-up on Twitch

Being a long-time reader of Twitch, I, was more than surprised and delighted when Todd did a write-up on my Yasunari Kawabata-inspired short film, LOVE SUICIDES.

There's coverage from a Spanish site too!

Thanks, guys!

CHICKEN RICE MYSTERY goes to Greece (Naoussa International Film Festival)

Dad (Chye Yang) pesters the Boy (Lim Ming Wei) into playing the PS2 with him in Chicken Rice Mystery


I actually received this email a couple of days earlier, and had posted it on Twitter (and Facebook) as well, about my short film CHICKEN RICE MYSTERY getting invited for screening at the Naoussa International Short Film and Video Festival.

It's the first festival screening of the film since last December's Dubai Film Fest. Here's the trailer of my short, if you haven't seen it before.

THAT DAY WE WOKE UP, a short film by Woo Ming Jin

I've actually put aside WOMAN ON FIRE LOOKS FOR WATER in the past two days to finish up my editing on an earlier short film by Ming Jin called THAT DAY WE WOKE UP.

WOMAN ON FIRE LOOKS FOR WATER shoot has ended

The two pictures above are screencaps from the film's raw footage, haven't done any colour correcting or anything



Wow, it's been a while since I've updated this blog. Despite having Internet access at Kuala Selangor, it was hard to really write about anything during a film shoot. Somehow, I just didn't seem to have the mood for it since all my attention's placed upon the film itself.

The 12-day shoot took place mostly in Kuala Selangor (except the last day, when we went to the famed waterfalls at Ulu Yam instead) and was an emotional roller coaster, and an intense physical exercise. We went to the jungle, to the river, to the middle of the sea, to shoot, then we shot at a salted fish factory and also a cockle factory. I was constantly assaulted by mosquitos during mornings and evenings (insect repellants can only help that much), and was also sunburnt.

It's all worth it though.

Ming Jin had gone off to Tokyo last night to attend his sister-in-law's wedding, so it's now up to me to edit the film.

Hopefully this will be considered as a worthy follow-up to Ming Jin's previous film, the award-winning THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA.