A somewhat nightmarish dream I had to end the year 2011.

It's the last day of the year. I had a troubling dream this morning, even though my sleep was brief (9am to 1:30pm, yes my sleep patterns are odd).

Kultuurikatel - The place where Andrei Tarkovsky shot STALKER

If you have read my epic previous post about the 60 SECONDS OF SOLITUDE IN YEAR ZERO screening held on the 22nd of December, I don't blame you if you've thought that my trip in Estonia climaxed during its first day.

I thought the same too as I left the Port of Tallinn on a boat, heading towards the venue of the closing ceremony. That was my last public screening of 2011, ending a very busy year when I had travelled around the film festival circuit almost every month. I would just kick back and relax, recharge my energies. I had a few more days in Tallinn, I expected to spend them in solitude since I was staying around longer than the other invited guests (I was scheduled to fly back to Tokyo on Christmas day). Explore Tallinn, soak in the festive atmosphere, I don't really celebrate Christmas, but the excitement of being half a world away would probably dampen the inevitable melancholy feeling that often plague my soul.

But then, as usual, life is full of little surprises. I then found out that the after-party was to be held in a place called Kultuurikatel. The exact place where Andrei Tarkovsky shot STALKER.

60 Seconds of Solitude At Year Zero screening @ Port of Tallinn

I was in Tallinn because of the omnibus film project 60 SECONDS OF SOLITUDE AT YEAR ZERO, the whole concept was 60 directors, 60 seconds each, so that everything comes together as a 1-hour omnibus film. Invited directors range from cinematic legends to exciting up-and-comers and to the utterly-obscure-but-somewhat-cute (me).

The film was supposed to be screened only once, on the 22nd of December, at the Port of Tallinn, and as the film was being screened, it was being burned as well, so there is no way this can be screened again.

Now, you can skip my colourful commentary and beautiful photos by watching the video now.

Quick Tour in Tallinn Old Town

Merry Christmas.

Having a 7-hour layover in Amsterdam on my way back to Tokyo, so I'll recap my past few days in Tallinn.

Off to Tallinn (Estonia) for the 60 SECONDS OF SOLITUDE IN YEAR ZEROscreening!

I'll be flying off to Estonia in a couple of hours. (by the time you're reading this, I'm probably already on the plane).

A month ago, I was invited to participate in the 60 SECONDS OF SOLITUDE IN YEAR ZERO omnibus project with a group of directors from all over the world. Most other directors involved in this are world-famous masters like Naomi Kawase, Park Chan Wook, Amir Naderi, Shinji Aoyama, Kim Ji-Woon, Tom Tywker, Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Brillante Mendoza and many others (see full list of directors). Being able to participate in this project with filmmakers whose works have inspired me so much is quite an honour, and also rather humbling. (I'm listed as a representative for both Malaysia and Japan, the other filmmaker representing Malaysia is my regular collaborator Woo Ming Jin).

Each director is supposed to make a 1-minute short film, so that when all our contributions are put together, it becomes a (hopefully awesome) one-hour omnibus film.

And there will only be ONE screening for this omnibus film, in Tallin, on the 22nd of December.

Visiting Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world (so I can be like Tom Cruise)

I was a little disappointed that I couldn't catch MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL at the opening ceremony of Dubai Film Fest. Being filmed in Dubai, the film had caused such a sensation that all the bigwigs and important people and probably even members of the royal family had reserved their places for its world premiere (and catch a glimpse of Tom Cruise).

Wanting to be like Tom, I decided to visit the Burj Khalifa. It wasn't open to public the first two times I went to Dubai (2008, 2010).

Q and A sessions for LAST FRAGMENTS OF WINTER (at Dubai International Film Fest 2011)

My short film, LAST FRAGMENTS OF WINTER, was screened on the 11th and 13th of December, 2011 at the Dubai International Film Festival.