AsianPersuasion
Friday, April 13, 2007
Saturday, September 09, 2006
The Invisible and Excluded
The musty stench of urine and filth enveloped me as I entered the stairwell. I proceeded to ascend the first flight of stairs. The cameraman and producer were less than a few inches in front of me, but all I could make out was an endless sea of black. With only a rusty banister to my left and dirt covered steps to guide my way through. My feet gingerly climbed up what seemed to be and endless tunnel of darkness.
A dim light shone on the last 5 steps above, we had reached the third floor. Pushing through three lines of dirt stained clothes hanging outside the apartment, we saw what we had come to shoot… but we were not prepared for the impact it would have on our emotions.
The flimsy pale yellow walls were stained with grime and dirt from years of neglect. A shirt and a pair of wrinkled trousers that originally were white, but were now grey, were hanging on a string outside the room door. The little boy who led us there, Imran, who is ten years old, inserted a small key into a padlock, and opened the decaying door, “this is our room,” he said in a quiet voice.
The 6ft by 9ft room was so stuffy, the producer and I had to step into the smelly stairwell just to top up on oxygen. Imran told us that he, his mother, who is a sex worker, and father, who is a drug user, all live in the room, along with three very sickly, scrawny cats who looked like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. “Mother and father sleep on the mattress, but I sleep on the floor,” he said shyly, sitting on a scratched-up plastic chair that was partially broken. It was the only chair in the room, and it was the chair he sat in to do his homework.
As I looked around the decaying apartment, I could see that three other rooms occupied the space, four rooms in total… for four sex workers and their families. How could they all live together in such a small area? The lack of ventilation alone was almost unbearable.
This was not a home, and this was certainly no place for a child to grow up in. The layers of grime and corrosion were what decorated the apartment, where picture frames of family photos or art should have been. Instead of a doormat, two rusty plates, garbage and a dead cockroach were all that welcomed us. The kitchen was a filth-laden dark corner which was undoubtedly unfit for any food to be prepared. I felt helpless. I wanted to grab Imran and take him out of this den of decay and give him something better, because he deserves better.
I had to look away from the crew to fight back my tears. It was at that moment, that I truly understood what poverty really looked like, and it was in that moment that I had a glimpse of what it is to be invisible and excluded in a world of wealth and prosperity.
I am so blessed to be given the opportunity to do work that constantly shows me everyday, how fortunate I am. To be able to use my passion for filmmaking in a positive way, to give back to my community no matter how small the contribution… is a gift. I thank God for exposing me to the disparities of the world.
When I came home that night, I sent both my mother and my father an sms, thanking them for giving me the best education money could buy… and for giving me the tools to carve out a future for myself, that would never ever have to include poverty.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Little Black Book
Hey... so I haven't written in like a million years. Cool. This is a photo of me and my friend sharon out on the town at JUICE's 4th birthday party. I had a ton of fun... but I must say... it was a pretty L-A-M-E birthday bash for a magazine that is meant to be for K.L.'s most kewl. Ruums is a dingy club with super high celings, which gives it a really unfriendly, cold feel...think bat cave meets airplane hanger. The VIP bar area is WAY too small while the downstairs area is WAY too spacious. Not a very cosy design. I don't think I'll be going there again... unless it's free flow again. I suppose nothing will ever compare to my first love: Cynna...(Paris Hilton kiss on both cheeks, mwah mwah ). Love that place for-EVA. Love Donavan the DJ- He's awsome. Such a cutie pie.
On a slightly poopy note...I'm running on like, 4 hours of sleep today. I'm a grumpy bunny....Last night was editing... attempting to make the most out of an event video that Yazid and I shot, because... our second cameraman FORGOT to turn the mic volume up during a crucial moment of the event. What a freakin looser. We paid him full price too, I should ask for it back! I mean, if you're going to call yourself a CAMERAMAN and you forget essentials like turning the MIC VOLUME UP...beacuse you've smoked up before shoot...you deserve a gigantic kick in the nuts.
This is so damn annoying. I wish I knew more people in the film industry so I could always get quality, reliable crew that are dependable. Is that so much to ask?
NOTE TO PUBLIC:
If anyone out there knows that they are reliable, talented and love to shoot videos... please email: me I'm looking for YOU. However, if you do drugs before shoot, are forgetful and have no integrity or talent... please stop working in the industry so I never have to accidentally have you on one of my shoots...would be much appreciated. Thanks.
You know how some people have a "little black book"? I think the film industry here should have a "little black website"... where filmmakers can log on and see reviews of different crew in the industry. We should list down all the names of all the crew in malaysia and producers and directors should be able to log on to the website, and rate them on a scale from 1 - 10. That would make life SO MUCH EASIER! I could charge members of the website like an annual fee of like, 80 RM to have access to all the reviews...and only big production houses could have access. Actually, this is really not a bad idea lah.
Anyhoo... must be off to take nap now... dreaming about my little...black...website...
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Who do you think you are!
I’ve had client after client from HELL and it’s just doing my head in. Their demands, their ridiculousness, selfishness and on top of it all, their complete and utter incompetence … absolutely blows my mind. Only people in the media industry can understand what I’m talking about here…unless there are idiots in every industry? I would LOVE to go into detail… but, it might take too long.
I just finished producing a new documentary and I really feel like I need a break from my traumatic production experiences. Doing this project made me really question what I’m doing in this business… I don’t know if I want to go though this kind of crap over and over again. I don’t think my heart and my body can take it anymore. I’m surprised I didn’t have a nervous breakdown over the last few months.
I’m trying to figure this out…Is it Asian culture? Is it the whole, you’re younger than I am thing? I have no idea. But what is up with clients holier than thou attitude?
What is it that makes them feel like they can keep you waiting around for them for hours, or talk to you disrespectfully, demand the impossible, and be completely ungrateful for your time and effort? And at the end of the day, when they see the final product… they take credit for it?!!!! I think it might be… an Asian mentality which states, “if I pay…it’s whatever I SAY!” Which I think is absolute nonsense.
I think it’s completely out of order, client or not, money or no money… for a client to have DIVA demands. I mean, if I wanted to deal with hellish demands like from Mariah Carey or Jennifer Lopez, then I’d just fly off to Hollywood to get some MAJOR attitude from there… but then again, why would I need to go that far for attitude, when I can get it right here in my homeland… from normal people!? They’re not even celebrities!
Right now, I want to be a bloody client… or a beach bum. Whichever comes first.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
UNICEF Correspondent REPORTS
To my delight, I stumbled upon a recent UNICEF video report I did last a month …it made it on the official website! YAY!
To view my video, just click on the site below, and then look over on the right side of the page where it says:
2 February 2006: UNICEF correspondent reports
on the UNICEF Malaysia AIDS Youth Roundtable.
Low High bandwidth(Real player)
Check out the video at this site below! ( or just be lazy and go straight to it by clicking on the links above...it's just nice to go to the actual UNICEF website below : )
http://www.unicef.org/videoaudio/ramfiles/6055h_malaysiayouthforum.ram
I also wrote two feature articles which can be found on the UNICEF website:
www.unicef.org/emerg/disasterinasia/24615_30005.html
www.unicef.org/emerg/disasterinasia/24615_30066.html
For these two articles, I travelled to both Langkawi and Penang for five days....it was a blast!
Friday, November 04, 2005
Getting back to My Roots
We just came back from Borneo a week ago. What a beautiful place Sarawak is. It was our very first shoot in Sarawak...and our first BIG documentary job. We were very excited.
The photo to the left is of three Iban women returning home from searching for praws and river snails in a small river off the Rejang.
This photo below I took of my handsome cameraman. I was at the front of the speedboat and he was shooting from the back. The sunsets in Sarawak are absolutely amazing. I just couldn't resist this shot. We were on the Rejang River, on our way to the long house in Kapit- our shoot location.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Birthday Photos
Your Majesty
Let’s see… I’ve been doing A LOT of work …and recently I just did work on a TV show. I really enjoyed that experience. I was ALMOST in total charge of the set. Of course there is someone called, The Producer…who is above me…but other than that, I was pretty much in charge of the set around me. Pretty interesting experience. I felt like a complete Nazi. I had to keep everything together, set up the shots, direct the talents, keep an eye on the art direction, make sure the food arrived to everyone’s satisfaction, keep the production money in order, source for locations… the list goes on and on. I didn’t get yelled at very much and I was the darling of the set. How cool. But the fucking gay men who were our guests on the show…oh my lord…what a fucking pain in the backside they were (sometimes). I have never met men who were such complete DIVAS…they are the ultimate QUEENS… and I don’t mean in a respectable “royal” kind of way. They acted more like spoilt brats who could give a shit about anyone but themselves. The things they said on set were apalling! If I could have slapped them without getting my eyeballs scratched out, I would have loved to have done so…but they still are, above all the Queenie-nes, MEN…and they were a lot bigger than me…so I stayed away. WHAT- ever!
