All ny failed attempts

Malaysia 2008

Details dahuangpictures

Seen 6 June 2009

There are seven short films altogether in this collection. According to the director, Tan Chui Mui, these are the results of her determination to produce one short film monthly. She was not pleased with all of them and one in particular might have turned out differently if she had directed it in another way. She acknowledged that she prefers full control over all aspects of the filming process and in particular the casting. Usually she will start from a script that she has written before translating that idea into film.
The collection does run the gamut of styles and genres but at the heart of it all is the portrayal of relationships, the ebbs and flows and the dynamics between people in different circumstances. The only exception would be a short documentary related to food. According to the director, that was her first attempt at making a documentary, and to me it still looked presentable.
The director might be accused of using the same style in terms of cinematography and art direction, but as she explained, the main constraint of film making is the budget. A bigger budget would enable her to experiment with more new techniques using the latest available in the market. That is quite a formidable hurdle to conquer.
At present, my role would still be to give as much support as possible to these non-mainstream directors as they present a different perspective of life.