Making of the film .. The Pink Elephant

The Pink Elephant Blurb - (written by Crystal Koo)
A burned-out writer and an architecture student with manic-depression find each other in an apartment corridor of alienation and unfulfilled dreams. Set in the hyperreality of modern life, The Pink Elephant is a film about friendship, conviction, and the courage to hold on to what is truly real.

This was a short film project that I worked on during last Easter break, directed by my husband Gabe Ostley. Originally it was a short story, written by my writer friend Crystal Koo. She wrote this short story based on true event that happened during her college year. I was immediately intrigued by the story and the characters.

Jim Lee, the drummer of Good Fellas  joined as the other lead character for this film.

It was amazing how everything came together from finding cast, crew, equipments, and locations under the pressure of "low.... almost no budget movie" making. Our crew friends, people who supported us with the locations and equipment, they were all there with this incredible understanding of the passion for making.

It was such a learning experience for me in every step as usual. There were many struggles and restless nights, but in the end, three days intense shooting were done almost like a dream. It was incredible...

The biggest learning?? yes....

I am not in this alone.

There were some moments I was judging myself as an actor, and kept thinking how I should have done differently. I was kept hoping that I wish I had more time to rehearse and prepare things etc.... However, I had such an eye opening moment when I read what Jeanne Hartman wrote on her Alive not Dead blog.

"Putting the focus on the desire and the want of this character more than your own personal feelings. "

In the end, it is not about how well I play the character or how well I prepare for the scene. It is about Sophie and her desire.

There were many discoveries, that were very different from theater work.

I am very excited.

New media, new discoveries...
I was so thankful for everyone who joined the team and made this all happen.

FAR AWAY Trailer

I went to see the Far Away production opening tonight.  Though I read the script and worked on their special trailer making project, I had no idea how my friend Vee would direct the play.  I thought it was a very difficult script to direct and execute well.  But Wow... she really nailed it.  It was greatly shown that the actors and the director communicated very well and the whole set, light and costumes were supported the story very well.  Congratulation Vee :))

Far Away trailer

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=299674371103

The World Premiere of Red Dragonflies

It was a thrilling experience to see myself on the screen in a movie theatre.  :) I was waiting to witness the mystery of how a director edits the film and how a story comes together in the end.  Though I missed my first scene and several other scenes weren't in it for the sake of the story, I was happy to see something I experienced become something I can share. Yeah, Jiekai please edit it back to the 3 hour long movie ;D hahaha

After the sceening, it took me a while to ruminate on the whole film. It was definitely not a fast food type of movie, that you get what you expect.  I left the audience with layers of emotions and uncertainty but also a feeling that was somewhat familiar. 

The cinematography was so beautiful. There were many clever editing choices and interesting depictions of intertwined relationships between places and people.  It was hard to say what it was about.  However, if I think about it, my childhood memories don't come back to me in sequence or in detail. Sometimes, a certain smell, images, or even sounds remind me of my childhood.  The film was personal yet had plenty of space and flow for the audience to project their own memories. There were two different time lines with one being when the characters were 17 and the other is what happens ten years later. I found it interesting that both of them were somewhat searching for their own destinations. 

I was talking to the director Jiekai the next day, and we had a fun discussion. Why do we make the things that we make?  For this film, he said it was "the sense of urgency". After coming back from the United States where he studied, he witnessed many rapid changes in his environment.  Many familiar places were turning into more rail ways,  or industrial spaces. So he felt like he had to make this film now, but not later.  As an example, he mentioned on his flyers, "Upon the completion of our production, parts of the abandoned railway tracks were demolished to make way for the expansion of a Buddhist temple in the neighborhood; other segments were barricaded for redevelopment. - I wanted to capture and preserve the collective memories of generations of people embedded in them, and how they affect the characters in both profound and mundane ways. " 

I do believe there are things that people need to do now, not later. Though it may bring the risk, sometimes it is important to catch the chance and be sensitive to its own universal timings. 

Thank you for the opportunity to be part of this, Jeikai :))) 

The next screening

Date:	03 Apr 2010
Time:	7:15 PM
Venue:	Hong Kong Space Museum Lecture Hall

Far Away trailer shoot at 西貢

Far Away trailer shoot was a fun shooting project on a little island off of Sai Kun.  It was an experimental film shoot spending one Sunday afternoon. The trailer was inspired by FAR AWAY By Caryl Churchill. The location was so amazing. The island had such a great characteristic. There were many abandoned houses and no one lives on the island. The atmosphere of the land was great for the story. Sense of lost, search, and unknown path... 

photo by Felix Chan

The island was facing another much smaller island and during the flow tide hour, the little path way appeared between them. It was such a magical moment to see it happen.  Breathing was all I could do. 

Cannot wait to see the trailer :)

Red Dragonflies in HKIFF

I am in the film called Red Dragonflies, which will be screening at HKIFF. :)) very exciting.  The whole thing was a very interesting experience for me.  It took me a while to figure out what my part meant to the story. The crazy thing was, the director had the story line, but not a script, which made me even more nervous to figure out if I am doing my part right... But Jie Kai wanted to get as naturalistic (conversations and reactions) with it  as possible. Now I can see why he chose to do it the way he did. 

I flew to Singapore for ten days, and though it was a short time, I met many warm great people there and experienced a bit of everyday Singapore life. They were some of the most surreal days of my life. I woke up, went to the Botanical Garden by myself, drew and painted. I hadn't had alone time for a long time, so it was funny and strange how I met many people on the street and had random conversations. An old gardener who told me his whole life story in Singapore, a lady in a restaurant, a group of sweet people who I met in the church,etc... Going to a place where I didn't know anyone, and working on a project that now will be screening in a theatre. I believe, anything can happen in life. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Mtm-Eprmk

Red Dragonflies by Liao Jiekai

Along an abandoned railroad running through dense forest vegetation, housing backyards, and unseen settlements, three youths retrace a trail of iron and wood. At a different part of the island, Tienwei rekindles an old friendship with Rachel – a meeting littered with incongruence, absences and traces of childhood dreams. The title RED DRAGONFLIES is taken from an iconic song by The Little Tigers and uses the flight of the red dragonfly as a childhood icon, metaphor for the process of growing up and pursuit of dreams.

http://www.hkiff.org.hk/eng/film/title/34167-red-dragonflies.html