I just found out that my film, The Look-East Project, can be downloaded from a torrent site (but you need to register first)! I guess I’m BIG TIME now, huh!
I will be on radio (RADIO24 - 93.9FM) tonight (15th November 2007) from 12am to 1:30am talking about my film ‘The Look-East Project’ which will air on NTV7 this weekend. Joining me will be my film’s music composer Arif Rafhan (Apan) and my girlfriend Nik Khairun Nisa, who is also a character in my film. Do tune in!
Finally!!!
THE LOOK-EAST PROJECT (aka PANDANG KE TIMUR) will be on air!
Sunday, 18th November 2007, 10:45pm.
On ntv7… your feel good channel!
Please spread the word people!
A review of The Look-East Project AKA Pandang Ke Timur in the recent Weekend Mail. Read it here.
(It’s pathetic how a small write-up like this can get me all excited! Gila glam betul!)
Thanks to everyone who came for the preview screening of The Look-East Project AKA Pandang Ke Timur. All your comments and questions made my day! Also, a big shout out to Mr. John and Mrs. Silva… thanks so much for your support. Last but not least… thanks to Amir and Tuck Cheong for making the screening possible. For those of you who missed it, you will have to wait for its broadcast on ntv7 on Merdeka Eve!
Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia will be previewing The Look-East Project AKA Pandang Ke Timur to the public on Tuesday, 27th March, 8pm, at HELP University-College, Pusat Bandar Damansara. I’ll be showing a couple of my video blogs too, and this includes the short videos of the Jeff Ooi & Rocky court cases (which is part of my next film project called ‘I May Be Malaysian, But I Carry A Big Stick’).
ntv7’s 7 Patrol will be around to hand out freebies and talk about FESTIVAL… Jeff Ooi will be there… I will be there… and if that doesn’t give you a tingly sensation… there will also be hot babes in skimpy baju kurungs pole dancing on stage!
Admission is free… seats are limited… so keep Tuesday evening free and come over or you will have to just wait for the film to air on ntv7 on Merdeka eve to finally see it (yup… that’s the confirmed broadcast date)!
I received word today that my film The Look-East Project AKA Pandang Ke Timur has been given an 18PL rating by the uncles and aunties at the Censorship Board. Apparently the film is too political. I’m dumbfounded as to how a simple love story between my cute, sweet girlfriend and I can be considered too political. Read the synopsis and view the video blogs here and judge for yourself.
The 18PL rating means that the film can only be aired on TV after 10:30pm. That means it can’t be shown on the scheduled 3rd March, 8:30pm FESTIVAL slot. But the wonderful and supportive producers at ntv7 have agreed to reschedule my film to another more appropriate time (non-prime time goddammit!). I will keep you guys updated.
Reactions from filmmaker friends when I told them the news:
“Haiya! Post on Malaysian Cinema. Some NGO chick will get turned on!” -Amir Muhammad (The Last Communist, Apa Khabar Orang Kampung)
“Unta!” -Azharr Rudin (The Amber Sexalogy, Benda Aneh Bernama Cinta)
“You are one step closer to your dream of being Amir!” -James Lee (The Beautiful Washing Machine, Before We Fall In Love Again)
“Shit! If your stupid film gets an 18PL rating, what’s going to happen to my upcoming film??” - Liew Seng Tat (3-time MVA Best Short Film Award winner)
The Look East Project AKA Pandang Ke Timur, my first attempt at a feature length documentary film, will be airing on ntv7’s FESTIVAL slot this Saturday, 3rd March 2007, at 8:30pm. FESTIVAL is a programme that commissions local independent filmmakers to develop feature length works. It has always only given attention to fiction films and for the first time, a feature documentary has been selected! Let’s hope this opens up more doors and creates more opportunities for documentary films in Malaysia
MALAYSIA BOLEH!! TAPI LAMBAT SIKIT…
(Check out the trailer/teaser. Doesn’t that just make you want to stay home and sit your butt in front of the idiot box and watch a documentary on a Saturday night? Muahaha!!)
You may think I’ve neglected ‘The Look-East Project’, but I have not! Editing is done my friends and that means the final film has been completed. Let me introduce to you the final character of the film here.
I have managed to sell the film to a local broadcaster!! Woohoo!! I’m rolling in dough!!! Swimming in cash!!! Drowning in dollars!!! Suffocating in syillings!!!
It’ll be on air… as soon as it is cleared by the (jeng jeng jeng!!) Censorship Board. Stay tuned for more info!
Back to ‘The Look-East Project’! I’ve been kicking myself in the beehind to get a move on the editing. Today was the biggest kick of them all and it didn’t come from myself. It seems a local broadcaster is showing interest in purchasing the film. I foresee no more dry toast and tap water for lunch!
I’ve been pretty busy lately. So instead of a ‘Look-East’ video blog entry, I’m offering an old documentary entitled ‘Tudung’ I did with the supposedly cute and talented Liew Seng Tat. It was originally done for the Goethe Institute’s Tudung Short Film Competition but has also gone on to screen at the 2006 Los Angeles Asia Pacific Film Festival.
Editing ‘The Look-East Project’ is taking up a lot of time. Hours of footage to look through and I’m no where close to coming up with a proper structure. But it’s fun, so no worries. I’ve also been doing some other work such as writing proposals for several future film projects which, rest assured, will be announced here if everything goes according to plan.
And… I’ll be lecturing again at HELP University-College after taking a two month break. I’ll be teaching the ‘Intro to Film’ course which I have taught several times before, and a new subject called ‘IT, Mass Media and Society’, which shouldn’t be a problem since I’ve been a bloody IT journalist since 2000! Students always mistake me for being one of them (thanks to my boyish good looks!) so I can’t wait to see if any girls hit on me on the first day of classes next week!
Here’s the poster for ‘The Look-East Project’. It’s always important to have a poster. It doesn’t matter if the film is done or not. The poster needs to be ready. It doesn’t matter if the film will EVER be done! As long as the poster looks cool! You can download a hi-res version of the poster for your prosperity here.
I’ve been spending too much time editing the video blogs and no time on the actual film. Damn!
‘The Look-East Project’ is now in the editing stage. Not much progress yet! But I hope it gets done by end of January. Need to find some motivation (read: need to hire me an editor!).
I just realised that I never really explained what ‘The Look-East Project’ really is. If you still can’t figure it out after watching all the video blogs, then I guess you need help.
Ok… so I (attempted to) flirt! What do you expect? I was on a road trip by myself… and these are young girls who think its cool for a guy to have a big-ass video camera! But as you can see, they seem more excited holding on to a 20-foot python!
I went on a road trip to Terengganu all by myself to shoot ‘The Look-East Project’. The drive wasn’t too bad. Six hours with frequent stops to the loo and also for short naps. And… I don’t care what people say… the Karak Highway is not haunted! C’mon!
(Song: Blues Terengganu Kita; By Iklim)
‘The Look-East Project’ got some press coverage during the shoot in Terengganu. Funny thing is, Kosmo claims that I found out about the snake-wrangler girls from an article that appeared in their publication. The truth is that I read it in The Star! Haha! I didn’t even know Kosmo ran a similar article! And, they even misspelled my name! (Click here to read article)
I just got back from Terengganu and as soon as I go through the footages I shot… be prepared for more video blogs on the progression of the film!
I have begun shooting ‘The Look-East Project’! I can feel that it’s going to be a great documentary film! Oohh yeah babehhh!!!
It’s still not too late for any funders to come in!
I’ve decided to embark on a personal film project. Currently, ‘The Look-East Project’ is being funded by Fat Bidin Media (read: Zan’s Maybank savings account). However, I am in talks with several parties who may be interested in the project. We’ll see how it goes.
In the meantime, if you’re an organisation that wants to support the arts… or if you’re a television station that wants to pre-purchase some good quality content… or if you just have some extra cash lying around and feel like helping a brother out… I can be reached here. Ahem!
