Earlier this year,
Huixin Law won a Commendation for her short film called, “Bird on a Wire”.
Law works at Reservoir
World Sdn Bhd in Kuala Lumpur and took part in ADFEST’s 2018 Fabulous Four
program for up-and-coming directors, which is now called our Fabulous Five
program. We caught up with her to find out what she’s been up to since then.
You are the first Malaysian female to win the Fabulous Four Commendation at ADFEST 2018. How did it feel to win?
ADFEST 2018 has provided me with the opportunity to showcase the passion that I have for
filmmaking. It is truly an honour that my script was selected for the Fabulous
Four program and to represent Malaysia. I’m also sincerely grateful to win the
Commendation award.
The result would not be the same without the tremendous support from
Reservoir Production, which I am forever thankful for. Hats off to everyone who
gave their best efforts in the project.
It is very
humbling to be recognised as the first Malaysian female to win the Fabulous
Four Commendation at ADFEST 2018 because it reminded me that it is achieved
with hard work and perseverance. That said, the passion and drive for
filmmaking aren’t determined by gender. I hope that this will empower aspiring
female filmmakers to also give their best!
‘Bird on a wire’ is beautiful both in terms of its production quality and the stories of the women it features. Can you explain how you had the idea for this script?
Thank you for your kind words about ‘Bird on a wire’. The main character
of this film is simply a reflection of how I view myself when it comes to
social interactions — painfully shy and more than often I find it difficult to
express myself. As for the tattoo artist, she is a fictional hero and a bipolar
character that keeps the protagonist sane, who is also inspired by my mother.
My mother lost her first child, who was my eldest brother. Deep down, she
has still not overcome the loss of her firstborn. Thus, the tattoo artist is a
projection of a fantasy of how I would like my mum to be — a tough and strong
woman.
When I find myself trapped by negative emotions with no way of dealing
with it, I find it therapeutic to write random sentences, songs, journal
entries and short stories. Thus, when I saw the theme ‘Transform’ it just made
sense for me to ‘transform’ these negative feelings into strength. The script
idea is a combination of both fact and fiction inspired from my lived
experiences.
What were the main challenges of directing ‘Bird on a wire’ – I think you only had around six weeks?
The main challenge I had was with the budget and time constraint. We were
chased out from the tattoo parlour even though there were scenes left to cover.
Lucky enough, the crews were supportive to help make it possible. We went to
one of the crew’s house (Mr. Hadi Hamid) and created a mock up of the space to
film the remaining scenes.
Juggling the roles of scriptwriter, director and editor blindfolded me
from what serves the story best. There were moments where I was biased and
wanted to include everything in the edit even if some scenes were unnecessary
because I was too attached to my script and story. When this happened, I
learned that it was important to receive constructive comments from a fresh
eye. It helped me to see the film from a different perspective.
I also had
many self-doubts throughout the process. The questions swirled in my head: Am I doing it right? Is this good enough? How
do I make it more interesting? Is this realistic? When in doubt, it’s good to
seek advice from someone more experienced, but at the end of the day, I have to
make the judgement call and decision.
What did you learn from the experience of being a Fabulous Four?
I am
currently working as Production Assistant. Sometimes, my role shifts to a line
producer / translator / casting / location manager / facility / lyricist / art
assistant.
Nevertheless,
the whole Fabulous Four experience has given me confidence by acknowledging my
talent and creativity. Being able to present the short film with different
creatives coming from different countries is definitely an eye-opening
experience.
You held a private screening of ‘Bird on a wire’ in Kuala Lumpur after ADFEST – how did the audience respond?
The
audience enjoyed the film thoroughly. One of the best responses was that the
students who attended the screening were curious to know the ways to join or
break into the industry — whether as an actor, filmmaker and etc. It’s great
that ‘Bird on a wire’ was able to spark curiosity and creativity among the
younger minds.
Malaysia has some amazing female creatives, including the late Yasmin Ahmad. Do you have any strong female mentors who inspire you?
Yasmin
Ahmad was (and still is) truly a Malaysian pride. She captured the essence of
unity through her work. Her storytelling is subtle yet impactful. Ten years
have passed since her passing and her film, Sepet,
is still playing in my head.
However,
no, I don’t have any female mentors but I do have two amazing mentors, Quek
Shio Chuan and Ismail Kamarul.
What is the creative scene like in Kuala Lumpur – how does the city inspire your work?
In my
opinion, the creative vibe in Kuala Lumpur is quite conservative. We have a
strict film censorship board and scenes that contain vulgar words, alcoholic
drinks and/or obscenity have to be removed.
This is seen as a challenge for content creators (and filmmakers) to be more considerate and innovative when generating content for the mass audience as Malaysia, and especially Kuala Lumpur embraces multiculturalism and mutual respect for the different races and religions. It’s worth checking out this campaign, which takes humorous approach to explaining Malaysian TV censorship, filmed back in 2003.
If you
notice there was this line inserted in ‘Bird on a wire’ on the radio news: “Rape
victims can have a good life if they marry their rapists”. This
sentence wasn’t made up. It is a real quote from a real person. When I first
heard this, I was really angered by what I heard and I knew that I had to pen
it down in the script. This is how the city inspired my work. Kuala Lumpur has
a high crime rate and I feel obligated to do something about it not just as a filmmaker
but also as a citizen who hopes for a better future for my home country.
If you
would like to read more about the news, here is the article.
Where would you like to be in five years from now?
In five
years’ time, I hope to write and direct my first feature film that can affect a
change of perspective or worldview among Malaysians to be more accepting in
terms of matters such as LGBT, migrant workers, etc.
Even if my
film is labelled controversial, it doesn’t matter to me as long as it creates
dialogue between people. I hope that my contribution to the film industry will
revive the golden years in Malaysian cinema (e.g. P Ramlee, Yasmin Ahmad).
What inspired you to become a director and how did you get your first big break?
I was kind
of clueless after I graduated from the University. There were a number of
things that I found myself interested in but I was unsure which path to follow.
“Why not filmmaking? It is a combination of the
things that I like: storytelling, visuals, music…” This question simply popped in my head and that
was how I started working at Reservoir World. I was lucky to be given a chance
and work closely with directors Quek Shio Chuan and Ismail Kamarul when I first
joined the company. They heavily involved me in brainstorming sessions and I
truly enjoyed it. That was how I got inspired to become a director.
However, I
was shy to tell people that I wanted to become a director. The thought of being
ridiculed over such an ambitious goal with my lack of experience held me back
from manifesting my wish to direct. Although I was repeatedly questioned about
my goal in filmmaking, I still did not make my thoughts known. Since it was
something really precious to me, I wanted to address it through actions more
than words. And so, I joined the Fabulous Four program at ADFEST 2018 and
gained my first breakthrough.
* ADFEST is now seeking entries to Fabulous Five 2019. Simply write a 5-minute film script inspired by the theme of ADFEST 2019, “TMRRW.TDAY”. To be eligible, directors must have less than two years’ experience. The deadline for script submissions is Friday 4th January.
