Roulette City screens at Sinema Old School, an independent cinema in Singapore.
Dates and times:
17 July 2010 (Sat) - 2:30pm
23 July 2010 (Fri) - 7pm and 8:45pm
30 July 2010 (Fri) - 7pm and 8:45pm
06 Aug 2010 (Fri) - 4pm
13 Aug 2010 (Fri) - 4pm
Tickets purchase and more information can be found here.
Official website of Roulette City at http://roulettecity.islandmanpictures.com
05 Jul 2010 edition of Singapore magazine U-Weekly reports on the upcoming screenings of ‘Roulette City’ at Sinema Old School.
2010年7月5日期的新加坡雜誌‘優周刊’刊登了即將在新加坡電影院‘新戲院’上映的電影《輪盤》的報導。
Macau English newspapers The Macau Post Daily reports on the theatrical release of ‘Roulette City’ at independent Singapore cinema ‘Sinema Old School’. 30 June 2010, Wednesday, Pg 3.
澳門英語報紙The Macau Post Daily刊登了關於電影《輪盤》在新加坡‘新戲院’放映的報導。
The Sony-produced, China-filmed TV series called ‘The Game’, which Thomas Lim played a principal role in is currently airing in Malaysia on TV2. This TV series aired nationwide in China in 2008, and will air in Singapore later in July 2010.
《輪盤》的世界首映將於2010年4月16日星期五（9：15pm)在新加坡國際電影節舉行。
ROULETTE CITY will make it’s World Premiere at the Singapore International Film Festival on 16 April 2010 (Friday) 9:15pm at Sinema Old School. Tickets available at Sistic.
The 51st edition of TIME OUT HONG KONG published a feature article on Thomas Lim and his debut feature film ‘Roulette City’. (31 Mar-13 Apr 2010. page 64)
第51期香港TIME OUT雜誌在2010年3月31日刊登了有關林毅煒和電影《輪盤》的報導。
Singapore Chinese newspaper ‘Lianhe Wanbao’ published an article on Thomas Lim’s decision to move back to Singapore. (22 March 2010, Monday, PAGE 17)
新加坡中文報紙‘聯合晚報’在3月22日（星期一）刊登了有關林毅煒決定移居回新加坡的報導。
THE MACAU POST DAILY English newspaper reports on the coming premiere of ‘Roulette City’ at the Singapore International Film Festival. (26 Feb 2010, Friday, page 4)
澳門英文報紙The Macau Post Daily刊登了有關電影《輪盤》在新加坡國際電影節放映的消息。（2010年2月26日，星期五）
Macau Portuguese newspapers PONTO FINAL published a feature article on Thomas Lim’s thoughts after attending the 8th Berlinale Talent Campus. (24 Feb 2010, Wednesday, page 11)
澳門葡文報紙Ponto Final刊登了有關林毅煒在參加第八屆柏林新秀研習營後的感觸的報導。（2010年2月24日，星期三)
English translations:
I guess we would all expect to hear that I have learnt a lot over the past weeks here and have met a lot of people. Yes indeed, those are both very true, but even more so, I think I have learnt more about my current place on an international scale as a filmmaker. I guess this filmmaking journey is all about knowing myself and knowing the most effective (but not necessarily the best) way to guide myself onto the path that I desire to take. I have long known that I like to throw myself into the ocean and then learn how to swim, because then I am forced into a challenge that I created for myself and I will not let myself down. This character of mine was also apparent in my previous decisions to move to Beijing to put myself into the biggest platform in the Chinese world for an actor, even though I didn’t know anyone in China before, and had very little money with me back then. By making my first feature film ‘Roulette City’ before making any short film, I knew I was in for a hard time. But making films is about breaking the rules, so I didn’t care to follow the traditional route of making shorts before a feature. I knew I was going to get bored by making say, five shorts before making my first feature. And who knows, I might have lost the desire to make a feature if the journey took that long. I am a huge believer of ‘rage’, and think that some passions die off if you wait too long to express it, simply because waiting kills passion. However, back in my mind, I also knew that the ambitious attempt of making a feature as my first film of any length meant that I was learning by doing, and would be making a lot of mistakes. I felt completely burnt out many times during the making of ‘Roulette City’, and only a year and three months later today, I wished I would have made the film very differently. This is simply because I spent every second of the past one year and three months thinking, discussing, researching, and dreaming about filmmaking, and I would like to think that I had grown as a filmmaker since the first day I started writing the script for ‘Roulette City’. Like we also know, I have shot three interlinked short stories since ‘Roulette City’, and have named the first two ‘Blue Card’ and ‘Stamps’.
So anyhow, here I am at the end of the Berlin Talent Campus, which was part of the 60th Berlinale Film Festival 2010. This is the first time that I’ve been to any film festival and I am totally overwhelmed by what happened the past 10 days. First, I arrived in Berlin on 10th Feb morning and immediately felt very welcomed and comfortable. This is not my first time in Berlin (I was here in summer of 2003 as a backpacker, but was doing a bunch of European cities at one go back then). The first impressions that I have of Berlin this time was that the weather was freezing cold with snow everywhere, but the people extremely warm and helpful. I checked into the hostel that the Talent Campus had arranged for the participants and wasted no time in getting acquainted with the many cinemas that will screen films from the festival itself for the coming 10 days. One of the first things I noticed here in Berlin was that the Berlin Film Festival advertisements were everywhere. When I got to the shopping mall where they sell the festival movie tickets, I was shocked to see the very long lines in front of the ticket booths even before they were opened, These lines were there everyday and they kept getting longer and longer, until when the final two days of the festival (because the public can only buy movie tickets 3 days in advance). Many of the cinemas that screened the festival movies were near the city centre in a place called Postdamer Plaz, and some others were near metro stations. With my Talent Campus festival badge, I could watch the festival movies for free and I took full advantage of this by watching as many as six films a day when I had no campus activities, and two films an evening during campus days. I must say, watching six excellent movies a day is not very fun at all. It’s like eating six huge meals a day.
During the campus days, I woke up every morning with a sense of gratitude. In a sense, I reminded myself every morning that I was lucky to be one of the 350 chosen from 4700 to be here. In other words, there were many people who wanted to come, but were not chosen. The campus days (13-18 Feb 2010) were long and intensive. I get up at 7am in the mornings to get dressed and mark the campus events/masterclasses that I want to participate in, and the movies that I want to watch for the day. Then we all stand in line for about 30 minutes to book our coupons for the events and movies we’ve chosen and the event coupons and movie tickets are given out on a first come first serve basis. Standing in line was often a great way to meet new people, and speaking of meeting new people, there were really too many people to meet. Most of the participants were caucasians and after a while, it really wasn’t too easy for me to tell a European face from another in a sea of westerners packed in say, a lecture hall. The participants of the campus work in different areas of film. There were obviously directors and producers, but also cinematographers, actors, screenwriters, and even location managers. The campus masterclasses and events were also very packed in terms of schedule and there was always something for everyone. In fact, there was often more than one thing at the same time that interests me, so I was often torn and had to give up one class for the other. The masterclasses, small group discussions, lectures, and workshops are conducted by industry experts from all over, who were in town for the festival. This year’s experts include Stephen Daldry, Claire Denis and Yoji Yamada, to name a few. All in all, I learnt heaps, and met A LOT of people in the week long campus. I think my Facebook friends list will double by the time all the campus talents got home and finally find time to Facebook each other. Speaking of Facebook, the Talent Campus has a website (not Facebook page) that carries information about all it’s alumni and it works just like Facebook where all past talents get the chance to update their work or personal information, and keep in touch with one another. The Berlinale Film Festival itself is also very keen in having the Talent Campus alumni send their new works to the festival in the future, and is always proud to announce when they select a campus alumni’s work to screen at the festival. This is actually the part that excites me most. ‘Roulette City’ wasn’t selected for the Berlinale this year, but I am hopeful about the future.
So that’s an overview of what happened at the Talent Campus in general. For me personally, there were other highlights too other than the standard campus activities. First of all, I am receiving mentorship from a German industry expert on my short films ‘Blue Card’ and ‘Stamps’. I will continue to work with my mentor on these short films till 26 Feb (it is 24 Feb as I write this passage now) and for now, it is possible that I might combine the two short films into one, in a newfound, interesting narrative form. I also shot a third short film that is connected in terms of content to ‘Blue Card’ and ‘Stamps’, and I might just use footages from it work into the new combined-version. In short, I might just combine the initially planned three short films into one. Another highlight for me in Berlin this time was a call from the Singapore embassy in Berlin for a casual meeting over coffee. So, I met with the deputy chief of mission and the first secretary of the embassy, and it was nice to feel the support from my country.
Speaking of my own country, I have moved back to Singapore a week before I came to Berlin. In a sense, I have given up my apartment in Macau and moved my stuff back to Singapore. Strangely enough though, I don’t feel that I have left Macau at all, probably because it’s so near to Singapore and I could visit easily. I definitely also hope to continue shooting films in Macau as the place is (I’ve said this so many times) very beautiful.
THE MACAU POST DAILY English newspaper reports on Thomas Lim’s completion of the 8th Berlinale Talent Campus. (23 Feb 2010, Tuesday, page 4)
澳門英文報紙The Macau Post Daily刊登了有關林毅煒在參加第八屆柏林新秀研習營後的感想的報導。（2010年2月23日，星期二）
THE MACAU POST DAILY English newspapers reports on Thomas Lim’s participation at the 8th Berlinale Talent Campus. (19 Feb 2010, Friday, page 4)
澳門英文報紙The Macau Post Daily刊登了有關林毅煒參加第八屆柏林新秀研習營的報導。(2010年2月19日，星期五)
Macau Portuguese newspapers ‘PONTO FINAL’ published a feature article on Thomas Lim’s new short film ‘Stamps’. (26 Jan 2010, Tuesday, CENTRE PAGES 8 and 9)
澳門葡文報紙‘Ponto Final’在2010年1月26日刊登了有關林毅煒新短片《舊日》的報導。
Ponto Final newspapers 23 Jan 2010 (CENTRE PAGE EIGHT)
Ponto Final newspapers 23 Jan 2010 (CENTRE PAGE NINE)
林毅煒新短片《舊日》劇照。
短片《舊日》簡介。
As a continuation to the short film ‘Blue Card’ filmed in September with Singapore singer Faith Yang Fuwei, ‘Stamps’ is the second short film of the three-short-film project titled ‘Pieces of Night and Light’. We shot ‘Stamps’ on 9th and 10th January 2010.
STAMPS
The director Thomas Lim’s statement:
In ‘Stamps’, a Macao girl LILI whom, because her mother passed away suddenly, was called to return to Macao in very short notice after having lived abroad for 12 years. Lili has very vague memories of her mom as she was brought up by her father CHONG. Chong though, is someone that Lili remembers very clearly, because he was a tyrant figure in her childhood… This film is about Lili’s first day back in Macao, about her emotions in seeing her father again after twelve years, and in dealing with her memories from twelve years ago.
Actors wise, I was very lucky to work with three fantastic actors from Macao. Lili is played by Sio, who is the chairman of the non-profit group ‘Associação dos Criadores de Macau’ (aka macau.creatives) that produced the hugely successful Macau album ‘Inside Out’. Chong is played by Billy Hui (more commonly known as ‘Big Bird’), who is a mentor figure for many theatre practitioners in Macau. I call Billy the ‘father of modern Macau theatre’. Also, worthy of special mention is an amazing young actress Firmina Mendonça. Firmina is only 7 years old and is flawless in her performance as a young Lili.
PIECES OF NIGHT AND LIGHT
A three-short-film project initiated by Thomas Lim, ‘Pieces of Night and Light’ is essentially about the experiences and memories that the director Thomas Lim have from living in Macao. These short films tell stories that take on the unique angle of the point of view of a foreigner (i.e, Lim himself). The first of these three short films ‘Blue Card’ finished filming in September 2009 and is currently in post-production. The second short film ‘Stamps’ has just finished filming on 10 January 2010 and the third short film is planned for shooting in the final week of January. There is a linking character in all three parts whose name is ‘Tom’. Tom is only a supporting character in these short films, and serves as the outside eye looking at these stories. This character is played by the director Thomas Lim himself.
Essentially, for this three-short-film project, the first was about a foreigner who was forced to leave Macao in short notice after failing to renew her work visa, and her feelings during her last day in Macao. The second is about a Macao local who suddenly needed to return to Macao after living abroad for 12 years, and her feelings during her first day back.
Island Man Pictures wishes all our blog readers, fans, and friends a very Happy New Year. May 2010 bring success, peace and happiness. Cheers to a great start in the new decade!
Macau Portuguese newspapers ‘PONTO FINAL’ published a feature article on Thomas Lim’s selection to the Berlin Talent Campus. (31 Dec 2009, Thursday, PAGE 17)
澳門葡文報紙‘Ponto Final’在09年12月31日（星期四）刊登了有關林毅煒被選定參加第八屆柏林新秀研習營的報導。
Thomas Lim: “This article is a great way to end the year, and the decade. Thanks to the media for being so supportive of me and my films in 2009.”
Macau’s English newspaper ‘The Macau Post Daily’ published a feature article on Thomas Lim’s selection to the Berlin Talent Campus. (22 Dec 2009, Tuesday. Page 3)
澳門英文報紙‘The Macau Post Daily’在09年12月22日（星期二）刊登了有關林毅煒被選定參加第八屆柏林新秀研習營的報導。
Click on picture to enlarge.
短片《藍卡》預告片
A short film by Thomas Lim.
Original music and song by Faith Yang Fuwei.
Cinematography - António Espadinha Soares.
Cast - Faith Yang Fuwei, Jacky Li, Thomas Lim
Produced by Island Man Pictures, IMP Produções and Rebirth.
Filmed on location in Macau SAR.
Status: post production
林毅煒作品。
原創音樂，歌曲：杨馥蔚。
攝影：António Espadinha Soares。
演出：杨馥蔚，李俊傑，林毅煒。
出品：海島人製作（澳門），海島人電影（新加坡），Rebirth（新加坡）。
拍攝地點：澳門。
狀態：後期製作。
Singapore Chinese newspapers Shin Min Daily News reports on Thomas Lim.
(23 November, Page 2)
新加坡中文報紙‘新明日報’刊登了有關林毅煒的專訪。(09年11月23日，第2頁)
BLUE CARD synopsis:
Like most of us would know, the sudden boom of the casino industry in Macau propelled its economy to an all time high not too long ago. But more recently, the sudden fall of the world’s economy saw Macau sending many foreigners packing for home in short notice when their ‘Blue Cards’ expired. Based on a true story, ‘Blue Card’ is about a Singapore girl who works as an writer/editor for her self-funded magazines, aiming to promote Macau to the region as a city that offers more than just gambling pleasures. But she was (obviously) unable to stay on longer because of her ‘Blue Card’ problems. Forced to leave Macau in a short one week’s notice, her world in casino city fell apart quickly…
FAITH YANG FUWEI (music/song composer, co-producer and cast):
One half of the successful girl group ‘2 Gals’, Singapore-born singer Faith Yang has since gone solo and will be in Macau to promote her first solo album ‘Simple Living’ on 22 September. Her former group ‘2 Gals’ was signed to EMI Taiwan and their album songs became top hits on ‘MTV’ and ‘Channel V’ in the late 90s and early 2000s.
To find out more about Faith Yang, please log on to www.rebirth.sg.
THOMAS LIM (director, producer, editor, writer and cast):
A native of Singapore, Thomas Lim began working as an actor for theatre in 1999. He then moved to London in 2002 where he earned his Masters Degree in Theatre Practice. Thomas has since acted, directed and written scripts for theatre productions in London, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. In 2004, Thomas relocated to Beijing to train in Chinese Kung Fu. Since the move to China, Thomas had also successfully found himself a TV and film acting career, often performing in principal roles in both American and local Chinese productions. Thomas moved to Macau in 2008 and has since completed the feature film ‘Roulette City’.
To know more about Thomas Lim, please log on to www.thomas-lim.com.
A feature article on Thomas Lim’s new short film ‘Blue Card’ on Macau’s Chinese newspaper ‘Macao Daily’. (29 Sept 2009, Tuesday. Page B6)
澳門中文報紙‘澳門日報’在9月29日（星期二）刊登了有關林毅煒的新短片《藍卡》的報導。
For more information, please log on to:
http://www.macaodaily.com/html/2009-09/29/content_371227.htm
A feature article on Thomas Lim’s new short film ‘Blue Card’ was published on Macau’s English newspaper ‘The Macau Post Daily’. (25 Sept 2009, Friday. Page 14)
澳門英文報紙‘The Macau Post Daily’在9月25日（星期五）刊登了有關林毅煒的新短片《藍卡》的報導。
A feature article on Thomas Lim’s new short film ‘Blue Card’ was published on Macau’s Portuguese newspaper ‘Ponto Final’. (23 Sept 2009, Wednesday. Page 10)
澳門葡文報紙‘Ponto Final’在9月23日（星期三）刊登了有關林毅煒的新短片《藍卡》的報導。
澳門有線電視在5月14日採訪了林毅煒。
此專訪在09年9月播出。
Macau Cable TV interviewed Thomas Lim on 14 May 2009.
This interview was broadcast in Sept 2009.
Above is a re-edited video of the interview, which was originally 30 minutes long. Below is a rough transcript of the entire interview.
MCTV: We are very pleased to have Mr. Thomas Lim from Singapore as our special guest today. Thomas is a long time friend of Macau and has been involved in our local theatre productions for several years. He has relocated to Macau last year to produce his own independent films, and it is safe to say that if you have been keeping up with news of the theatre and film industry in Macau, you would have already heard of his name before. Thomas, why don’t you introduce yourself to our TV audience?
TL: My name is Thomas Lim, and I was born and raised in Singapore. I started acting for theatre in 1999, and subsequently received formal theatre training in London in 2002. In 2004, I began acting for television and film when I moved to Beijing. And in 2008, I relocated again to Macau to make my own films, writing, producing, and directing them.
MCTV: We also understand that you are very well travelled, and have backpacked across over 30 countries. There must be so much that you have experienced. Can you share some of your travel experiences with us.
TL: I would like to think that traveling has been the best teacher in my life. Honestly, I was always quiet and shy as a kid. And although it is true that being a theatre actor helped me become a more open person, I think even more so, travelling and living abroad for extended time helped me develop a sense of identity in this world that I live in. And that gave me more ease in living in my own skin, and gives me the confidence to chase my dreams. I think from the day when we were born, we have been constantly searching for our identity. We first learn about ourselves as sons/daughters to our parents, and brothers/sisters to our siblings. Then, we go to school and we discover more about our place in a bigger environment (the school), developing skills to socialize with our schoolmates and teachers. Then the natural next step was to find our place in the society as we step into the working world. Few others take yet another step into the world outside of their own countries, to discover their identities in relation to foreign cultures. I see different sides of me surfacing in the different places that I have travelled to or lived in, which is natural as I had to deal with the different unfamiliar situations that I encounter abroad. And these experiences allowed me to learn more about myself. I would say that it is everyone’s responsibility to rediscover themselves each day, as we are changing everyday, as is our environment too. And if we are able to do that, we are already successful as human beings regardless of social or wealth status. That’s something that I have grown to firmly believe, and I have learnt that from my travels.
MCTV: It is rare to hear of Singaporeans venturing out of their own country on their own. In fact, it is more common to hear of Macau people, or people from Hong Kong or China immigrating to Singapore. What made you decide to move to China? Was is because there were more opportunities in China?
TL: I first went to Beijing to learn Chinese Kung Fu. I was in London for more than a year before that to study and work as a theatre actor and my goal back then was to become an internationally acclaimed physical theatre actor. It was also in London where I realized that being a Singaporean, I was too ‘general’. By that, I mean that because I don’t have a distinct culture, nor a distinct language, I often felt that I didn’t have what I call a ‘special something’ as an actor to the international eye. I decided to leave London and return to Asia, and because I am a Chinese descendent and have always loved Chinese Kung Fu, I decided to go to Beijing to learn that, hoping to use that as my ‘special skill’ to complement my acting. But midway through my Kung Fu sessions one day, I injured my back badly. I was in pain for more than a year, and became very depressed as I thought my dream of becoming a good physical theatre actor was in jeopardy. So, I started to think of other ways to chase my performing dreams, and that’s when I decided to try acting for films and TV. It was also because during that time, which I believe would still be the case now, there were a lot of American and European productions going to Beijing to shoot. So, one thing led to another and I started to act in both American and local Chinese productions.
MCTV: It must have been tough trying to carve out a career in another country. Can you also share with us your thoughts and experiences of living in Beijing and London?
TL: Again, I think it is all about self-discovery. Beijing was a rough place to live in. You really had to look out for yourself out there as it was so competitive. That environment was completely different than Singapore or London, and honestly, Beijing was a bigger culture shock for me than London was. But I welcome challenges and I would think that Beijing introduced me to some of my highest and lowest points of my acting career. And that directly translates into some of the happiest and most depressed moments of my life. Because acting was the only thing that I wanted to do back then.
MCTV: I can imagine that an actor’s career would be a tough one. Were there times when you felt like giving up, and if there were, how did you overcome these emotions and what did you learn from them?
TL: Of course. I think being an actor is much harder than anyone who’s not in the business can ever imagine. The easiest part of an actor’s job I would say, is the acting. Unless you are a star, otherwise the acting usually makes up only 10% of a normal actor’s whole career. If they are lucky, maybe 50%. The rest of the time is spent networking, going to dinners and parties, trying to get people to like you, trying to convince them to cast you etc. This whole process soon became hard for me because it forces me to remain in a passive position all the time. Actors are very sensitive people, as are directors and producers. And an overly proactive actor could be easily be misunderstood as being desperate, and people could get turned off if they sense that in you. Unfortunately too, being passive doesn’t work for me for too long as it is not natural to me. I cannot be passive. I like to create stuff. If I just sit around waiting, I feel the human spirit dying in me. And I don’t like that. But, I try to see the positive in things, and looking back, I have indeed gained many friends in this industry, and they have taught me heaps of things that I never knew I had the chance to learn. One of the most important things that I have learnt is how people perceive me as an actor, a person, or as a friend. And I also learnt how to read people’s characters better after all that tough times.
MCTV: So, why did you choose to base yourself in Macau now? I would think that places like Singapore, Hong Kong or China would have a bigger market for filmmaking. Why Macau?
TL: Like I said, being passive kills me. And an actor is often forced into a passive position. But, I needed to be creative. I have established a small group of close friends in Macau even before moving here because I have been doing short theatre gigs here since 2004. These friends are probably some of the greatest friends that I have in this world, because of their genuine and honest nature. They’ve always made me feel very welcomed during my short visits in the past. And perhaps most importantly, I think Macau gives me a small platform for creating new work. This is a city that is drawing more and more attention from the outside world, especially other Asian countries. Plus, it is also a very beautiful city with a lot of character and history. So, I decided to settle here to make my own films.
MCTV: Since your arrival, you have made a feature film called ‘Roulette City’. Can you tell us about the story of the film?
TL: This is a film about a Mainland Chinese person who came to Macau to gamble at the casinos in hope of winning money to pay for his sick mother’s medical bills. His first try won him a lot of money but eventually he lost something of greater importance – that is, a relationship which he had formed with a local Macau girl who worked as a casino dealer. This girl struggled between keeping her dealer job as a quick way of earning money and quitting the job and going back to the university for a better future.
MCTV: Was it difficult to find suitable actors for the film?
TL: It was hard. There is talent, but there isn’t an industry in Macau to give people who want to be actors a chance to become a professional. And I don’t just mean excellent acting skills. I mean bringing a professional actor’s attitude to the set everyday. That will come only if actors become experienced enough. But there is definitely talent here in Macau. And the two Macau actors who played lead roles in this film are extremely talented. I was very lucky to have cast them.
MCTV: I also understand that other than producing, writing and directing this film, you also played the leading role in it. How did you manage to perform so many duties at the same time?
TL: If given a choice, I wouldn’t act in my own films, unless I became very experienced as a director, or had a huge crew and amazing assistant directors. I had to act in this film as I couldn’t find a suitable male actor to do the job. The actors that I spoke to and auditioned were either not good enough, or didn’t have the time. I shot this film on a small budget. So, I couldn’t afford to pay people much. And I needed this male actor to be on set for at least 3 weeks. I actually had an actor who was interested in the role but I had to re-cast a day before the shoot, because the rehearsals did not go the way I wanted them to. So, it was hard, but I think all first time directors have similar ‘horror stories’ to share. I am not alone.
MCTV: Finally, when and where can we watch this film?
TL: I will be sending the film out to festivals first of all. Then, it should be screened as part of the Macau Film Festival next year, which could be a good time for Macau audiences to see it. Or, I could arrange for an earlier screening at the Macau Cultural Centre before the year ends. I’m not sure yet. I am still dealing with the final stages of post-production now, and didn’t have time to think much about the next phase of the film yet. But I would like the film to do it’s rounds at the festivals abroad before making it’s Macau premiere.
MCTV: Thank you Thomas for taking time to attend this interview, and I hope your experiences could serve as inspiration for local youths who want to make films. We wish you the best in your film and theatre career, and look forward to seeing ‘Roulette City’ very soon.
TL: Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate it.
A feature article on Thomas Lim’s talk on ‘Low Budget Filmmaking’ was published on Macau’s Chinese newspaper ‘Macao Daily News’. (14 Sep 2009, Monday, Page C1)
澳門中文報紙‘澳門日報’在9月14日（星期一）刊登了有關林毅煒在9月13日的‘低成本獨立電影製作’講座的報導。
The video below is a condensed version of the talk.
澳門日報的林毅煒專訪。此報導在9月6日刊登。
Macao Daily News interviews Thomas Lim. This article was published on 6 Sept 2009.
過客自資打響土炮
——記星洲導演的獨立電影
“澳門的賭場對本地人和內地人有着截然不同的意義。對澳門人來說，賭場給予他們工作，使他們能有舒適而富裕的生活。但對許多到澳門的中國內地人而言，賭場能令他們一夜間發財轉運，是過好日子的難得捷徑。”由土生土長於新加坡、近年移遷澳門工作的導演林毅煒執導的首齣長片《輪盤》，有此象徵意義，寓意賭場裡充滿了衆多的“不可能”。令人驚喜的是，澳門在外來者的眼底下更顯得與別不同，耐人尋味……
多面手的聚焦眼光
為開拍這齣《輪盤》，林毅煒毅然遷居來澳生活，自知是過客，於是開設一家電影製作公司，嘗試在澳門開拓電影工業，製造“不可能”，以實現“夢想”。這位年輕的新加坡導演，十年前於新加坡開始戲劇演出，○二年隻身遠赴英國倫敦修業，後取得戲劇系碩士學位，先後在倫敦、香港、澳門及新加坡參與劇場表演，擔任過導演和編劇。○四年赴北京參加中國功夫培訓，成功展開其電視、電影演員生涯，經常在美國和內地等影視片中扮演不同角色。
林毅煒尤其喜好遊歷，穿越卅個國家和中國內地十多個省份，○六年把旅遊經歷寫進港澳兩地上演的獨角戲《鼠牛日記》中。至去年，他主演的電視劇《破繭而出》於中央八台作全國放映，同年十二月在澳門完成了這齣長片《輪盤》，至今已完成後期製作，正待送往世界各地電影節參展。
林毅煒說，《輪盤》是其在澳門定居一年後首次執導開拍的長片電影。故事講述一名內地男子阿德為籌錢給母親醫病，而和舅舅到澳門賭錢的遭遇。電影裡，兩名女主角Wynnie和Armanda表達了內地和澳門兩地人和賭場的關係。Wynnie是內地人，因聞說不少內地人到澳門賭錢都有很好的收穫，故攜同一生積蓄來澳門博一博，旨在讓弟弟的生活過得好些。豈料抵澳後不但將錢輸清，還欠了一身債。Armanda是澳門人，為賺快錢選擇不上大學而到賭場工作，但深感這份工作無前途，常為是否辭去賭場工作返回大學而煩惱。阿德也因這兩名女主角而捲入一場賭局之中……
探討人生多元選擇
《輪盤》不單純是關於賭的故事，而是以賭場的人與事作為主線。其賣點為純澳門製作，主要起用本地演員參演不同角色，攝製組於小三巴街以至大三巴牌坊甚至路環等景點實地取景，令全片洋溢濃濃的本土氣息。林毅煒說，該片於去年十一月底至十二月中旬開拍，時間很短，皆因籌備了一段較長的時間。儘管多年來到過不同國家及地區工作，感受了不同地方的生活特色，他始終喜歡澳門那恬淡的生活環境及文化氛圍，之所以來澳拍片並住下來，就是這個原因。
結束《輪盤》攝製工作後，林毅煒更加覺得澳門是一處理想的“片場”，是新加坡或其他先進城市環境所難替代，也為電影製作人提供了理想的創作空間，只欠展示平台而已。因他是外來者，《輪盤》開拍未獲特區政府任何資助，可幸有一群好友鼎力相助，加上個人自資，可以應付製作費用。
林毅煒說，但凡優秀的電影，劇本很重要，演員表現更不容忽視。全片起用十多名本地演員，其自身也參演一角，飾演內地人阿德，為求突出不同的地域文化。該片令他最有感觸的是，於前幾年經濟好景時，很多澳門年輕人毅然放棄學業而進賭場工作，比起“更上一層樓”的靑年收入要高，澳門以外實難找到這樣的地方，與別不同。深層次而言，《輪盤》非鋪陳賭的故事，而是借賭檯說明人生有諸多選擇。
林毅煒有意讓《輪盤》參加世界各地電影節，其次會爭取在新加坡戲院放映，讓新加坡人了解澳門的人與事，尤其回歸近十年的變化。透過參加國際電影展，有助此類低成本電影獲更多影迷認同，減少偏見。在新加坡，當地政府甚支持電影組織資助年輕人開拍電影，不論低成本電影與否都予以支持，澳門方面頗堪借鏡。又因本地環境所限，他暫未有計劃及條件安排《輪盤》上院線，但會爭取明年於文化中心電影節中首映，與公衆分享拍片樂趣。
本地演員感觸良多
“無可否認，我不是澳門人，好難眞正挖掘本土素材，拍出一齣富有馬交風情的電影。”林毅煒有感而發地說。有見及此，他已在澳門開設海島人製作公司，同時也是特為開拍《輪盤》而設，期望不久將來能為澳門電影人提供協助，在澳門配合開拍電影，起用更多澳門演員，繼而把影片送往外國參展，向世人證明澳門有不少具才華的電影人，澳門的電影市場才會有希望。
飾演女主角Armanda的澳門演員呂倩姬說，有緣獲甄選擔任《輪盤》女主角，驚喜交集，畢竟首次參演電影，經驗有限，幸得台前幕後人員多番照顧，才順利完成影片攝製工作。為演好角色，她暫時辭去工作全情投入拍片，用了頗長時間與導演溝通，熟背劇本，並調整心態，獲林毅煒等負責人的稱許。她深知不是名人，坦言會爭取每次難得的演出機會。
呂倩姬現已轉職任廣吿公司公關，自覺參演電影後待人接物能力有所提升，適應能力更強，意識到Team Work的重要性。她未來很希望澳門的電影人多踏出一步，共同開拓本土電影市場，之後可以走出澳門，一展抱負。
文、圖：子 凡
To read the article, please click on the image to enlarge.
Macau Portuguese newspaper ‘Hoje Macau’ interviewed Thomas Lim on 26 Aug 2009.
This article was published on 28 Aug 2009.
澳門葡語報紙‘Hoje Macau’ 在8月26日採訪了林毅煒。此報導在09年8月28日刊登。
It gives me great joy to announce that our Macau film ‘Roulette City’ is officially listed on IMDb.com.
The page is: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1488065/
我們的澳門電影《輪盤》已正式登上了IMDb.com網站。這是世界最大的電影資料收集處網站。
《輪盤》的IMDb網址： http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1488065/
澳門廣播電視台林毅煒專訪。
Macau TV station TDM interviewed Thomas Lim on 10 Jul 09. This program was broadcast on 22 July.
澳門廣播電視台在09年7月10日採訪了林毅煒。此專訪在09年7月22日播出。
Portuguese newspapers ‘Ponto Final’ interviewed Thomas Lim on ‘Roulette City’ on 19 Jul 09.
This article was published on 21 Jul 09.
澳門葡語報紙’Ponto Final’採訪了林毅煒有關電影《輪盤》的拍攝花絮。此報導在09年7月21日刊登。
FRONT PAGE
CENTRE PAGE (PAGE EIGHT)
CENTRE PAGE (PAGE NINE)
Macau TV station TDM interviewed Thomas Lim on 10 Jul 09.
This program will be broadcast on 22 July, 7:15am. Repeat at 1pm on the same day.
澳門廣播電視台在09年7月10日採訪了林毅煒。此專訪將於7月22日 (星期三)早上7:15播出。中午一點重播。
The MACAU POST DAILY newspaper interviewed Thomas Lim on ‘Roulette City’ on 3 Jul 2009. This article was published on 6 Jul 2009.
澳門英語報紙’澳門郵報’採訪了林毅煒有關電影《輪盤》的拍攝花絮。此報導在09年7月06日刊登。
It saddens me to hear news of David Carradine’s passing.
I’ve worked with him on two occasions in China in 2006 and remember him fondly as a great actor, guitar player and Kung-Fu man.
David Carradine (left) and myself (right) filming in Hengdian, China.
Macau’s English newspapers THE MACAU DAILY TIMES reports on THOMAS LIM and his feature film ROULETTE CITY. (page 5)
澳門英文報紙‘澳門每日時報’在09年5月9日刊登了關於林毅煒及電影《輪盤》的報導。(第五頁）
Thomas Lim was invited to the University of Macau by Prof. Benjamin Hodges to share his experiences on making ‘Roulette City’. 1 April 2009.
ROULETTE CITY featured article on Macau Portuguese newspapers ‘HOJE MACAU’.
Interview on 9 Feb, published on 10 Feb 2009.
Click on image to enlarge, and to read the contents within.
Macau Portuguese Newspaper 'Hoje Macau'. 10 Feb 2009
‘Roulette City’ featured article on Jan 09 edition of the Macau magazine ‘CLOSER’.
Click on images to enlarge, and to read the contents within.
‘Thomas Lim featured article’ on Aug 2008 edition of Macau magazine ‘CLOSER’.
Click on image to enlarge, and to read contents within.
Island Man Pictures wishes you a very Merry X’mas. May all your dreams come true in 2009. Remember to keep an eye out for the completion of our film ‘Roulette City’ in the new year!
Roulette Cake Party
It gives me great joy to announce that we have finished shooting the feature film ‘Roulette City’ in a short span of 18 days. Many thanks to the cast and crew, and especially my Director of Photography Sam for the hard work. — Thomas Lim, 13 Dec 2008.
今天已是 << Roulette City >> 第六天的拍攝!!!
還好, 一切也發展得蠻順利!!! 而當中有2場對我來說印象最深! 一場是我遇到色魔的戲而另一場是我的個人哭戲. 在色魔的戲中, 我需要尖叫及喊救命, 這令很多不知情的居民都受驚了, 引來很多市民的張望. 幸好, 最後他們都察覺到只是拍戲, 不然的話, 我真的不敢想像警察來到會怎樣, haha ^^!!!
而那場哭戲對我來說也蠻challenge! 因為在戲中, 我需要一邊聽電話一邊痛心地哭起來, 最重要的是我並沒有任何一句台詞!!! 由於為了配合太陽光線轉變的問題, 我沒有太多時間令自己入戲. 只有短短的數分鐘準備便要開始試拍了. 沒想到, 我竟然真的哭了起來, 而且是一take過呢!!! 這實在令我很意外! 很希望這場戲能夠給大家很強的感染力, 因為戲中的我Armanda真的很可鄰>.
而星期五那天晚上, 我, 導演 及SAM 都一同被澳門雜誌 "CLOSER" 採訪. 而今天的拍攝, 另一本雜誌 "Destination Macau" 的攝影師 David 也為我們拍下很多精彩的劇照, 大家到時要留意呢 ^^
這幾天, 澳門, 氹仔, 路環四圍走~~ 說真的, 也蠻累! 但還是很享受每一場的拍攝!!! 不竟, 做自己喜歡的事情, 就算再辛苦也值得! 我相信, 這不只是我個人的想法, 而是 ROULETTE CITY TEAM 全體的想法!
我知道每一個成員都不怕累而努力地為 << Roulette City >>工作,
因為我們都想把最好的給每一位觀眾!!!
i like this one, the view is so nice!
我同阿may的戲呀~~ 呢場勁搞笑~~
食完豬扒包影ge~~ 3個男人的表情都唔同~~
中午食飯休息時見到佢,好得意呀^^ 其實隻狗係人地 =.=!
they are pretending to see lor, so fake they were!!!
大家都很投人!!!
我阿哥好型呀!
超大風呀呢度!!! 大家都很入戲!
Toze 個樣好得意haha^^
第三天的拍攝,10點左右我們已開始了~~ 去左好多地方, 有大三巴, 又有lisboa, 氹仔….總之就不停不停走~~而那天的戲份我差不多全部都要 “跑” “跑” 同 “跑”!!! 早上的戲份, 我要拖住一個好大的 “case” 不停跑…而且要一直keep住好驚ge情緒, 都真係幾累…為左在不同的角度下都可以拍出我好驚的感覺, 每一次我都很認真去跑,很努力去投入情緒….雖然真係好累, 但很高興的是導演thomas和sam都讚拍得好好, 所以我覺得就算再辛苦也值得^^
晚上的戲份, 而不單純是”跑”, 而是”奪命狂奔”!!! ha ha, 我真係無誇張化ga~~到時大家睇左就會明白^^ 但最慘的是我要穿high heel 跑….. 可能太投入的關係, 拍攝的時侯都不覺得雙腳痛, 但回到家後卻發現我的雙腳已腫了, 而且流了很多血….真的很痛呀!!! >.
今天已是第四天的拍攝了, 本來應該拍攝我和我的好朋友及同事May的戲份.......但這一次我們NG超過30次都做得很差, 真的很差!差到不用thomas說cut我都想叫cut了!!! 這是我拍攝而來第一次完全不能投入狀態!!! 我真的很難過....但我愈急愈迫自己去入戲, 出來的效果更假及差!!! 那一刻, 我真的很down..... down到休息時候都不想說話...我知道自己正在鬧情緒..... NG超過30次後, Thomas都give up了...
今天, 我到底怎麼了?
到了晚上的時候, 還好, 演戲的感覺好像回來了.... 很多都一take過....很開心可以再次投入到狀態!!! 一定要多謝我這場戲的對手Penny, 佢係一個超好的gentleman!!! 因在戲中我真的很用力打他, 最好笑ge係, 其他人真係以為我有危險不停望我.....幸好, 晚上的我還能投入到狀態...不然的話, 我會很恨我自己!!!
希望今天鬧情緒的Armanda永遠都不要再出現~~ 更希望明天的Armanda是非常投入狀態的!!!
My dearest team, I am so sorry for today peformance, n brought a lots of inconvenience to all of you!!! Thank you for all of you guys, it is very touch when heard yr encouagements!!! It is my biggest motivation!!! I promise I will work n try my very best to do, n I really enjoy the moment working with you guys!!! We are the best team!!!
就係呢場, 我差d跑死啦~~
係氹仔一間cafe拍ge~~ d coffee 不錯不錯~~
sam 係一個好nice的gentleman too~~
拍澳門又怎麼能不拍大三巴呢~~
Sam 認真的樣子so handsome!!!
Hi, everyone! 我是Annie, 在<< Roulette City >>飾演女主角 “Armanda”!很開心可以在IMP的網頁上記下每天的拍攝心聲 ! 但更高興的是, 我們籌備已久的<< roulette city >>終於在11月23日正式開拍了!!! 坦白說, 首次拍攝電影的我, 緊張得已經好幾天不能睡呢!!!
第一天拍攝, 很多都是我和哥哥(阿堅)的戲! 飾演我哥的人是 “思源”. 他和我都是地道的澳門人. 在戲中, 我是一個年青的莊苛, 負責輪盤的工作. 而思源是一個大我14年的哥哥, 身兼父職把我養大成人. 因此戲中的他對我來說就像爸爸一樣. 我們第一天的拍攝竟是出奇的好!!! 更被導演Thomas 力讚擦出火花呢!!! 思源是一個很棒的演員, 他不但演得非常自然, 更能帶對手入戲, 我從他身上真的學到很多很多, 當然包括埋 “搞gag”啦, haha ^^ 與他的拍攝過程中, 我真的很享受! 因為彼此的演技得到交流了, 這對演員來說是最值得高興的事!
‘
之後開始拍攝我和michael的戲份. 戲中, michael是我的男朋友,但他卻是一個澳洲人.飾演michael 的人是 “Toby”. 由於是情侶的關係, 當中少不了較close的動作. 對於我來說, 真的太難了! 因為第一天拍攝就要拍close的戲份, 最最最重要的是我也是那一天才和Toby認識! 連say hi都未有我們就要close…. 第一次拍這樣的戲份, 我的臉紅得….簡直難以想像!!! 我的動作像freeze一樣, 超生硬!!! 導演Thomas 不斷向我說 “ Annie, you have to more relax ….” 但我真的太shy又怎能relax 呢….唉…..NG很多次後, 導演終於收貨…我亦終於鬆一口氣^^
經過一天的拍攝, 我發覺原來拍電影是不容易的. 為了拍攝不到的角度, 取全鏡, 近鏡, 演員都需要keep住情緒不斷重覆拍攝. 而當中每一個細微的動作都要一樣.這可是很考功夫呢! 而且要好用很多精神去keep住energy, 一loose就不能投入狀態了. 但無論怎樣, 我還是深深地體會到, 我是非常喜愛演戲!!! 因為我很享受在拍攝過程中的每一個呼吸, 那是不一樣的呼吸…
This is really an enjoyable moment which impressed in my life!
開鏡前收到一個有Armanda 名ge曲奇餅^^
左邊的人就是我偉大的哥哥啦!!! 右邊的人是我們的camera man 阿sam, 他是超棒的!!!
我偷偷地say hi呢~~
研究中....... 大家都很專心呢!!!
very romantic~~
拍攝中~~
Armanda n Michael ~~
