We have just finished shooting the 3rd installment for our three-short-film project titled ‘Pieces of Night and Light’ on 30 and 31 Jan 2010. The first short ‘Blue Card’ was filmed in September 2009, the second one ‘Stamps’ was filmed on 9 and 10 Jan 2010. Both of these shorts are currently in post production. This third one is still without an official name. Here are some stills from our shoot. (updated as at 03 Feb 2010, 01:33hrs)
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. And for the third, it will be about a middle aged Macao man who has lived all his life in this small city (Macao). This man is constantly surrounded by people arriving to and leaving Macao, and this includes his daughter who has been living abroad for 12 years. He looks forward to retiring in a few years time so that he will finally have time to see the outside world.
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.
