Originally published in New Strait Times, Sunday People
20 December 2007
Secured Commitment
MAX KOH
BRIAN has borrowed money from a friend who is a tai ee lung (loan shark). He thinks he will be treated differently as he’s a friend.
The poor chap finds out otherwise.
This is the premise behind the short film, Unsecured Loan, by independent film maker Julianne Block, shown recently at the IndiCine Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre in Sentul.
The audience is kept at the edge of their seats with all that action as Brian tries to get the money to settle the debt.
The 11-minute film offers flashbacks, scenes playing in reverse, split screens and curious camera angles.
The intimate gathering applauded the effort by Block who directed, wrote and produced the film.
“Believe it or not,” says Block, “I did not study filmmaking. In high school, I excelled in Maths and Physics.”
The tall, lanky Block with a distinct German accent is an architect and that earned her a living but it was meeting aspiring filmmaker Marc Fehse at a German university which eventually led her to her calling.
Fehse was making an independent horror film called Mutation. He needed someone to do special effects make-up and I was roped in. “It was a trash film, but I had lots of fun doing it,” she says with a laugh.
Block says she soon realised that she needed experience outside of Germany.
Fascinated by Asian culture, she sold everything and moved to Hong Kong two years ago.
“I chose Hong Kong because it was the hub of film-making in Asia and I hoped that it would lead me to the US. But Hong Kong was difficult to break into,” says Block who then moved to Malaysia.
She began working on her brother’s short story called Geschäft ist Geschäft, which became Unsecured Loan.
The film was shot on a very short budget and all the actors and crew members agreed to work pro bono, spurred on by a common interest in filmmaking.
Sean Yap, whom Block met during Joe Hisham’s “Acting for Beginners” classes, was roped in to play the role of Brian. She thought that he fitted the character like a glove as he projected a very fierce demeanour during class.
Yap Yen Sam stumbled into the project through his son who heard about the auditions.
Says Yap: “I guessed they picked me (to play the loan shark) because I was the only fellow who fitted the description.”
Block is now working on her first 90-minute feature film, Free Ashes, a character driven piece. A bigger project which will need more funds, an unfazed Block says: “I will continue making films because it is what I love to do”.
BRIAN has borrowed money from a friend who is a tai ee lung (loan shark). He thinks he will be treated differently as he’s a friend.
The poor chap finds out otherwise.
This is the premise behind the short film, Unsecured Loan, by independent film maker Julianne Block, shown recently at the IndiCine Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre in Sentul.
The audience is kept at the edge of their seats with all that action as Brian tries to get the money to settle the debt.
The 11-minute film offers flashbacks, scenes playing in reverse, split screens and curious camera angles.
The intimate gathering applauded the effort by Block who directed, wrote and produced the film.
“Believe it or not,” says Block, “I did not study filmmaking. In high school, I excelled in Maths and Physics.”
The tall, lanky Block with a distinct German accent is an architect and that earned her a living but it was meeting aspiring filmmaker Marc Fehse at a German university which eventually led her to her calling.
Fehse was making an independent horror film called Mutation. He needed someone to do special effects make-up and I was roped in. “It was a trash film, but I had lots of fun doing it,” she says with a laugh.
Block says she soon realised that she needed experience outside of Germany.
Fascinated by Asian culture, she sold everything and moved to Hong Kong two years ago.
“I chose Hong Kong because it was the hub of film-making in Asia and I hoped that it would lead me to the US. But Hong Kong was difficult to break into,” says Block who then moved to Malaysia.
She began working on her brother’s short story called Geschäft ist Geschäft, which became Unsecured Loan.
The film was shot on a very short budget and all the actors and crew members agreed to work pro bono, spurred on by a common interest in filmmaking.
Sean Yap, whom Block met during Joe Hisham’s “Acting for Beginners” classes, was roped in to play the role of Brian. She thought that he fitted the character like a glove as he projected a very fierce demeanour during class.
Yap Yen Sam stumbled into the project through his son who heard about the auditions.
Says Yap: “I guessed they picked me (to play the loan shark) because I was the only fellow who fitted the description.”
Block is now working on her first 90-minute feature film, Free Ashes, a character driven piece. A bigger project which will need more funds, an unfazed Block says: “I will continue making films because it is what I love to do”.
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