In Focus

We hear that you were a part of the multimedia team for this year’s National Day Parade. Can you tell us more about your experience?
I’m not a particularly patriotic person so I don’t have the habit of tuning in to the annual National Day celebrations, but it’s a blessing to have been able to work on something so closely related to my passion in filmmaking and see my work on live television, even while I’m still enlisted in National Service.

It’s also been cool to witness the things that happen behind the scenes of such a production and the efforts of people from different backgrounds. It really takes a village, so seeing everyone try their best to make the show happen is really impressive!

How did your interest in filmmaking start?
It all began when my dad gifted me his old camera when I was in secondary school. I’d always been intrigued by photography and capturing still images, but I eventually found that I could be a lot more expressive with filmmaking. The rest, as they say, is history.

My personal film projects are generally in the Chinese language as I feel that my mother tongue allows me to better express myself with more nuance.

What’re some of your favourite films?
Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy, a 2013 Thai film by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit. It involves the stitching of 400 real Tweets from Twitter to create a coming-of-age story of a teenage girl, so you can see the turbulence in her life and how her world shifts for better or for worse. There’s just something special about Thai cinema—I think it’s quite interesting.

A close second would be Fallen Angels, the 1995 crime drama film by Wong Kar-wai. He was my biggest inspiration back when I was in school not just for his style, but also the way he intertwines romance and the history of Hong Kong. I find it pretty cool that when I look back at his films, I can see the city through his eyes, in all its tumultuousness.

Moving on to fashion, how would you describe your style?
I’d like to think that I’m a minimalist, but my fashion style says otherwise—I like to dress in very loud and unconventional pieces.

To me, clothing shouldn’t be tied to gender and everyone should be able to don any piece of clothing that they want. That said, I really like femme-wear as I think they’re more beautiful than menswear, so I like to wear skirts since they look good and are so comfy! (laughs) I also love clothes that are long, asymmetrical, and multi-layered—pieces that you don’t see on the streets everyday.

My parents, who are fashion designers, don’t see eye to eye with me in this aspect, but they’re growing to become more supportive.

What are your hopes for the future?
I hope to move to Bangkok one day to start my own art collective with my partner, Adri, in an evolving space. I’m obsessed with the idea of having a community space where people from different disciplines can leave their marks in; a place that is ever-growing. With the rental prices more affordable there and the people generally more receptive to non-mainstream art, I think it’s doable!

I got the inspiration from my favourite fashion designer Rei Kawakubo’s store, Dover Street Market, where the clothing display, atmosphere, and ambience changes with each season.