WEDDING DAY IN SINGAPORE (by David Schmoeller)

After a grueling 20 hours in the air, I was so happy to finally arrive in Singapore and to find Emmeline and Yuni waiting for me, even at such a late hour (past midnight). They checked me into the charming Royal Peacock Hotel and my residency had officially begun. I have spent half of my filmmaking career making movies overseas (Italy, Romania, Malta, etc.) where you arrive to work as a director and have to hit the ground running, despite your severe jetlag, It usually takes me about a week to get back on schedule. – though it gets harder as I get older.

But, the excitement (and ensuing adrenaline) of a new city helps you get through the transition. On Sunday, February 25, Yuni invited me to go to a local shoot with her and I was excited to see fellow filmmakers at work (Tania Sng, Ric Aw, Sun Koh and the ever-dynamic actor Sonny Pang). Even though they were just wrapping as we arrived, I did enjoy meeting the cast and crew and seeing their excitement as they talked about their feature film.

On Monday, February 26, I spent the day at Objectifs, familiarizing myself with logistics: the metro; pre-paid card for cell phone; and getting ready for the auditions that were set up for the following day. That late afternoon, I began location scouting in Chinatown – in the areas around my hotel. I really began to get excited. I finally met Yeo Lee Nah (Lina), my Assistant Director, with whom I had been working long-distance for the previous weeks from my home base in Las Vegas. She had done an AMAZING job of organizing EVERYTHING. I was much impressed and more than pleased at her professionalism and thoroughness. Lina had recruited Geraldine Koh Sheng Qi to handle the difficult task of translating the English script into Chinese. And fortunately, Geraldine was able to sit in on the auditions so that we could revise and finesse the translation. I had exactly the same issues with the French translation for the section of WEDDING DAY that I shot in Paris last month. So, I was familiar with the various issues that arise. On Tuesday, February 27, we had auditions all day long. Lina had done such an excellent job in gathering actors for the audition. And since I don’t speak Chinese, we had to work out a system whereby Lina would actually take on the role of director to give the actors “notes” to adjust their readings. Again, I had the same issues in Paris. I relied on my French Assistant Director, Andre, to help me gage and weigh the performances. I could tell if an actor was being too melodramatic – but there were subtleties in the readings I just couldn’t discern because I don’t speak French. After each take, Andre would evaluate the reading – for example, he would tell me: “she was more bitter than sad in that take. Do you want bitter or sad?” By the end of the day, Lina and I had our cast – and now we just had to work out rehearsal times, shooting days that worked for the actors, and other sundry details.

On Wednesday, February 28, since I had now mastered the metro (despite a shaky start where I got completely lost), I spent most of the day location scouting. Since my scenes can take place at just about any location (the bride in her wedding dress is hurrying to her wedding with her best friend), the process is about finding locations with strong visuals and good production value. My method to find suitable locations proved to be fairly simple, actually. I would go through my Singapore guide book – and more specifically, I would look through the various postcards at stores, and select a location that was particular exciting, visual or dramatic. I’ve really been struck by how hard everyone at Objectifs work: Emmeline and Dawn, Yuni, Yuemin and Caterina. It is a veritable beehive of activity – and the wide array of activities Objectifs is involved in – and contributes to - are quite remarkable. I’m very eager to see some of their up-and-coming screenings and sponsored events.

Today, March 1, Lina and I are going to scout the locations I have selected, figure out the shooting problems of each location, and lock them down where possible. We are also going to the equipment house to check out some rentals. And tonight, I have my first screening – THE SPIDER WILL KILL YOU, which was my student Thesis film - and a student Academy Award finalist (which I made 34 years ago, my god!) and TOURIST TRAP, 1978, my first feature which was inspired by SPIDER. TOURIST TRAP just screened at the Cinematheque Francaise in Paris to a large audience and I was so pleased with their appreciative reactions – for my first feature and for a feature that was made SO many years ago. It does not escape me that some times these older films, particular a horror film from the heydays of the horror films of the 70’s, might just take on a bit more notoriety and recognition than it deserves, but at my age, I’ll take any kind of praise I can get. Here’s hoping tonight’s audience appreciates the movies for what they are.

- David Schmoeller