10:56 p.m. - 2005-12-27
never has sex been this blatant
1) Describe the subject matter of your film
from the report:
Set in the southern islands of Laos, Against the Tide is the tale of a man with a tremendous passion in life. The title is inspired by our key character Mr Lieum, an ex-teacher who has retired to a life of fishing. Mr Lieum derives a great deal of satisfaction from living his life simply; as long as he is healthy, he will fish for his own food. However, the social norm of change and development (tourism, electricity) going on within his village and country is a new challenge to the old ways of living.
The process of economic development brings prosperity to the people but sacrifices are also made along the way. Against the Tide reveals this conflict by presenting the story of Mr. Lieum, the relationship between him and his daughter, and their different perspectives on culture and livelihood in a rapidly changing society
in short, our film is a documentary about an old fisherman. why not?
2) Why did you choose the subject? Why Laos? What first interested you
in it, etc etc.
He was a very interesting person, someone who has seen years of hardship, and yet he has this zest for fishing and he has humour. he makes us think about how it feels to really find food and eat it, as compared to working at some company, and then using money to buy food. There is a difference, i guess that difference is the kind of satisfaction u get. and the different kind of dissatisfaction you get in the process. like for example, you are working, and then you get dissatisfied all of a sudden about your pay and the amount of work you're doing. thats the worse.
why Laos... because our director was from Laos; it seemed like an interesting challenge; the Mekong river passes through Laos, and we wanted to do a documentary on the lives of the people and how they rely on the river.
I was initially apprehensive, because i thought this might mean living in the villages with no electricity and tap water, no television, no sanitation, the whole village experience, etc. And i was partially right. It was fun though. Getting up at 5am to shoot the sunrise, bathing and brushing our teeth in the river, just like the locals. we wanted to assimilate ourselves with the locals.
3) What was Laos like? What did you like most about the country?
There is the city side and there is the countryside of Laos. haha. The city side is modern living, almost like thailand, i think. The countryside is more rural, with people finding food on their own means.
The people love and respect the river. I came to Laos, expecting to see, you know, like the stories we hear of ancient singapore, where there's shithouses over the river, but really, i never saw that in Laos. The people respect and appreciate the water they depend on for living.
the women in Laos all wear this traditional skirt. It is quite nice. we dun really notice this but still it seems nice, quite feminine and conservative, in a simple manner.
The most beautiful and scary thing of Laos is the river. it is the thing i like most about the country. It is so huge, and it flows through much of the land. It is sometimes serene and peaceful, like a kind spirit, and at other times, near the rapids and waterfalls, its is churning and crashing, violent and very scary.
4) How long were you there shooting the video?
we were in Laos for about 23(?) days... not sure how many days spent shooting.
5) What have you learnt from your time in Laos, filming the video?
i learnt to miss home. I missed being able to speak with somebody else besides my group mates, because i couldnt speak Lao, hehe. I missed just being in my home, with my family and my beloved computer.
i learnt about other peoples' lives, the amazing tenacity of people, there was this little girl about 7 o r 8, she was chopping at coconuts to sell the juice to tourists. she was very good at it. then you wonder why she has to do it, obviously the family is poor and life is very hard, and you wonder why life is so unfair, there are people living in such hardship and there are people enjoying themselves, partying away elsewhere. then you see the smiles of the village kids, the old man enjoying his fishing, it makes you wonder.
6) How much did you spend on your trip there? (including filming and all)
i dunno, 3000 plus? all four of us together
7) The final video: What do you think of it? Satisfied? What would you
have done differently if you could have?
final video... i wished it could be a documentary of all the people and places we met or seen there. All the friendly ang moh tourists we chatted with, the locals and their kindness, our friends, the beautiful places, etc. It would encompass everything, and when i'm older, i can take it out and play it and be filled with different thoughts, funny thoughts, nostalgic thoughts, regretful thoughts, etc.
it would also be an award winning documentary. i jest u not.
8) Would you go back there to film again? What subject matter will you
look at the next time?
i dunno. Its not easy to hold a camera and experience life, both at the same time. Sometimes i will feel encumbered by the heavy camera, like you will be scared it will drop into the river or you get more interested in taking nice shots with it than with interacting with the people. But sometimes, holding the camera is a good excuse to actually talk with the people, and to get them to share their lives. It motivates you to think of stuff really.
If i do go back to film again, i guess i will just focus on anything i meet in my journey. and worry about any coherence or relevance to any audience later. I say this only because i think if i do go back there, it will be a sort of leisure trip, self discovery perhaps.
9) Where and when was the documentry shown?
it was shown in school. date sometime in april i am not sure at all.
