Hello all! My name is Benji and I was the chief runner/camera operator on the production of the film S'kali. Let me first just say that serving as a chief runner/camera operator has been the best experience I have had in my entire life. The simple fact that I'm a film major myself has made this experience even sweeter as I have learned so much from the cast and crew, not to mention getting mentored by my good friend Arivind Abraham.
As for this whole episode of being deported from the United States, I must say that it has been a traumatic experience. Well, at least now, I get to spend Chinese New Year with my family. I want to thank all of those who have written in messages of encouragement. Please know that I appreciate all of them and I will continue to keep my chin up through this uncertain times.
And since we're on the topic of deportation, I guess it will be quite useful for those who are thinking about leaving for the United States to further their studies. The reason for my deportation was fairly simple. International students entering the studying in the United States are required to report to the CBP office (Customs and Border Protection) whenever a student was to leave the country. Failing which of course would result in an arrest, fine or deportation.
When I returned to Malaysia to begin work with the crew of S'kali last Christmas, I had missed my connecting flight back to Kuala Lumpur at Newark Airport New Jersey. Following that incident, I had gotten a new flight out to K.L. from Los Angeles' LAX and upon arrival I had inquired about the location of the nearest CBP office to report my deprature from the United States from an airport official. The airport official told me however, that I did not need to do that and that all they needed to do was to remove a card from my passport. He removed the card from my passport and I thought I was done with it. Unfortunately that was not the case when I landed in Minneapolis and was later deported.
After an almost 30 hour flight including transit time to the United State, I was put on the next flight out to Kuala Lumpur within the 3 hours that I had landed in the U.S. All in all I had spent almost 3 days on the plane. The experience of course has been traumatic.
My advice to those thinking of studying in the United States is to really take their immigration laws seriously and understand and know your rights as an International Visitor and as a Malaysian. Knowing your rights, unlike me, helps alot.
Anyway..thank you once again for all your messages of support and please know that I will be fine.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
S'kali Production Blog
S'kali Production Blog
It is hard to come down after 2 weeks of intense focus, determination and passion. Working on a film turns into an obsession which always ends up with one becoming blinkered and unresponsive to any stimulus that lies beyond the frame.
I'm giving myself sometime before the editors and I take it into the edit suite back in the UK.
On another note, please send messages of support to our chief runner/camera operator Benji, who after a 36hour flight to the US found himself being deported under armed guard back to Malaysia and uncertain of his future.
It is hard to come down after 2 weeks of intense focus, determination and passion. Working on a film turns into an obsession which always ends up with one becoming blinkered and unresponsive to any stimulus that lies beyond the frame.
I'm giving myself sometime before the editors and I take it into the edit suite back in the UK.
On another note, please send messages of support to our chief runner/camera operator Benji, who after a 36hour flight to the US found himself being deported under armed guard back to Malaysia and uncertain of his future.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Mamak Mia
Apologies for the lack of updates during the shoot. Chief runner Benji was having technical trouble uploading some pictures during the first week. Just to add some color to the blog, here are pictures from my camera too. I took full opportunity to play around with my new Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 whenever I was given a breather from shooting. My 'jakun'-induced trigger happiness resulted in me taking on the role of unofficial photographer for production stills.
The first few days of the shoot focused on the mamak scenes. The following were taken during a 7pm-7am session.
Cast and crew prepare for a new scene.
Writer / director Arivind Abraham keeps track of the day's work.
Runners Benji Lim and Jay Menon introduce themselves.
At 1am, actors Azimy Ahmad and Angeline Rose are still in high spirits.
So are Jayaram Nagaraj and I.
Derek Ong, however, thinks he can do with another glass of caffeine.
(L-R) Azimy, Jayaram, Angeline, Associate Producer / Production Manager Bahir Yeusuff and Arivind.
Azlan and Zaid check the sound levels.
Action.
Making a quick reference to the script.
Jayaram and Azimy await their cue to enter the scene.
(L-R) Derek, Director of Photography Dimitri Kotselis and Jay.
Dimitri tries out another angle.
Bahir monitors the monitor.
Zaid's boom shake-shakes the room.
Jayaram taking pointers from Arivind.
Arivind gives me the signal to turn my camera off.
Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Expect more pictures soon.
- Davina
The first few days of the shoot focused on the mamak scenes. The following were taken during a 7pm-7am session.
Cast and crew prepare for a new scene.
Writer / director Arivind Abraham keeps track of the day's work.
Runners Benji Lim and Jay Menon introduce themselves.
At 1am, actors Azimy Ahmad and Angeline Rose are still in high spirits.
So are Jayaram Nagaraj and I.
Derek Ong, however, thinks he can do with another glass of caffeine.
(L-R) Azimy, Jayaram, Angeline, Associate Producer / Production Manager Bahir Yeusuff and Arivind.
Azlan and Zaid check the sound levels.
Action.
Making a quick reference to the script.
Jayaram and Azimy await their cue to enter the scene.
(L-R) Derek, Director of Photography Dimitri Kotselis and Jay.
Dimitri tries out another angle.
Bahir monitors the monitor.
Zaid's boom shake-shakes the room.
Jayaram taking pointers from Arivind.
Arivind gives me the signal to turn my camera off.
Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Expect more pictures soon.
- Davina
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Finding the Friends- The Search for the Cast
The principal photography for S'kali was completed last Sunday, the 22nd of January. It was the experience of a lifetime which could not possibly have happened without our wonderful Cast and Crew. To celebrate, here is the last part of my interview with Arivind Abraham where we discussed the casting of the actors in S'kali.
Q: What were you looking for in your actors? Do you have a general policy or criteria when it comes to casting roles?
A: They needed to reflect the characters I had written. All the people who have been cast have within them a lot of the aspects of the characters within them and that mattered. The rest was gut instinct and the opinions of the associate producers.
Q: Describe the search for your cast. In what order did they get ‘discovered’?
A: We held an open casting call in 2004 and cast them then. I think we cast Azimy and Angeline first, Then we got Derek. We then got Jayram and finally we cast Davina.
Q: Is the Cast of S’kali exactly how you’ve envisioned them to be, or have there been any surprises?
A: There have been lovely surprised in terms of what my cast have brought to the table when tackling the characters. It’s great to see.
Q: How do you see yourself as a director in relation to your cast? How often have you experienced conflict between the two during your career and what do you do to resolve it?
A: I take very good care of my cast. They are my first and foremost priority as a director and that is only right as the director’s job is all about getting the performance. You don’t baby them, but you give them a firm direction to head into and also allow them the freedom to find things out.
Q: S’kali is a movie about friends. Did your Cast automatically click, or did it take some getting used to?
A: One of the reasons this is the cast we selected was because they became close very fast. They gelled very well.
Q: Do you prefer professional or amateur actors? Is there really any difference between the two?
A: I gotta think about this one. Professional actors or semi-pros like our cast just give you a lot more range and demand less work then an amateur I guess.
Q: What were you looking for in your actors? Do you have a general policy or criteria when it comes to casting roles?
A: They needed to reflect the characters I had written. All the people who have been cast have within them a lot of the aspects of the characters within them and that mattered. The rest was gut instinct and the opinions of the associate producers.
Q: Describe the search for your cast. In what order did they get ‘discovered’?
A: We held an open casting call in 2004 and cast them then. I think we cast Azimy and Angeline first, Then we got Derek. We then got Jayram and finally we cast Davina.
Q: Is the Cast of S’kali exactly how you’ve envisioned them to be, or have there been any surprises?
A: There have been lovely surprised in terms of what my cast have brought to the table when tackling the characters. It’s great to see.
Q: How do you see yourself as a director in relation to your cast? How often have you experienced conflict between the two during your career and what do you do to resolve it?
A: I take very good care of my cast. They are my first and foremost priority as a director and that is only right as the director’s job is all about getting the performance. You don’t baby them, but you give them a firm direction to head into and also allow them the freedom to find things out.
Q: S’kali is a movie about friends. Did your Cast automatically click, or did it take some getting used to?
A: One of the reasons this is the cast we selected was because they became close very fast. They gelled very well.
Q: Do you prefer professional or amateur actors? Is there really any difference between the two?
A: I gotta think about this one. Professional actors or semi-pros like our cast just give you a lot more range and demand less work then an amateur I guess.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
The Evolution of a Dream- Writing "S’kali"
The shooting of S'kali is now well underway at its various locations. This is the second instalment of my three part interview with the director/writer, Arivind Abraham. This time, Arivind talks about the evolution of the screenplay for S'kali.
-Keith Leong
Q: I understand that the script of S’kali has undergone extensive, if not downright radical revisions in the years that you have developed it. Can you chronicle for us the progression that your screenplay has made from the moment the idea to write it initially came to you till this day? How different is your very first draft to the one that you will shoot with come January 2006?
A: The very seed of the movie came from a dream. One night, for some weird reason when I was about 15 I had a dream about a guy driving in the rain, trying to get to the woman he loved who was about to get onto a plane.
The scene played out U2’s “Faraway (So Close)” from their Zooropa album.
I woke up and knew that that was to be the ending of my film.
I then began to doodle on the script for years. It started out being a film about 5 guy friends and then I got older and things happened to me and it became a love story and then Sepet came out.
That was the best thing in a way that happened to me.
It forced me out of my comfort zone of always ending up at that ending and forced me to write a better screenplay. One about 5 friends. A “St. Elmo’s Fire” for our times.
Q: Just how does an ‘Arivind Abraham movie’ get written? Do you have a specific regime or do scripts just flow as and when they come to you?
A; Well this is my first feature so my technique is still moulding itself. I start with the basic act structure. I know what tent-poles I want to reach by what pages and I know where I want to end up. Then I just let the characters write themselves based on the character essays I have done for them from the very beginning.
And I constantly redraft.
Q: Many feel that censorship is the Number One problem for Malaysian artists from all genres. What is your take on this?
A: I used to use this one as an excuse. And Moon from MFX told me straight off, “How do you explain Iran then?”
Q: Were there any scenes in S’kali that you found difficult or painful to write?
A: Not really.
Q: Now tell me the truth. Either than the protagonists (Ravin, Tze Huey, Bahir, Tzao and Tehmina), who is your FAVOURITE character(s) in the movie?
A: No comment. Ask me again after the shoot.
-Keith Leong
Q: I understand that the script of S’kali has undergone extensive, if not downright radical revisions in the years that you have developed it. Can you chronicle for us the progression that your screenplay has made from the moment the idea to write it initially came to you till this day? How different is your very first draft to the one that you will shoot with come January 2006?
A: The very seed of the movie came from a dream. One night, for some weird reason when I was about 15 I had a dream about a guy driving in the rain, trying to get to the woman he loved who was about to get onto a plane.
The scene played out U2’s “Faraway (So Close)” from their Zooropa album.
I woke up and knew that that was to be the ending of my film.
I then began to doodle on the script for years. It started out being a film about 5 guy friends and then I got older and things happened to me and it became a love story and then Sepet came out.
That was the best thing in a way that happened to me.
It forced me out of my comfort zone of always ending up at that ending and forced me to write a better screenplay. One about 5 friends. A “St. Elmo’s Fire” for our times.
Q: Just how does an ‘Arivind Abraham movie’ get written? Do you have a specific regime or do scripts just flow as and when they come to you?
A; Well this is my first feature so my technique is still moulding itself. I start with the basic act structure. I know what tent-poles I want to reach by what pages and I know where I want to end up. Then I just let the characters write themselves based on the character essays I have done for them from the very beginning.
And I constantly redraft.
Q: Many feel that censorship is the Number One problem for Malaysian artists from all genres. What is your take on this?
A: I used to use this one as an excuse. And Moon from MFX told me straight off, “How do you explain Iran then?”
Q: Were there any scenes in S’kali that you found difficult or painful to write?
A: Not really.
Q: Now tell me the truth. Either than the protagonists (Ravin, Tze Huey, Bahir, Tzao and Tehmina), who is your FAVOURITE character(s) in the movie?
A: No comment. Ask me again after the shoot.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
0330, Monday, 09/01/2006
First day of shoot.
I am feeling a strange mixture of nervousness and sheer blind adrenalin. The entire team is looking forward to making the first day today feel good coz' as you know, first days are when the "machine" starts getting oiled up.
This movie has been about 8 years in preparation, with an intense pace mainly in the last 3. Today begins the adventure that both cast and crew have been working on in order to make something meanigful and special.
Here's to the first day of principal photography on S'kali!
I am feeling a strange mixture of nervousness and sheer blind adrenalin. The entire team is looking forward to making the first day today feel good coz' as you know, first days are when the "machine" starts getting oiled up.
This movie has been about 8 years in preparation, with an intense pace mainly in the last 3. Today begins the adventure that both cast and crew have been working on in order to make something meanigful and special.
Here's to the first day of principal photography on S'kali!
Saturday, January 07, 2006
my 2cents:)
Honestly, that all I have in my wallet:). My name is Jayaram and I play the character Ravin in this movie. Like Derek said, better not say to much or they may be an issue with decapitation. The Movie is really cool and we begin shooting tomorrow! I'm as nervous as hell. So nervous in fact that I believe that my stomach has developed a mind of its own and is having a little rave party. Please do drop us little notes on the comment board and we will get to them:)...like the boss said, Negative or positive can also...
Friday, January 06, 2006
S'kali: An Introduction
This interview took place between Keith Leong (Q) and Arivind Abraham (A), the director and writer of S'kali.
Q: Let’s start with how it all began. What inspired you to write and direct S’kali?
A; It all began when I was about 15. I wanted to write a story about friends. A story about growing up and how that plays into the way friendships can be made or broken.
Q: Tell us about how the movie came to be called “S’kali”? What does it mean?
A: The title “S’kali” was actually conceived by the marketing team which is headed up by Elena Harith. She thought the word reflected the “togetherness” that was being portrayed within the movie and it ties in also with the image of the one sheet poster.
Q: There’s a very personal feel to the story and its characters. Just how ‘autobiographical’ (if we can call it that) is it?
A: The characters are using situations that at times are based on events that have happened and the characters themselves are amalgamations of some very close friends of mine but during the rewrites they have become entities on their own in a way.
Q: I think the first reaction people will have to this movie is, “Oh no, not another Sepet!” How would you respond to such comparisons? What makes S’kali different from Yasmin Ahmad's Sepet?
A: S’kali is very different from Sepet. Sepet was a love story at heart; this one is a story about friendship. It’s an ensemble piece and I am aware that everyone is going to be comparing but really that would be like comparing apples to oranges.
Q: Do you think that there is, or even can be a distinctive Malaysian style of filmmaking?
A; There is and never will be such a thing as the “quintessential Malaysian movie”. I think when it comes to Malaysian cinema it is about telling ones individual interpretation of the Malaysian experience because that is how varied the country actually is.
Q: What direction do you think the Malaysian film industry will take in the long run? Can you see yourself still having the dedication and perseverance to still be making movies here or about Malaysian subjects in say ten, or even twenty years down the line?
A: No comment really. I just know that in setting up Perantauan the aim is to develop movies over here with a Malaysian flavour and I see that as a long term thing.
Q: Let’s start with how it all began. What inspired you to write and direct S’kali?
A; It all began when I was about 15. I wanted to write a story about friends. A story about growing up and how that plays into the way friendships can be made or broken.
Q: Tell us about how the movie came to be called “S’kali”? What does it mean?
A: The title “S’kali” was actually conceived by the marketing team which is headed up by Elena Harith. She thought the word reflected the “togetherness” that was being portrayed within the movie and it ties in also with the image of the one sheet poster.
Q: There’s a very personal feel to the story and its characters. Just how ‘autobiographical’ (if we can call it that) is it?
A: The characters are using situations that at times are based on events that have happened and the characters themselves are amalgamations of some very close friends of mine but during the rewrites they have become entities on their own in a way.
Q: I think the first reaction people will have to this movie is, “Oh no, not another Sepet!” How would you respond to such comparisons? What makes S’kali different from Yasmin Ahmad's Sepet?
A: S’kali is very different from Sepet. Sepet was a love story at heart; this one is a story about friendship. It’s an ensemble piece and I am aware that everyone is going to be comparing but really that would be like comparing apples to oranges.
Q: Do you think that there is, or even can be a distinctive Malaysian style of filmmaking?
A; There is and never will be such a thing as the “quintessential Malaysian movie”. I think when it comes to Malaysian cinema it is about telling ones individual interpretation of the Malaysian experience because that is how varied the country actually is.
Q: What direction do you think the Malaysian film industry will take in the long run? Can you see yourself still having the dedication and perseverance to still be making movies here or about Malaysian subjects in say ten, or even twenty years down the line?
A: No comment really. I just know that in setting up Perantauan the aim is to develop movies over here with a Malaysian flavour and I see that as a long term thing.
S'Kali Interviews
Hello Everyone,
My name is Keith Leong and I'm part of the creative team behind S'kali. To mark the beginning of the movie's production, I recently conducted a series of interviews with it's writer and director, Malaysian Video Award winner Arivind Abraham. We talked about a variety of topics related to the movie and himself. These interviews shall be available in the coming weeks on this blog. For our first interview, "S'kali- An Introduction" Arivind talked about what inspired the story and his thoughts on the Malaysian film industry. Please keep visiting our Blog as more interviews with Arivind and the rest of the Cast/Crew get posted.
-Keith Leong.
My name is Keith Leong and I'm part of the creative team behind S'kali. To mark the beginning of the movie's production, I recently conducted a series of interviews with it's writer and director, Malaysian Video Award winner Arivind Abraham. We talked about a variety of topics related to the movie and himself. These interviews shall be available in the coming weeks on this blog. For our first interview, "S'kali- An Introduction" Arivind talked about what inspired the story and his thoughts on the Malaysian film industry. Please keep visiting our Blog as more interviews with Arivind and the rest of the Cast/Crew get posted.
-Keith Leong.
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