Streats
August 3, 2004

"FAIRYTALE FANTASY "
Tzang Merwyn Tong may not be well-known in the local film industry, but his second film, A WICKED TALE, is attracting interest locally and internationally.

By SHARLENE TAN

FAIRYTALES are not just for children.

A Wicked Tale, a short film by Singaporean Tzang Merwyn Tong, is not only stirring interest locally, it has also attracted attention from overseas because of its twisted, dark interpretation of a fairytale classic.

Writer and director Tong, 25, told Streats that he wanted to explore the psychological implications of fairytales.

“There’re a lot of adult themes like why would a little girl walk in the woods and speak to a wolf. It makes you wonder, what’s behind all this, makes you want to explore.”

He described his film, which is currently in post-production, as “a psychological thriller about a girl who meets a stranger and is lured deeper and deeper into his little game of seduction and manipulation”.

The film is a co-production by Tong’s Inri Studios and Faber Image.

The multiracial cast, includes Light Years actress Evelyn Ng and first-time actor Johan Ydstrand, a Swedish teenager who studies at an international school here.

A spokesman from Faber Image told Streats: “We thought his idea of turning an ordinary children’s fairytale into something a little twisted was different, not very mainstream. He’s got a lot of potential.”

The company which has its own video, audio and lighting equipment, provided technical support, and even built a set – the interior of a cottage – on the third storey of their office building at Kaki Bukit Place.

Tong, who now writes for film magazine First, said: “It shows that this is not just an unknown indie project, but an indie project that has some kind of support and it shows that there’s a strength in the project.”

However, he had to cough up his own money as well.

“I emptied most of my savings. But I didn’t take money from my parents. I believe it’s my own project and I need to do it on my own.”

His film has also sparked interest overseas.

Tong was invited to pitch his script to the Cinema-Goteborg co-production meeting, organised by the Cinemanila International Film Festival in the Philippines last month. It aims to link foreign investors with South-east Asian talents.

He said: “It helped open some doors for me. I’ve received feedback from people in Poland, Denmark and Sweden and what they’re interested in is that an Asian guy is interpreting a Western tale.”

He intends to finish the film by the end of the year and hold a private screening to establish local interest. He also intends to send it for international film circuits.

Tong’s foray into the fantasy world of fairytales came about from a series of dreams and nightmares that he had.

“It came in bits and pieces. There was a lot of imagery, some very vivid and violent. You know when you wake up from a dream and try to pin it down but it always seems scattered. Well I tried to pin all of it down and put it together, and came up with this.

“I want to film something imaginative, set in a psychological landscape bordering between dreams and reality.”

To concentrate on making his film, he quit his job as a graphic designer in April last year.

“Film(-making) is a full-time thing, and I felt that my second film deserved the time and attention so I knew I had to choose one or the other.”

Tong studied Mass Communications at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, but did not take any course in video production. He picked up his skills while shooting his first film, e*Tzaintes – about teenage angst – with two course-mates while he was still studying.

The film was screened last January at a Golden Village cinema and picked up a Bronze Remi Award at the Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival.

While many film-makers name directors like Federico Fellini or Wong Kar Wai as their favourite directors, Tong said he usually cannot recall the names of the directors of the films he likes.

Instead, he said he enjoys watching B-grade flicks such as Killers and Cry Baby.

“When you watch a well-produced film, you can’t tell what makes the film good. But for a B-grade film, you see the flaws. They open your eyes.

“The problem with society is that there is a low tolerance for trash. It doesn’t mean that something trashy or tacky will not have a stroke of genius.”

END