Film Directors Workshop

On set Ebi Shankara and Eswari Gunasagar were gushing over this new show called ‘Karuvanam’ on Vasantham in early Dec, and I took a peek and was blown away. I had to meet one of the guys behind this. We chatted, and it’s not often that I get back so much from listening to this younger, serious filmmaker. He was so bent on not having his photo for this podcast that all he gave me was this blurry ph...

Recorded in late 2023, I had the privilege to talk to Djinn in a noisy cafe in Sim Lim Square, before she rushed off flying back to LA- hence the aggressive background noise cancelling-sorry. We owe Djinn and all those involved with the Movie, Perth- for pioneering Singapore indie films in 2004, when it was a lot more difficult to write, produce, direct and distribute a feature film. A great perso...

I had the pleasure of talking to James Lee late last year, and this long podcast episode is the result. I can't tell you how much I learned in these 1.6 hours. James Lee is such a filmmaking dynamo. He's precise, generous in sharing and loaded with filmmaking stories and anecdotes.  I don't want to swing the overused word 'masterclass" here but  I can’t tell you how much I learned in these 1.6 hou...

FDW is back!!! Huge apologies. But FDW will be back as regular as I can keep this up. A nice slate of new activities planned and new energy an vigour. Let me clear the backlogue first. I was worried that these were recorded some time back that its not relevant coz the subjects have went on to great things BUT I found the conversation still very interesting and even more so with some hindsight. Kin...

Li Lin Wee Director. Storyteller.  Wee Li Lin (b. 1973) is one of the pioneer female filmmakers in Singapore. Her films have a signature humour, warmth, and whimsy to them.    Li Lin has made numerous short films, two feature films, as well as several telemovies and commercials. She has won several awards locally and internationally, such as "Best Director" at the Singapore International Film Fest...

Yuni Hadi is a film curator and producer specializing in the management of film and media projects. She has spent a large part of her career promoting Singapore and Southeast Asian cinema.   Hadi headed the Singapore International Film Festival in 2009, and 2014-2019 as its Executive Director covering its 25th to 30th edition. In 2017, she co-curated a cross-disciplinary exhibition In the Garden w...

Don Aravind has been consistently been straddling between film and television with integral relationships of both mediums, finding a balance that fuels his creative oeuvre. His award winning short films have been screened locally and internationally at film festivals.  In 2015, he was the pioneer batch of directors that worked on Singapore’s first English Daily Long Form “Tanglin”. He had directed...

Don Aravind has been consistently been straddling between film and television with integral relationships of both mediums, finding a balance that fuels his creative oeuvre. His award winning short films have been screened locally and internationally at film festivals.  In 2015, he was the pioneer batch of directors that worked on Singapore’s first English Daily Long Form “Tanglin”. He had directed...

A FDW CCB Spinoff. Here we talk to the other filmmaking departments. We did an 'Actors Talk Back' with Kheng Hua and now its 'DPs Talk back' with Amandi Wong. Amandi was the first DP i met nearly 15 years ago. In this episode, Amandi talks about working with directors Ho Tze Nyen, Chai Yee Wei, Jacen Tan and Jack Neo. He shares what his lighting and shooting philosophy is like nowadays and sheds s...

Episode 9 - Chai Yee Wei. We have known each other through the years but only a lil closer after he really helped me out with the DCP of 'Diamond Dogs' and even recently 'The Last Song". Always a trusted friend and ally in the SG film industry, he had put aside his Directing for a good few years and then came back in a big way after his Win in Short Shorts Tokyo. In this episode, he shares his jou...

His first independent feature film as a Director of Photography was in 2006, ’Truth Be Told’ directed by Teo Eng Tiong.  During his journey as a Cinematographer he has worked on 13 feature films.

Chai Yee Wei, Grand Prix winner of Short Shorts, an Academy Accredited Festival, with his short film "Benjamin's Last Day at Katong Swimming Complex”(2018), has a career as diverse as his interests. He has co-written and directed several feature films across genres ranging from horror (Blood Ties), to dark comedy (Twisted), and musical rom com (That Girl In Pinafore). And being a tech enthusiast,...

website https://filmdirectorsworkshop.transistor.fm/10 Spotify Apple Podcast  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/film-directors-workshop/id1504606895#episodeGuid=29709233-671b-41f2-aeeb-4706df12b750

WARNING- SALTY LANGUAGE including CB and we don’t mean Circuit Breaker. Episode 6, folks! Long long long overdue. My fault. Director Ler’s Part Two. Continuing with more insights into directing his crazy awesome HBO ‘Invisible Stories’. If you haven’t binged this, you’re a ‘invisible story’ :)  Binge!- you owe it to yourself to watch this one.  Ler Jiyuan is a Singaporean filmmaker. He is the dire...

Sorry for the delay- been swamped by CCB WFH deluge. I’ll try to be punctual… haha. Our last part of the CCB Specials with Kheng Hua when she was back in SG. This is the episode where she talks about her LA forays and a glimpse into her working on the current Grey's Anatomy Season 16, Marco Polo and Kung Fu etc. And her lil encouragement to any Directors who wants to work with her. Enjoy. Next Wee...

Episode 5, folks! So far Guoshen & Glenn are personal friends but this episode we have a director I don’t really have too much interaction with before this. We know each other in many ‘Hi, Bye’ flybys and I did work with his wonderful actress wife, Wendy Toh in ‘Diamond Dogs’. In this episode we talked about his uber awesome ‘Invisible Stories’ before it premiered on HBO. ( And actually this p...

Continuing our CCB Special with Kheng Hua when she was back in SG and just before the CCB was installed. In this episode she shares her thought processes with working with other actors, directors and talks about her work on Marco Polo, Crazy Rich Asians and recently Grey’s Anatomy. And discover what is the worst piece of direction you can give her on set. Enjoy. Tan Kheng Hua is a Singapore actor...

Episode 4, folks! Thanks for support so far. Hundreds have tuned in. Ok… I exaggerate- a hundred plus have tuned in-haha. But I’m still happy:) This episode continues with the 2nd Part of Talking with Glenn Chan. He shares his processes working with actors, difficult scenes and reveals his career first love- directing or cinematography. Sorry for the technical glitches and the lack of a pop filter...

Before we jump back into our regular drop on Wednesdays-continuing our PODCAST with GLENN CHAN, we wanted to try something new on this also New show. Talking to Kheng Hua when she was back in SG last week and just when the CCB was announced, that talk was so full of great info- so I thought maybe I'll add CCB Specials for peeps to spend more time hanging out here. She's been a good friend for many...

Glenn Chan is a Singaporean Director of Films and Television whom has been progressively integral to the local media industry since his directorial debut in 2002. He has lend his talent as Director, Director of Photography and Writer to a multitude of noteworthy works, helming a range of content alongside some of Singapore’s top production companies.

Episode Two Continues the Talk with multi-hyphenated Wang Guoshen. Film and TV Director /Writer/ ExecutiveProducer. Film Directors Workshop. A Personal Passion Project - A Podcast on Directing in Singapore. Super long overdue as some were recorded late last year-Yikes! Check out every week for a rambling talk cock sessions with SG and non SG Directors on the craft of Directing. https://filmdirecto...

00:01:  Is there a difference between a film set and a TV set? 01:20   Having more resources and time on a film set, do you experiment more? 02:10   Producers & Directors predicament 02:25  Is there more pressure on a film set? 03:00  Do you expect the same from the same actors on a TV project or a Film project 04:20  How do you get your start on your Directing career? 07:00  His first Directi...