After a slew of prize-winning short fims, Royston Tan hit his stride with another short film, 15 (Special Achievement Award, Singapore International Film Festival 2002), a moving mix of documentary and MTV-styled hyper-realism. Film critic and programmer BEN SLATER interviews Royston Tan, and felt almost 15 again.

How did the project begin?

I was invited to give a talk in a secondary school about filmmaking and that's where I got to know one of these kids and we got along really well. I spent two months with him, we just kept talking and he then introduced me to his circle of friends, and from then on I realised that there were so many things that were misunderstood about them. So I thought it was time for me to present it on film, show it to people, especially to Singaporeans. I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about these kids. They are labelled as delinquents. They are kids with a lot of soul and a lot of heart inside them, it's just that maybe they felt this sense of rejection, academic-wise. They don't perform as well as other people. They are sort of other, alternative, so that is why I wanted to do a film for them.

Did you just start filming, because it looks so choreographed and planned? Was there much preparation before you started?

The preparation was to train them in what not to do on camera. The rest, we mostly left it to them… we just rolled the camera, we tried to capture, and just talked, today we talk about this, tomorrow about that... All the scenarios that you see are real depictions of what they have actually gone through. So they are telling their own stories.

So the competition that they entered — it happened?

That was true. In fact one of them had been expelled from school, the other one had really gone missing and the last one is like, after the presentation, the public screening, he needed to go for a public caning the next day. I wanted to make a film for them to watch, like a mirror, this is you, and how do you want to go about doing it. And there are many things that I can't show in the film because I needed to protect them. There are many other issues that they have done but it is against the law. I thought I'll only present what I love to present.

Blurring of documentary and fiction… never sure until the end. And the style is highly designed.

I think that is a struggle for many filmmakers to balance the reality and what you see, but I think this is a film that is not only about them but about me too. Because I feel that I can relate to it. I feel it is my subject and me blending together, how they see the world and how I see the world, how I live my life and how they do it. It is pretty much similar it is just a different scope…

You use the MTV stuff to show them themselves but you go beyond that, there is a sense that you are empowering them, giving them something....

The whole look and arrangement is almost like a metaphor for their life, nothing is in sequence, everything is all about packaging and cosmetics, this is the current generation, it's about appearance, what is colourful, what is striking, what strikes you. The film is almost like screaming at you every time, trying to grab your attention. If you were to see my previous film, it's so different, it has a very '60s feel, very classical, very Asian, it has an elegance to it, but when you come to this it's a little bit grungey. When I saw them I wondered what kind of style should I adopt and, in fact, on the eve of the filming I couldn't come up with anything on the storyboard. I was trying so hard to think about what I should do to create this thing. I was having such a problem trying to create a style because that is very important to me, I am always driven by the overall look of the whole film, and that's where I can move in the story, that when I started to tell myself, maybe I shouldn't control them anymore, just move with the flow and then we just film it, so every single minute the script has been changing, when we go on location. I decided I had to take on the role of a director to control the set but not to manipulate what is going to happen. And when we came to post-production that's where I inject my personal feel to the whole thing.

You shot a lot more than is in the film…

A lot more. It was a very strange experience for me, you just go based on your instinct and let everything flow. Like there's one segment where you see the kid cry. That wasn't anticipated because you know that at that very moment he had this very strange moment that today he was going to cry. So we just changed our schedule and filmed that scene. And he couldn't stop crying, after two hours. And he talked about how he wanted the cake from his grandma and things like that.

All those incidents were things that had happened in the past and some things that happened at the time…

Yeah, and one of the kids actually ran away from home and was staying in my house, and that's where I got to know them even more, and there are certain things that I am amazed by them. The reason techno music is so strong in my film is because they sleep with techno music! They blast it and they just sleep in my room and I'm trying to concentrate. To them that is a form of relaxation, that is the most relaxing kind of thing you can do.

The performances are incredibly natural and brave, they way they allow themselves to be filmed in a sexualised way in terms of their relationship, like the scene of them watching a porn film…

That wasn't choreographed. I just say Point A, Point B, Point C, we have to reach these three points and that's it. It's up to you now. We've had two months of talking, so that even when they go to sleep and eat we have the camera on. We made sure they felt so comfortable with the camera that they don't feel inhibited any more. So every time we shoot, we have a lot of exercise to make sure they feel comfortable on camera.

What did you shoot it on?

It's on 16 mm. Certain things are on video… the piercing scene.

What about the sleeping sequence?

That was real. This guy was being chased after by another gang and he was so lost he came to hide in my house. It happened in my house. We see many teenage shows about girlfriends and things like that, but so few shows talk about the intimacy between two friends, so I wanted to do that in this film. There is something special about male bonding that hasn't really been explored in many films, and that is very hard to capture. I thought for a very raw subject like this it should work pretty well on film.

How did they feel about those images?

They were totally fine. I think the one thing was to get them to trust me. After being together for three months I think they more or less trusted me. And they said we'll do everything for you, as long as you allow us at least one fight scene. I said that's no problem, I'll arrange that. That was very important. And even at the Silver Screen Awards, they were so sweet when they announced the first two awards and it wasn't me, they looked at me and said, do you want us to beat up the winner… no, no, just kidding.

But you won the best award, right?

(A very satisfied) Yesssss. It was amazing. The reason to finish up this film, I think there were many, many people who didn't want this film to be done, like we didn't get support from many other...

How did you make it? Did you just go ahead?

Yes, I used up all my savings, I told myself, a few thousand dollars to buy a dream is very cheap. So I must do it. The main reason I wanted to do this film is because I wanted to do it for them. When I first saw them I told myself, they must see the other side of life, not just the environment that hey are in, fighting people and snatching territories and things like that. They must see the other side, so I decided I'll make this film and whether it wins or doesn't win doesn't matter as long as it gets to the Silver Screen, and I can bring them to the other side of the world that they are in. That would be great. After this film they got pretty much exposed to short filmmaking, so they are attending film screenings with me now. What I like about them is that they are slowly moving away form the lifestyle that they are in.

The one that disappeared... Vyn?

After we finished the film we had a celebration and after that we went to meet him and he didn't turn up again.

He wasn't at the Silver Screen Awards?

He's just lost, we tried calling him and couldn't get him any more. Last thing we heard from him was that he went off to Malaysia to hide or something like that. He fought with somebody and he was involved in some police case or something like that, and after that there was no news.

Potentially you were making your movie on your own steam, you could have put whatever you wanted in. Do you think you could have gone further, you hinted at the criminal activity but it's very...

…Subtle

You showed a fight but it's quite comic, like a computer game...

It's almost how they see it. Everything is a game to them. A certain form of high for them. The only thing... usually when I make films I don't really care about the government, I just do it. The more you don't want me to do it, the more I will do it to show it to you. The only thing that is stopping me is the constant reminder that I'm accountable for these three people now, 'cos I brought them on screen. I will present the things that are least obvious, the most obvious things I will just leave it alone. A lot of the time it is based on matters of the heart, it all starts from the heart. It's all very simple basic issues. So that's the reason I decided to focus more on the subtlety...

What are you working on at the moment?

I'm working on the feature for this film. It's gonna be be… you'll see the full thing coming out. I'm going to shoot more material. But I'm not going to refilm it — the short film is like the beginning of the feature, it's gonna continue from there. More awakening issues will be addressed in here...

In the short, there are no authority figures. Was that a conscious decision?

That was a conscious decision. I wanted to present just them. The rest of the people are secondary, they wouldn't contribute to it, I didn't want viewers to focus on others, just on them.

Will you continue with that rule?

Oh yes. It's pretty much gonna be constant, the whole thing. It's quite exciting, the sub-plot is that they are helping Melvyn to attempt suicide. So they are looking for the perfect building to jump down. It ends up a very bittersweet kind of thing.

Are you shooting that yourself or is there money now?

I'll probably be working with one of the filmmakers in Singapore, Eric Khoo. I've got a meeting with him and he said he really wanted to help a new person make a feature film, so I'm really excited about it. Finally… it's like I always felt this film is not completed.

It does feel almost like a trailer for a bigger film.

Yes. It is not complete. It has to end off. I feel like I needed to put a full stop to this. Some films you just leave hanging around. But some films you just have to end. So I decided that my subjects are really interesting and they are growing up every single minute and I have to do whatever I can now. One of them just put a Spider-Man tattoo on his neck!

And hopefully the other one will turn up...

I doubt he'll turn up. Maybe he went to jail or something. Not a single trace. One of the things about these kids is that they don't like to give you their address, they only give you their mobile numbers and if they trust you a bit more, their home number.

Did you shoot the bedrooms in your own place?

No, they were done in a location which we actually rented.

So you never shot in their own spaces.

No, too many family problems. We could not even go into their rooms.

Do their parents know about the film.

Yeah, amazingly their parents were very proud of them! "My son is not just a gangster he can act!"

Where were they from?

They live in the *************** area. We actually shot a lot of them. But only picked up the best three to act in the show. There was another one we wanted to use but he backed out at the last minute.

And no girls?

No, no. Maybe the next one we do the girls issue. You do see a girl — the one that died! (laughs) That happened to be one of my students.

You teach?

I teach for three months every year in a secondary school about film, just giving them a general understanding about this media. I feel that teenagers are more complicated than they used to be. They are forced to grow up very early, so that's pretty scary. They have learnt to desensitise themselves from their own emotions. They go out to do things just to get a certain high, a certain enjoyment.

They are underrepresented in the popular culture here. Which is why it's such a blast of fresh air. The press picked up on you winning the award but didn't describe the film at all.

I think they knew about this thing.

Would it get shown on TV here?

I don't think so. Every year I get a film grant but this year I didn't get a film grant from the film commission and it's quite important. But they tell me that they didn't understand my script, and that's the reason. So I don't know. But it's okay. These are the things that keep me going. Every little discouragement is an additional strength to me to move on with this film. When I was on the way to submit the film, the taxi driver told me there were problems, a tree blocking the road, and it was raining heavily. I would have missed the deadline if I didn't submit the tape, and the taxi driver said, "Don't worry, I'll rush it for you." I can see so many problems are coming, it's always a sign that you are going to make it and win the first prize and it happened. It's this belief that keeps me going. My passion is bigger than the problems I'm having, I just go around and borrow whatever money I can find.

Note: The above was published in BigO #200 (August 2002).
Click here to order a copy of the issue (S$4.80). Overseas readers can email singbigo@singnet.com.sg for rates.