En’s in a Movie : Mar-18

Almost 2 years ago in May 2016, some local director  Hong knew was looking for child actors and actresses. According to Hong, he had gone to many schools to look for them but still unable to find the lead child actress for his new movie. So an appointment was made for the director and his team at pa’s house to see En and her ‘talent show’.

The talent show was En and her pa playing a duet “Crazy G” on the ukulele. After that first meeting, En was given a script  to memorize and a second meeting with the camera man was made to see how En could act according to script and behaved in front of the camera. Victor and I tried our best to help En remember her script and act out her role. Even Hong tried to give her tips but En was rather stubborn, thus pretty resistant to everyone’s suggestion.

As expected, she was nervous and did not do well in that audition. She did not get the main lead role but was offered a role in the supporting cast, some classmate of the main characters. After some consideration and also becoz En seemed to really want to do it, we committed to the many hours of wayang practices and shooting schedule to be completed within that June 2016 school holidays. Well, if the entire shooting could be finished within that 4-week school holidays, that definitely would not affect En’s school work or schedule as she was not required to return to sch much as a P3 student!

Nonetheless, there were many delays and postponements, and shooting only began in the 3rd week of school hols and of course could not wrap up before the school term commenced again. There were discussions on visiting the zoo during one of the school weekdays (to avoid the crowd) for an important shooting with the main characters. However after much discussion, nothing was heard of it again. Apparently, only the main child characters were asked to take time off school to visit the zoo for that shooting. 

We were initially told the movie would be released at the end of 2016 during the December school holidays. However, the school hols came and went.. in fact 2017 came and went too, and no updates on the movie release was heard. Maybe the movie would not be released after all? Anyway, En earned a grand total of $200 for the many hours spent at the Aliwal Arts Centre and Bedok South Secondary for wayang training and shooting. Actually, I believed En spent much more time at the shooting site waiting and playing with her co-supporting cast children than the actually shooting itself. 

In fact, En had such a fun time with her new friends from the cast, that she even invited them to her 9th birthday bash, her very first birthday party!!

Finally finally juz before the Chinese New Year this year, I received an email from the production company to inform that they would be doing a private screening of the movie in early March and asked if we wanted to buy tickets to watch!!🦒🦒 I would not want to spend $12 for each ticket to bring the whole family to watch a show which may not even show En’s face..... Subsequently when I did not respond, I received a WhatsApp message to ask me to collect 3 tickets from the reception on the day of the Wayang Kids gala premier at Lido Shaw.

On March 9, 2018, Victor and I brought En to see the movie she had a acted in. Well, not much of a fanfare but still a premier gala nevertheless, with the main cast and director on stage interviewed by an emcee, before the movie screened. Also a monkey god mascot moving around and a photo corner with the movie posters..

 

Almost 2 years have passed and it was not surprising that En got shy when she saw her friends again. They took a while before warming up to one another and yakking away like old times!!😄😄