Lights, camera, action!

IN 2013, Paul Gan’s short film The Boy Who Rocked The World took the country by storm. It won four of seven nominations at the BMW Shorties – including Best Cinematography, Best Sound Design, and Best Production Design – and nabbed four prizes – namely, for Best Young Filmmaker, Best Media and Experimental, Best Editing and Best Short Film – at the Malaysian Digital Film Awards (MDfA).
The short film, which centred around a young boy who used his imagination and passion for rock music to escape his struggles in poverty, also won the grand prize at the 2014 Astro Sundance Short Film Contest.
However, the 29-year-old lad from Malacca has not been resting on his laurels. Gan continues to strive in filmmaking, sharing his aspiration, thoughts about the local film industry, and future works with us.
What inspired you to be a filmmaker?
I’ve wanted to be a film-maker since I was 11, when I watched a director receiving an award and thanking God for it at an Oscars. It struck a chord with me, and I aspired to be that good one day. And since I have an eye for visuals, I decided why not I just do it lah?
How did the awards following The Boy Who Rocked The World impact you?
By God’s grace, I won the Astro Sundance competition and managed to attend the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, US. I got to see many other directors, including George Lucas, Robert Redford and Edgar Wright. The experience widened my perspective on film-making – how to make a film, plan its distribution, and sustain it.
Can you share your thoughts on the Malaysian film industry and the problems it is facing?
I believe it is the mindset of the Malaysian audience. The way to support local films should not just be going to the cinema and watching a famous commercial film. The audience should also be willing to help monetary-wise or crowdfund for a film production.
In a way, we are ruined by Hollywood’s “commercial films”. When watching a film, a lot of Malaysians expect explosions, aliens, gun fights and robots – when actually, a film is so much more than that.
To me, a good film is one that uses narrative to give a good, subtle story. We also do not have proficient film literacy. In other countries, this is taught in secondary school.
What is then, your expectation for the local film industry?
There is a lot of hope for the industry, which includes getting film-makers to produce good content for the local and international audience. As for the Malaysian audience, there is a need to educate them to be more receptive towards home-grown films.
Lastly, what can we expect from you next?
Currently, I am directing a suspense-thriller film and the draft name is Grab. It is about a taxi driver who picks up all the wrong passengers and has to negotiate his way out as his life is at stake. It is similar to Collateral (2004) but much darker than that. Aside from that, I emcee at events and act in advertisements and web clips.

TRIVIA
Favourite movie: Cloud Atlas (2012).
Hobbies: Reading and playing DotA.
Exercises: Jogging and TRX training.
Favourite cuisine: Chinese.