Arivind Abraham's Blog

When you make a film in Malaysia, for Malaysians, you always get told you ain’t got a chance. You either make a Malay movie, if you want the big money, or you make do being a festival darling, merely appealing to a niche audience in the country.

We need your help, to prove this theory wrong. Because we know that you guys, at the end of the day, just like good movies. A good simple movie, with a good story. We think we can offer you that no matter what you speak or who you are or who people say you should be.

The fact of the matter is, if you want movies that are both well written, well produced, but still have something to say, then you gotta get out there. Because you see, the cinema chains look at things in cents and dollars. If we can prove to them that indie Malaysian cinema can be a profitable commodity, then you’ll get what you want, and we’ll begin to have the means to produce what you want.

So get the word out there, spread the news. We made this movie for all of you, and we need all of you to make it clear that Malaysian movies don’t need to exclusive to either festivals or one audience. Just like you’re sick of them telling you you’re of this race, or that clique etc, don’t let them tell you what you want to watch.

Come along for the ride with us. I promise that each of you will find something within it that speaks to you.

The Joshua Tapes. Exclusively at GSC Malaysia, September 30th 2010.

I always said I wanted to be a writer/director. From day 1, I always said that was what I wanted to do. I was convinced I was sure about it, in fact I was sure about it within the context of who I was at the time.

We wrapped yesterday on Y3llow, a short film of an MA student from the University of Westminster who I agreed to help with script revisions and to produce for.

Whilst being on set, it suddenly became clear to me that what some folks, especially my father and Sam had been telling me for a while; that they saw my future as that of being a writer. I used to dispute it, saying I loved working with actors etc but whilst on Y3llow I realised they were right and I was wrong.

I am good with people, but I am not great with them. I have found that I don’t really enjoy the pressurised state of set, the constant demands, the necessity for there to be constant energy and inertia. It renders me a stressed, worried, and sometimes downright annoying person to be around.

It got me thinking about the 3 films I have shot and the kind of person I have been like to be around at said times. Those who have worked on those films will tell you that I often, during filming, am just not a nice person to be around.

In reality, what I love is ideas. I love coming up with them and fleshing them out. I love the process of developing a story, of watching a character flourish.

I love being a writer.

And what’s funny is the sense of calm and relief I felt upon saying that to myself. Suddenly it fit, it made sense and it’s gotten me motivated and it seems it’s timed itself with a sudden flurry of writing opportunities suddenly popping up.

And that isn’t a sign, then I don’t know what is.

To date the only folks in Malaysia and around the world who have seen 5:13 are friends and family and a select audience back in KL during a Malaysian Film Club screening.

Fact is, because the authorities have made releasing the film a struggle, no other Malaysians have been able to find out a little about what happened back in 1996.

But now, finally, 5:13 is available to sale or rental on IndieFlix.com

I broke the news to John yesterday, and he’s happy that more people could potentially see the movie, and here’s to hoping that over time, no matter how long it takes, the movie gets a following.

Whilst working with the director of Y3llow on script revisions, I started ruminating on this theme, not so much because of the script of Y3llow, but rather as a general pondering really.

Script logic is important, no doubt about that. Get that wrong, especially if you’re working on a procedural type film like Zodiac or Inception, and immediately the film fails. The audience don’t buy into the premise, the premise breaks down.

At the same time, it begs the question at what price though?

If it means missing out on a powerful emotional beat just because it does not fully adhere to the story logic, what then? For me, I always find that the emotional response is a more powerful one to the logical response, and if you can’t find a way to marry the two, then choices become hard as a writer.

What’s your process like?

I just wanted to point out the one thing that I loved above everything else that blew my mind about this film.

In the film, the characters tell us, that to plant an idea, that idea has to be in its purest, distilled form to take root and grow.

Behind all the visual flair, stunning logic and mindfuckery of a plot lies one simple idea:

A man just wants to find a way back to his kids.

That’s what makes Inception brilliant. Nolan accomplished precisely what his characters talk about in the context of the film. A simple idea, driven by a positive emotion, but wrapped up in an extremely original, high concept method of delivery.

And when he couples that with cross-genre pollination, he strikes pure gold. He did it with The Dark Knight, marrying the comic book movie with the traditions of film noir, and this time he takes the rules of a heist movie, and infuses it with the best of sci-fi.