The director of Pop Aye, which won an award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival held at Utah, America, talks muses, kopi and her ideal film set in Singapore
Growing up on a small island…
The mind tends to wander outside the physical boundaries, and I think that has contributed to the surrealist elements found in my films.
Our hawker centres are true treasures…
My favourite dishes hit the spot with their unchanging authenticity. I’m a fan of the chwee kueh (steamed rice cakes topped with preserved radish) and lor mee (yellow noodles with thick, starchy gravy and fried fish) at Tiong Bahru Market, as well as the Hokkien mee (noodles fried with prawn and squid) and prawn noodles at Old Airport Road Food Centre (51 Old Airport Rd).
If I had access to shoot anywhere in Singapore…
I would set a dystopian post-apocalyptic film on Jurong Island, an artificial outlying island and industrial estate.
Singapore’s art scene has burgeoned in recent years…
Art and film festivals are now held throughout the year. The National Gallery Singapore and the National Museum of Singapore have organised engaging film festivals, and the Singapore International Film Festival (November 23 to December 3, 2017) has grown from strength to strength.
To indulge my free spirit…
I love to wander around the back streets of Little India after night has fallen. When I need to daydream, I nurse a kopi peng (iced coffee) at a kopitiam (traditional coffeeshop) in Geylang and people watch. Tall buildings stress me out, but this area is filled with shophouses, allowing me to see the sky.
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This article was originally published by Singapore Press Holdings.
